A new form of MRI technology could measure brain activity in milliseconds

Scientists have developed a new technique for measuring brain function in milliseconds using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), this new technology could help diagnose and understand many neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

Currently, the speed at which scientists can measure brain function in a functional MRI machine is limited to six seconds. The preclinical research carried out at Harvard Medical School, King's College London and INSERM-Paris, published in Progress of science, suggests that MRE can track the activity of brain function on a time scale of 100 milliseconds.

MRE creates tissue stiffness maps with the help of an MRI scanner, which uses powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the body's interior.

Sam Patz, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School's School of Medicine, said, "The data we publish has been obtained in mice, but the translation of this technology to humans is simple and the first studies are in progress. course.

"The fascinating novelty of this approach is that the stiffening / softening of certain regions of the brain persists even when 100-millisecond stimuli are presented to the mouse."

Although initially interested in the application of MRE to the lungs of mice, the research team decided to also perform brain tests. Here, they discovered that the MRE revealed that the acoustic cortex of the mouse was stiffening without any apparent stimulation.

The researchers decided to connect one of the auditory ducts of the mouse with a gel, to determine if the result was different. After that, they performed another MRE examination of the brain, where they discovered that the auditory cortex on the side of the brain that was treating the sound of that ear had started to soften.

This initial observation was reproduced in different regions of the brain, applying stimuli to the hind limbs of the mice. This has influenced the location, phase and intensity of the observed elasticity changes in the brain, which means that ERM can be used to visualize regional responses in the brain to as they unfold at high speed.

The research team is now interested in the application of MRE technology to the human brain, with the goal of accelerating the diagnosis of neurological conditions.

Dr. Ralph Sinkus, professor of biomedical engineering and imaging science at King's College London, said, "The brain is able to process signals at a very high speed, but the Functional MRI technology can not keep up with fast neuronal changes. & # 39 ;.

"We have now discovered that MRE technology allows us to see brain activity on a much shorter scale. This is a fascinating and unprecedented result as it shows that brain tissue is changing in near real time. This will open a new gateway to understand how the brain works. "