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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Abstract:
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with contrast agents
sensitive to neural activity could have great impact in neuroscience by
combining noninvasive whole-brain coverage with molecular-level
specificity for neuronal events. My laboratory is developing molecular
fMRI approaches based on molecular sensors we have designed to detect
intra- and extracellular signalling events in the nervous system. Our
sensors are built on a variety of chemical platforms, ranging from
small molecules to nanoparticles. Protein-based contrast agents are of
particular interest to us because of the possibility of gene-based
brain delivery strategies and the availability of powerful protein
engineering techniques. Here we describe molecular engineering of
several MRI sensors for neural activity, as well as the first efforts
in our laboratory to perform functional neuroimaging with molecular
specificity in living brains.
