New MRI Technique Tracks Brain Activity at Millisecond Timescales

Good news! However, this is early stage research. This could possibly be a gamechanger. Coming closer to a mind reader! Finally, high spatial plus high temporal resolution in functional MRI imaging?

"A new approach to magnetic resonance imaging could allow neuroscientists to noninvasively track the propagation of brain signals on millisecond timescales ...
The technique, which its creators call “direct imaging of neuronal activity” (DIANA), uses existing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to take series of quickfire, partial images, and then combines those images to create a high-resolution picture of which bits of the brain are active when. ...
[conventional] BOLD fMRI can pinpoint activity to a millimeter or less of brain tissue. But the technique’s temporal resolution is less impressive. Changes in blood flow occur over seconds ...
a novel way to tackle the problem. Rather than taking full images of a particular cross-section of the brain every few seconds, as in conventional fMRI, he and his colleagues set their MRI equipment so that it would gather sequences of much smaller, partial images at very short intervals—just a few milliseconds apart. They’d then be able to stitch together these partial images to get a full view of that brain cross-section at each timepoint. ..."

"How does the brain generate the mind? For example, it remains a mystery how the neurons in our brain allow us to see these letters, understand this sentence, and decide whether to stop reading or continue. Finding answers to these questions could give an objective understanding of “self,” as well as help clarify the mental disorders that affect large numbers of people, such as depression, schizophrenia, and autism. On page 160 of this issue, Toi et al. (1) describe a promising new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method that could measure the activity of neurons at time scales relevant to mental processes."

"Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has made profound contributions to our understanding of the human brain. However, limitations in the temporal and spatial resolution of the underlying signal have prevented this technique from providing information about how cognitive functions emerge from communication between different brain regions. Toi et al. developed a method that allows for direct imaging of neuronal activity by fMRI ... Retaining the original benefit of high spatial resolution of MRI, the temporal resolution of this method is on the order of milliseconds. Detecting sequential propagation of neuronal activity through functionally defined networks in the brain is thus possible. The ability to image a direct correlate of neuronal spiking is a game changer for noninvasive neuroimaging."

From the abstract:

"There has been a long-standing demand for noninvasive neuroimaging methods that can detect neuronal activity at both high temporal and high spatial resolution. We present a two-dimensional fast line-scan approach that enables direct imaging of neuronal activity with millisecond precision while retaining the high spatial resolution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This approach was demonstrated through in vivo mouse brain imaging at 9.4 tesla during electrical whisker-pad stimulation. In vivo spike recording and optogenetics confirmed the high correlation of the observed MRI signal with neural activity. It also captured the sequential and laminar-specific propagation of neuronal activity along the thalamocortical pathway. This high-resolution, direct imaging of neuronal activity will open up new avenues in brain science by providing a deeper understanding of the brain’s functional organization, including the temporospatial dynamics of neural networks."

New MRI Technique Tracks Brain Activity at Millisecond Timescales  | The Scientist Magazine® The method, dubbed “DIANA,” could transform neuroscientists’ understanding of how the brain works, researchers say—though for now, it’s only been tested in anesthetized mice.

Creating a window into the mind A noninvasive imaging technique measures neuronal activity at a millisecond time scale

In vivo direct imaging of neuronal activity at high temporospatial resolution (no public access)