title: Novel frontiers in ultra-structural and molecular MRI of the brain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent developments in the MRI of the brain continue to expand its use in basic and clinical neuroscience. This review highlights some areas of recent progress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher magnetic field strengths and improved signal detectors have allowed improved visualization of the various properties of the brain, facilitating the anatomical definition of function-specific areas and their connections. For example, by sensitizing the MRI signal to the magnetic susceptibility of tissue, it is starting to become possible to reveal the laminar structure of the cortex and identify millimeter-scale fiber bundles. Using exogenous contrast agents, and innovative ways to manipulate contrast, it is becoming possible to highlight specific fiber tracts and cell populations. These techniques are bringing us closer to understanding the evolutionary blueprint of the brain, improving the detection and characterization of disease, and help to guide treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recent MRI techniques are leading to more detailed and more specific contrast in the study of the brain.
authors: Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1060, USA. jhd@helix.nih.gov
authors: Jeff H
authors: JH
authors: Duyn
authors: Alan P
authors: AP
authors: Koretsky
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*