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Is it possible to detect dendrite currents using presently available magnetic resonance imaging techniques?

The action currents of a dendrite, peripheral nerve or skeletal muscle create their own magnetic field. Many investigators have attempted to detect neural and dendritic currents directly using magnetic resonance imaging that can cause the phase of the spins to change. Our goal in this paper is to us...

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Published in:Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing Vol. 50; no. 7; pp. 651 - 658
Main Authors: Jay WI, Wijesinghe RS, Dolasinski BD, Roth BJ, Jay, William I, Wijesinghe, Ranjith S, Dolasinski, Brain D, Roth, Bradley J
Format: research Journal Article
Published: Springer Nature Jul2012
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The action currents of a dendrite, peripheral nerve or skeletal muscle create their own magnetic field. Many investigators have attempted to detect neural and dendritic currents directly using magnetic resonance imaging that can cause the phase of the spins to change. Our goal in this paper is to use the calculated magnetic field of a dendrite to estimate the resulting phase shift in the magnetic resonance signal. The field produced by a dense collection of simultaneously active dendrites may be just detectable under the most ideal circumstances, but in almost every realistic case the field cannot be detected using current MRI technology.