MRI Sensor That Responds to Dopamine

This article outlines the sensor that MIT scientists have developed. This sensor responds to dopamine specifically, improving the specificity and resolution of brain imaging. This gives a more accurate and precise measurment of direct brain activity. In the past this could only be measured by detecting the blood flow of the brain using classic MRI techniques. This new molecular probe changes allows researchers to detect dopamine by changing its magnetic propeties in response to the neurotransmitter.

This molecular probe was designed by obtaining a magnetically active protein similar to hemoglobin that researchers knew was visible to MRI, and then evolving it through artificial mutation and selection so that it could bind to dopamine. This molecular engineering at such a small scale has allowed to advance neuroimaging with less invasive procedures.


This sensor will be used to study how the spatial and temporal patterns of dopamine relate to the experiences of reward, learning, and reinforcement in animals for the near future. The researchers hope to develop it so that one day it can also measure and map neural activity in the human brain.

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