@ARTICLE{10.3389/fneur.2015.00161, AUTHOR={Malheiros, Jackeline Moraes and Paiva, Fernando Fernandes and Longo, Beatriz Monteiro and Hamani, Clement and Covolan, Luciene}, TITLE={Manganese-Enhanced MRI: Biological Applications in Neuroscience}, JOURNAL={Frontiers in Neurology}, VOLUME={6}, YEAR={2015}, URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2015.00161}, DOI={10.3389/fneur.2015.00161}, ISSN={1664-2295}, ABSTRACT={Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an excellent non-invasive tool to investigate biological systems. The administration of the paramagnetic divalent ion manganese (Mn2+) enhances MRI contrast in vivo. Due to similarities between Mn2+ and calcium (Ca2+), the premise of manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) is that the former may enter neurons and other excitable cells through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. As such, MEMRI has been used to trace neuronal pathways, define morphological boundaries, and study connectivity in morphological and functional imaging studies. In this article, we provide a brief overview of MEMRI and discuss recently published data to illustrate the usefulness of this method, particularly in animal models.} }