Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics View Institution's Website 4 articles published in JoVE Neuroscience Real-Time fMRI Brain Mapping in Animals Sangcheon Choi1,2, Kengo Takahashi1,2, Yuanyuan Jiang1,3, Sascha Köhler4, Hang Zeng1,2, Qi Wang1,2, Yan Ma1,2, Xin Yu1,3 1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 2Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, 3MGH/MIT/HMS Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 4Bruker BioSpin Animal brain functional mapping can benefit from the real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experimental set-up. Using the latest software implemented in the animal MRI system, we established a real-time monitoring platform for small animal fMRI. Chemistry Preparation and In Vitro Characterization of Dendrimer-based Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Serhat Gündüz1, Tanja Savić1, Đorđe Toljić1, Goran Angelovski1 1MR Neuroimaging Agents, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics This protocol describes the preparation and characterization of a dendrimeric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent that carries cyclen-based macrocyclic chelates coordinating paramagnetic gadolinium ions. In a series of MRI experiments in vitro, this agent produced an amplified MRI signal when compared to the commercially available monomeric analogue. Behavior Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI Sangkyun Lee1, Amalia Papanikolaou2, Georgios A. Keliris2,3, Stelios M. Smirnakis1 1Department of Neuroscience and Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, 2Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 3Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience It is important to obtain unbiased estimates of visual population receptive fields (pRFs) by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We use mild regularization constraints to estimate pRF topography without a-priori assumptions about pRF shape, allowing us to choose specific pRF models post-hoc. This is particularly advantageous in subjects with visual-pathway lesions. Neuroscience MPI CyberMotion Simulator: Implementation of a Novel Motion Simulator to Investigate Multisensory Path Integration in Three Dimensions Michael Barnett-Cowan1, Tobias Meilinger1, Manuel Vidal2, Harald Teufel1, Heinrich H. Bülthoff1,3 1Department of Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 2Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action, Collège de France - CNRS, 3Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University An efficient way to gain insight into how humans navigate themselves in three dimensions is described. The method takes advantage of a motion simulator capable of moving observers in ways unattainable by traditional simulators. Results confirm that movement in the horizontal plane is underestimated, while vertical movement is overestimated.