Hybridized axonal field model for signal estimation in magnetic resonance imaging

The aim of this study is to computationally estimate local magnetic fields from evoked axons to support previously reported experimental evidence of direct neuronal detection (DND) of axonal firing using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The hypothesis tested is that the fields resulting from the electrical activity of axons can perturb the main field of the scanner, thereby producing visible image artefacts so that direct imaging of brain functioning may be possible. In this work magnetic fields are calculated for multiple axons using a hybrid model of the electro-physiological parameters of the human optic nerve and a complete 3 dimensional solution of the differential form of Poisson´s equation.