Peer-reviewed article
Expanding the toolkit: OPMs for studying the developing brain.
Taylor MJ, Rhodes N ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a commentary on optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs), a neuroimaging technology that allows better measurement of brain activity in young children. The document discusses how OPMs overcome practical challenges of conventional brain imaging methods in infants and toddlers. It reviews applications of this technology and remaining technical challenges in the field.
Key points
- OPMs enable wearable, movement-tolerant MEG systems that work better with young children than conventional neuroimaging
- The technology maintains good spatial and temporal resolution while improving practicality for infants and toddlers
- OPMs show promise for studying brain-behaviour relationships and social interaction in early development
- The technology could improve inclusion of clinical populations underrepresented in neuroimaging research
- Technical and methodological challenges remain to be addressed as the field develops
Limitations
This is a technical commentary on neuroimaging methodology rather than an evaluation of child well-being outcomes or interventions. It does not present data on how this technology improves children's health, development, or protection in practice.
Abstract
Tremendous maturation in brain structure and function, underlying very rapid cognitive development, occurs in the early years of life, yet it has been difficult to obtain reliable measures of brain function over this period. A major challenge has been the difficulty of acquiring reliable neuroimaging data from awake young children, who often struggle to tolerate conventional imaging environments or remain still during scanning. Existing approaches each involves important compromises between spatial and temporal resolution, movement tolerance and practicality for use in early childhood. Optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs), a recent advance in magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology, are expanding the developmental neuroimaging toolkit. By enabling adaptable, wearable, and movement-tolerant MEG systems, OPMs retain the excellent spatial and temporal resolution of conventional cryogenic MEG technology while improving suitability for infants, toddlers, and young children. In this commentary, we briefly review the current functional neuroimaging toolkit used across development and discuss how OPMs are transforming the study of the developing brain. We highlight recent applications of OPMs to study early life, their potential for investigating brain-behaviour relationships and social interaction, and their promise for improving inclusion of clinical populations traditionally underrepresented in neuroimaging research. We also outline remaining technical and methodological challenges that should be addressed as the field continues to grow.