Serial monitoring of endogenous neuroblast migration by cellular MRI

► Endogenous neural progenitor cells can be labeled in vivo with magnetic particles. ► Migrating, magnetically labeled endogenous neural progenitors can be detected by MRI. ► Novel labeling paradigms better visualize early migration from SVZ to OB. ► Migration can be quantified using MRI signal characteristics. ► MRI based quantification is validated by iron quantification and immunohistochemistry.