Researchers can detect how chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are distributed around the brain in real time, thanks to new cell-based detectors called CNiFERs. This newfound ability was developed as part of the White House BRAIN Initiative and could further our understanding of how brain function arises from the complex interplay of individual neurons, including how complex behaviors like addiction develop. Neuroscientist Paul Slesinger of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of the senior researchers who spearheaded this research, presented the sensors at the American Chemical Society’s 252nd National Meeting & Exposition. Watch the press conference which was streamed live on August 22, 2016 above.