The 21st Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) was held on 28-31 May 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal. Over 3400 participants attained the meeting. The ENS meeting is an international event, which offers an exclusive opportunity for excellent continuous education, as well as an update of cutting-edge research in all fields of neurology. Among the key themes of this year's conference, the contribution of magnetic resonance-based techniques to unravel the physiopathology of neurological diseases and improve our knowledge of the way they progress was highlighted in several sessions. This article summarizes the major neuroimaging findings of the 21st ENS Meeting.