Summary/Abstract
Understanding the neural mechanisms underpinning cognition and behavior requires the
ability to measure the dynamics and interactions of populations of neurons spread across
many brain regions.
Funded Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative funds a wide-variety of research: toolmakers, trainees, individual labs testing new hypotheses, and large, team-based efforts aiming to catalyze neuroscience inquiry forward. Explore NIH BRAIN Initiative funded awards listed below. Click on the project title to learn more about it within NIH RePORTER.
To see more NIH-funded awards and associated publications, please visit the NIH RePORTER.
Title
Investigator(s)
Institution
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunity #
Project #
Title
NeuropixelsUltra: Dense arrays for stable, unbiased, and cell type-specific electrical imaging
Investigator
Timothy D Harris, Shawn R. Olsen, Nicholas Steinmetz
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Title
New approaches for single cell tagging, editing and profiling of glial cells in vivo
Investigator
Weizhe Hong
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
The mammalian central nervous system supports a multitude of cognitive and behavioral functions through
coordinated action of different neural circuits that are composed of diverse sets of differentiated cell types,
including both neurons and non-neuronal cells.
Title
New methods and theories to interrogate organizational principles from single cell to neuronal networks
Investigator
Mara Dierssen, Bing Ye
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding how individual neurons contribute to network functions is fundamental to neuroscience. Recent
years have seen exciting progresses in the reconstructions of single-neuron morphologies and wiring diagrams
at the level of individual synapses.
Title
Next generation all-optical toolkits for functional analysis of neuropeptide dynamics in neural circuits
Investigator
Matthew Ryan Banghart, Bernardo L Sabatini, Lin Tian
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
The mammalian brain is remarkably dynamic and can quickly adjust its functional state in response to changes
in the environment. For example, when a salient event occurs, the brain enters a mode that enhances memory
formation.
Title
Next Generation Cell-Type-Specific Viral Vectors for Non-Neuronal Brain Cell Types
Investigator
Michael Eldon Greenberg
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary:
While traditionally conceived as passive support elements for neuronal networks, non-neuronal brain cells are
now appreciated as dynamic integral components of central nervous system (CNS) circuitry.
Title
Next-generation high-resolution diffusion MRI resolving cortical columns and layers in vivo
Investigator
Allen W Song, Trong-Kha Truong
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
In response to the NIH RFA-EB-17-003 on “Proof of Concept Development of Early Stage Next Generation
Human Brain Imaging”, we propose a two-year plan to develop the much needed hardware and software
solutions for ultrahigh resolution diffusion MRI to delineate cortical columns and layers in
Title
Non-Invasive Nanoparticle Platform for Tool Delivery to the Brain
Investigator
Ute H Hochgeschwender, Julien Rossignol, Ajit Sharma
Institute
central michigan university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The goal of this proposal is to assess the feasibility of a non-invasive nanoparticle platform for tool delivery to
the brain.
Title
Novel fluorescent sensors for imaging neuromodulation
Investigator
Yang Dan, Jun Ding, Yulong Li, Dayu Lin
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
Animal behaviors are orchestrated by the sophisticated nervous system, which is
dynamically regulated by neuromodulators including lipids and neuropeptides.
Title
Novel tools for spatiotemporal modulation of astrocytes in neuronal circuits
Investigator
Mriganka Sur
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Astrocytes are a major class of non-neuronal cells in the brain whose crosstalk with neurons at the synaptic
and circuit levels remains poorly understood.
Title
Optimization and Delivery of Bioactive Coating for High Yield and Stable Neural Recording
Investigator
Xinyan Tracy Cui
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
The ability to monitor activity of ensembles of neurons at single-cell resolution, chronically, over long time
periods is greatly desired by neuroscientists. A variety of multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) have been developed
for in vivo studies.
Title
Optimization and dissemination of non-linear Acousto-Optic Lens two-photon microscopy for high speed multiscale 3D imaging
Investigator
Jessica A Cardin, Jeffrey S Diamond, Darcy S Peterka, Robin Angus Silver
Institute
university college london
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
To understand brain function, it is essential to identify how information is represented in neuronal population
activity and how it is transformed by individual neurons as it flows through microcircuits.
Title
Opto-Crown: Transparent skulls with embedded optics for cortex-wide cellular resolution imaging in freely moving mice
Investigator
Edward S. Boyden, Suhasa B Kodandaramaiah, John L Sherwood
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The activity patterns of millions of neurons organized in circuits distributed across multiple brain regions
mediate our interaction with the outside world.
Title
Pediatric Deep Brain Stimulation: Neuroethics and Decision Making
Investigator
Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz, Eric A. Storch
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS systems are currently used in children with dystonia,
epilepsy, and Tourette Syndrome, and its use is expanding to other neuropsychiatric conditions.
Title
Proprioceptive Coding of Jaw Movement during Orofacial Behavior
Investigator
William Paul Olson
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Integration of sensory information with motor commands allows movement to be adaptable. For example,
many survival-critical orofacial behaviors (chewing, drinking, breathing, etc.) involve updating movement
trajectories based on interaction with objects (e.g.
Title
Quantifying causality for neuroscience
Investigator
Konrad P. Kording
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract:
Causality is central to neuroscience. For example, we might ask about the causal effect of a neuron on another
neuron, or its influence on perception, action, or cognition. Moreover, any medical approaches aim at
producing a causal effect – effecting improvements for patients.
Title
Rapid and Agile Multi-Photon Optical Imaging Over Large Neural Volumes
Investigator
Mark A Foster
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/ Abstract
Multi-photon, depth-sectioning microscopes are of paramount importance in capturing neural activity with cellular
resolution.
Title
Rapid Evaluation of Neuronal Activity in the Intact Whole-Brain at Single Cell Resolution
Investigator
Damian G. Wheeler
Institute
translucence biosystems, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
New imaging tools are needed for brain-wide visualization of the neural activity underlying defined
behaviors. Live imaging techniques such as fMRI and MEG measure activity across the brain, but
these methods cannot resolve single cell activity.
Title
Rapid, single-cell level molecular phenotyping of intact brains via active immunohistochemistry
Investigator
Adam C Hall, Frank He, Jeffrey Stirman
Institute
lifecanvas technologies, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract. Cell-level analysis and a growing appreciation of cell-type diversity have transformed our
understanding of the brain.
Title
Re-engineering Rabies Virus
Investigator
Ian R Wickersham
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Every part of the brain is composed of dense tangles of heavily-interconnected neurons of many different types,
each playing completely different roles in the circuitry.
Title
Relating functional MRI to neuronal activity: accounting for effects of microarchitecture
Investigator
Anna I Blazejewska
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The central goal of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand the structure and function of human brain circuits.