Project Summary/Abstract
The overarching objective of this proposal is to develop a robust approach to map the brain's connections
quickly, accurately, and cost-effectively.
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 #
TitleHigh-throughput approaches to local and long-range synaptic connectivity
Investigator
Edward S. Boyden, Anthony M Zador
Institute
cold spring harbor laboratory
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleHighly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging Research: Confronting Ethics Challenges in Field Research with New Populations
Investigator
Frances Patricia Lawrenz, Francis X Shen, Susan M. Wolf
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
This 4-year Neuroethics R01 based at the University of Minnesota (UMN) will convene a national
Working Group of top neuroethics, neurolaw, and neuroscience experts to conduct empirical research and
generate evidence-based consensus recommendations for the ethical conduct
TitleIntegrative labeling, imaging, and reconstruction tools for high-throughput inhibitory microconnectivity analysis in the mouse brain
Investigator
Dawen Cai, Yan Yan
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Neural circuits composed of interconnected neurons with distinct properties lay the physical foundation
of any brain function. Identifying connections between individual neurons is central to understand how
information is processed and propagated in the brain.
TitleLarge-field-of-view high-throughput two-photon endoscope to image neuronal activity
Investigator
Weijian Yang
Institute
university of california at davis
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Large-field-of-view high-throughput two-photon endoscope to image neuronal activity
Development of miniaturized optical endoscopes have enabled visualization and recording of neural activity
in freely-behaving animals.
TitleLinking molecular and anatomical features of brain cell identity through computational data integration
Investigator
Joshua Welch
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Linking molecular and anatomical features of brain cell identity through computational data integration
Abstract
The brain contains diverse cell types that vary widely in characteristic properties and function in complex,
interconnected circuits.
TitleMetastable dynamics in cortical circuits
Investigator
Braden Brinkman, Alfredo Fontanini, Giancarlo La Camera, Arianna Maffei, Il Memming Park, Jin Wang
Institute
state university new york stony brook
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Cortical circuits generate dynamic patterns of activity. One of the great challenges of modern neuroscience is to
determine the circuit architectures that generate such dynamics patterns, and understand their genesis and functional
significance.
TitleMetasurface-Dressed Nanophotonic Neural Interfaces for Multipoint Concurrent Optogenetic Modulation and Calcium Mapping
Investigator
Xingjie Ni
Institute
pennsylvania state university, the
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Metasurface-Dressed Nanophotonic Neural Interfaces for Multipoint Concurrent Optogenetic
Modulation and Calcium Mapping
Large-scale recording of neural activity while manipulating arbitrary neurons in freely behaving animals are
important for answering many key questions in neuroscience.
TitleModeling developmental gradients and supportive tissue signaling networks using iPSC-derived forebrain organoids embedded in fluidic hydrogels
Investigator
Leon Marcel Bellan, Vivian Gama
Institute
vanderbilt university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding of many aspects of the human brain is currently limited due to the lack of appropriate model
systems that recapitulate the heterogenous nature of the human brain and the ethical and practical limitations
of working with human brain tissue from patients.
TitleModeling the structure-function relation in a reconstructed cortical tissue
Investigator
Anton Arkhipov, Stefan Mihalas
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
How is connectivity between neurons related to patterns of activity exhibited by these neurons in vivo? This
question of structure-function relations in brain circuits is of fundamental importance.
TitleMolecular Multi-Species Approach for Trans-Synaptic Labeling of Neural Circuits
Investigator
Gilad Barnea, Marnie E Halpern, Jennifer Mengbo Li, Drew Robson
Institute
dartmouth college
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
It is estimated that the human brain contains an overwhelming 1015 synapses, structures essential for the normal
functioning of neural circuits.
TitleMPS-TMS: Modular Pulse Synthesizer for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Fully Adjustable Pulse Shape and SequenceTBD
Investigator
Angel V Peterchev
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
We will develop a novel technology for noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the human brain.
TMS is a standard tool in experimental brain science and is FDA cleared for treatment of depression, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, and migraine as well as pre-sur
TitleMultimodal study of infra-slow propagating brain activity
Investigator
Xiao Liu
Institute
pennsylvania state university, the
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The highly-organized intrinsic brain activity, as measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
(rsfMRI), is being widely used to measure functional brain connectivity in both healthy subjects and patient
groups, despite the underlying neural mechanisms remain large
TitleNeural circuit computations for visual motion during natural primate behaviors
Investigator
Lawrence Kevin Cormack, Gert Cauwenberghs, Mary M Hayhoe, Alexander C Huk, Cory T Miller, Cristopher M Niell
Institute
university of texas at austin
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Our current understanding of primate motion perception is often lauded as one of the great achievements of
computational systems neuroscience.
TitleNeural Electrodes with Enhanced Charge Injection and Reduced Interfacial Impedance Using Graphenated Carbon Nanotubes Coated With Atomic Layer-Deposited Platinum Nanoparticles
Investigator
Charles Bernard Parker
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The objective of this project is to evaluate graphenated carbon nanotubes (gCNTs) as lower impedance,
smaller electrodes for neurostimulation, using deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a test case, with the long-term
goal of developing a new type of neural electrode with lower impedance and smaller size
TitleNobrainer: A robust and validated neural network tool suite for imagers
Investigator
Satrajit Sujit Ghosh
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
There is an increasing need for efficient and robust software to process, integrate, and offer insight across the
diversity of population imaging efforts underway across the BRAIN Initiative and other projects.
TitleOpen-source software for multi-scale mapping of the human brain
Investigator
Bruce Fischl, Juan Eugenio Iglesias Gonzalez
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary (maximum 30 lines)
The BRAIN initiative seeks to develop and apply technologies in order to understand of how brain cells interact
in both time and space to give rise to brain function.
TitleOptical control of neuromodulatory GPCRs
Investigator
Ehud Isacoff, Dirk Hartwig Trauner
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
A major goal of neuroscience is to understand how neuromodulatory systems regulate core processes of brain
and behavior, from motor function and learning to reward, aversion, attention, and sleep.
TitleOptogenetic manipulation of cortical feedback to examine network function and behavior
Investigator
Valentin Dragoi
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
The brain transforms raw sensory input into perception and cognition, and this transformation relies on
computations performed across neuronal circuits. Fortunately, the anatomy of cortical microcircuits in non-
human primate models is much better understood today than decades ago.
TitlePhotoactivatable systems for controlling transcription and ablating synapses.
Investigator
Donald B Arnold
Institute
university of southern california
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The advent of optogenetic tools for controlling neuronal function with light has led to dramatic
advances in the understanding of the anatomy and function of neural circuits.
TitleRelating structure and function in synapse-level wiring diagrams
Investigator
Ashok Litwin-Kumar
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary:
Modern electron-microscopy (EM) imaging and analysis methods now permit the comprehensive reconstruction
of all neurons and synapses in large volumes of brain tissue or the entire brains of individual organisms. However,
relating this structure to function is difficult.
Last reviewed on July 02, 2025