Funded Awards

The initiation and maintenance of organized movement through the basal ganglia is strongly influenced by its feed-forward and feedback inhibitory architecture. The substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) contribute to the overall output of the basal ganglia.

Project Summary/Abstract Ethical concerns raised from both current and historically controversial psychosurgeries are driving disparities in accessibility to emerging BRAIN Initiative technology for those with severe, disabling, chronic mental illness like individuals with treatment-refractory schiz

Food consumption is fundamental to species survival and understanding the neuronal circuitry underlying feeding behaviors is of the utmost importance. Amassing evidence supports the idea that control of caloric intake is complex and involves calculations of hedonic value, reward and motivation.

Project Summary In this proposal a course of research is proposed to design and implement high-density multimodal (electrical and optical) neural probes on stainless steel for robust, reliable and large-scale recording from thousands of neurons in large animal (primate) brains.

This application, "Neuro-glio-vascular interactions in vivo probed with optical imaging", will address the broad challenge of the BRAIN Initiative (Innovative Neurotechnologies) and the targeted challenge (tools to target, identify and characterize non-neuronal cells in the brain).

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.

Project Summary Significance: Neuroscientists have set ambitious goals for electrophysiology and stimulation technology but these tools continue to lag behind.

Project Summary/Abstract: Proper function of precisely wired neural circuits depends on a close physical and functional relationship with an equally complex and overlapping vascular network.

Learning from feedback in the real w'orld is limited by constant fluctuations in reward outcomes associated with choosing certain options or actions.

Mental health diseases such as depression are a major burden on society and new treatment options are strongly needed. One strategic goal of NIMH is to develop novel therapies based on discoveries in neuroscience.

The first major goal of this work is to learn how certain brain regions (olfactory system, hippocampus, and cerebellum) learn very complex stimuli that employ a combinatorial code to identify stimuli as points in a high-dimensional space.

Different parts of the brain share and transmit Information through long-range connections that connect nerve cells in each part of the brain with nerve cells in other brain areas.

Human brainstem serves many plays critical roles in health and disease. Unfortunately, it has been vastly under-studied because of its physical inaccessibility in animal models, and its low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human studies.

Deep Neural Network Approaches for Closed- Loop Deep Brain Stimulation Using Cortical and Subcortical Sensing Principal Investigators: R. Mark Richardson, MD, PhD, Department ofNeurologicaJ Surgery and Robert S.

The striking spatial correlates of hippocampal place cells and grid cells have provided unique insights into how the brain constructs internal, cognitive representations of the environment and uses these representations to guide behavior.

There have been remarkable advances in imaging technology, used routinely and pervasively in many human studies, that non-invasively measures human brain structure and function.

The network of peripheral nerves offers extraordinary potential for modulating and/or monitoring the functioning of internal organs or the brain. The nervous system functions by generating patterns of neural activity.

Collaborating Pis and Consultant United States Pl: Anitha Pasupathy, Dept. of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, USA Co-Pl: Wyeth Bair, Dept. of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, USA Japan Pl: lsamu Motoyoshi, Dept.

Dendritic spines mediate essentially all excitatory connections and are thus critical elements in the brain but their function is still poorly understood. In particular, a key question is whether or not they are electrical compartments.

When we speak, listeners hear us and understand us we speak correctly. But we also hear ourselves, and this auditory feedback affects our ongoing speech: delaying it causes dysfluency; perturbing its pitch or formants induces compensation.