Project Summary
Intracranial electrical brain stimulation (EBS) remains a central method in the clinic as well as for research in
several animal model systems. However, little is actually known about the ensembles of neurons activated by
typical and clinical intracranial EBS protocols.
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 #
TitleInterrogating the propagation of electrical stimulation across scales in vivo
Investigator
Daniel James Denman
Institute
university of colorado denver
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleIntersectional transgenic targeting of discrete neuronal and glial subtypes
Investigator
Jeffrey Mumm
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Tools for exclusively targeting neuronal and glial subtypes are needed to advance our understanding of the brain.
“Intersectional” systems improve targeting by restricting “reporter/effector” transgenes to a subdomain defined
by the expression overlap between two activating factors.
TitleInvestigating Functional Ependymal Cell Heterogeneity in the Ventricular System
Investigator
Stephanie Redmond
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract:
Glial cells collectively outnumber neurons in the vertebrate brain, but mechanistic understanding of their
molecular subtypes and functions is lacking.
TitleiSonogenetics for incisionless cell-type-specific neuromodulation of non-human primate brains
Investigator
Hong Chen, Ilya E. Monosov
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Critical advances in the treatment of human brain disorders are hindered by our inability to specifically target
dysfunctional circuitry in a safe and noninvasive manner.
TitleLinking Fast Timescale Neuron-Astrocyte Communication to Neural Circuit Function and Behavior
Investigator
Axel Nimmerjahn
Institute
salk institute for biological studies
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary: Project 2 - Linking Fast Timescale Neuron-Astrocyte Communication to Neural
Circuit Function and Behavior
A fundamental yet unresolved question in neuroscience is how non-neuronal cells communicate with the
surrounding neurons, influence their function, and potentially affect animal
TitleLinking function, structure, and molecular identity of lateral habenula neurons
Investigator
Steven Shabel
Institute
ut southwestern medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT:
The lateral habenula (LHb) impacts motivated behavior through dense direct and indirect projections to midbrain
dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons.
TitleLong-range neuronal projections: circuit blueprint or stochastic targeting? Rigorous classification of brain-wide axonal reconstructions
Investigator
Giorgio A Ascoli
Institute
george mason university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT (PROJECT SUMMARY)
The classification of neurons in the mammalian brain has long been a focus of intensive investigation in
neuroscience.
TitleMap Manager: Longitudinal image analysis with online editing and sharing.
Investigator
Robert Harry Cudmore
Institute
university of california at davis
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The increasing availability and ease of use of confocal, two-photon, and light-sheet microscopes coupled with
rapid developments in fluorescent protein reporters have made 3D and functional imaging and its analysis a
central component of modern Neuroscience research.
TitleMapping Algorithmic State Space in the Human Brain
Investigator
Sameer Anil Sheth
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Humans have a remarkable ability to flexibly interact with the environment. A compelling demonstration of this
cognitive flexibility is our ability to respond correctly to novel contextual situations on the first attempt, without
prior rehearsal.
TitleMAPPING RETINOTECTAL CIRCUITS FOR VISUAL-EVOKED INNATE BEHAVIORS
Investigator
Xin Duan, Massimo Scanziani
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The precise assembly of neural circuits ensures accurate neurological function and behavior.
TitleMapping thalamo-striatal neuronal circuits underlying motivational drive
Investigator
Sofia Beas
Institute
national institute of mental health
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Motivational drive is an adaptive process that helps individuals overcome obstacles to obtain essential needs and hence ensure survival. Motivation is composed of two major components.
TitleMechanism and Modulation of the homeostatic setpoint for protein feeding
Investigator
Qili Liu
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
All animals share motivated behaviors to fulfill their basic needs for survival, including food, water,
sleep, and social interactions, etc. The homeostatic regulatory system energizes behaviors to defend a
target level for these needs (the homeostatic setpoint).
TitleMechanisms of basal forebrain control over sensory processing
Investigator
Elizabeth Hanson Moss
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
A key problem in neuroscience is understanding how internal and external information are integrated in the brain to produce
sensory experiences, cognition, and behavioral responses.
TitleMidbrain circuits for perceptual decision-making
Investigator
Martha E Bickford, Michele A Basso, Jianhua Cang, Alev Erisir, Per Benjamin Sederberg
Institute
university of virginia
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Perceptual decision-making is a fundamental cognitive ability that is vital to healthy, daily functioning and is
impaired in many diseases.
TitleMinimally Invasive Ultrasonic Brain-Machine Interface
Investigator
Richard A Andersen, Mikhail Shapiro, Mickael Tanter
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are one of the key motivating applications for the BRAIN Initiative’s drive to develop
innovative technologies for large-scale recording of neural activity, benefiting not only BMI, but many other neuroscience
studies.
TitleMolecular identity, cellular physiology, and in vivo functions of nucleus accumbens astrocytes
Investigator
Kay Elizabeth Linker
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
Astrocytes are pervasive throughout the CNS and are the most abundant non-neuronal cell type. They
are an essential component of neural circuits, and increasing evidence demonstrates they are specialized for
specific brain regions.
TitleMolecular recording to predict cell fate decisions and animal behavior
Investigator
Joseph D Dougherty, Robi D Mitra
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The brain is remarkably complex, and our understanding of this organ is still in its infancy. Many
fundamental questions about brain development and function remain.
TitlemRNA Alternative Splicing Regulatory Networks in the Specification of Cortical Interneuron Subtypes
Investigator
Melissa Mckenzie Campbell
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs is extensively employed by the nervous system to expand the transcriptomic
manifold.
TitleMulti-color optical voltage imaging of neural activity in behaving animals
Investigator
Mark J Schnitzer, Ganesh Vasan
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Groundbreaking work within the NIH BRAIN Initiative has revealed many new types of neurons and their
genetic signatures.
TitleMulti-feature, Multi-scale Atlas
Investigator
Paul S Katz
Institute
university of massachusetts amherst
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY / ABSTRACT – Project 1. Multi-feature, Multi-scale Atlas
Project 1 of the Berghia Brain Project is to create a multi-scale, multi-feature atlas of the Berghia brain and
peripheral neural plexus.