PROJECT SUMMARY
The execution of learned sequential motor behaviors, like those involved in playing a well learned tune
on the piano, are thought to be supported by precise sequences of neuronal activity in the brain.
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 #
TitleAll-Optical Methods for Studying Sequential Motor Behaviors
Investigator
Todd F Roberts
Institute
ut southwestern medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleAn optical-genetic toolbox for reading and writing neural population codes in functional maps
Investigator
Wilson S Geisler, Eyal J Seidemann, Boris V Zemelman
Institute
university of texas at austin
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop an optical-genetic toolbox for reading and writing neural
population codes in functional maps of awake, higher mammals.
TitleAsynchronous distributed multielectrode neuromodulation for epilepsy
Investigator
Annaelle Devergnas, Robert E Gross, Claire-Anne N Gutekunst, Babak Mahmoudi
Institute
emory university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Epilepsy, occurring in 1 percent of the world’s population, is associated with disability, injury,
cognitive and neurological dysfunction, depression, loss of productivity, socioeconomic decline
and even death.
TitleBayesian estimation of network connectivity and motifs
Investigator
Dario L Ringach
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The overarching goal of this proposal is to learn how large groups of neurons interact in a network to perform
computations that go beyond the individual ability of each cell.
TitleBeyond Diagnostic Classification of Autism: Neuroanatomical, Functional, and Behavioral Phenotypes
Investigator
Preston Thomas Fletcher
Institute
university of utah
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by repetitive and stereotyped be-
havior and difficulties in communication and social interaction.
TitleBioLuminescent OptoGenetics (BL-OG): A Novel and Versatile Strategy for Neuromodulation
Investigator
Ute H Hochgeschwender, Christopher I Moore, Nathan Christopher Shaner
Institute
central michigan university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
New tools to selectively regulate neurons have revolutionized causal experimentation. Optogenetics provides
an array of elements for specific biophysical control, while designer chemogenetic receptors provide a
minimally invasive method to control circuits in vivo by peripheral injection.
TitleBiophysical Design Strategies for Next-Generation Maquette-based Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators (GEVIs)
Investigator
Brian Y Chow, Bohdana Discher
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
A long-standing goal in neuroscience is to unravel complex behavior of healthy and
diseased brain by analyzing the structure and dynamics of neural circuitry with single
action potential resolution.
TitleBRAIN Initiative: Theories, Models and Methods for Analysis of Complex Data from the Brain
Investigator
Moo K Chung
Institute
university of wisconsin-madison
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The twin study design in brain imaging offers a very effective way of determining heritability of the human
brain. The difference in variability between monozygotic (MZ) and same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins can be used
in determining heritability.
TitleChemogenetic Dissection of Neuronal and Astrocytic Compartment of the BOLD Signal
Investigator
Yen-Yu Ian Shih
Institute
univ of north carolina chapel hill
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) is widely
used in to study human brain function; however the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the BOLD
signal remain poorly understood.
TitleClinical Testing of an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis System
Investigator
Philip R Troyk
Institute
illinois institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The proposed work to clinically test an intracortical visual prosthesis under an FDA-approved Early
Feasibility Study addresses both health and quality-of-life issues because, without some compensatory strategy
for vision loss, over two thirds of individuals with blindness are not gainfull
TitleClosed loop deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease
Investigator
Philip Andrew Starr
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has a major role in the management of movement disorders, and is under
investigation for the treatment of disorders of mood and memory.
TitleClosing the Loop on Tremor: A Responsive Deep Brain Stimulator for the Treatment of Essential Tremor
Investigator
Kelly D Foote, Aysegul Gunduz
Institute
university of florida
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Essential tremor (ET) is an incurable, degenerative brain disorder that results in increasingly debilitating tremor, and
afflicts an estimated 7 million people in the US (2.2% of the population). While the economic impact of ET is
indeterminate, it is surely quite substantial.
TitleCombined Cortical and Subcortical Recording and Stimulation as a Circuit-Oriented Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Investigator
Darin D Dougherty, Alik S Widge
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
This project is a pilot clinical trial of a new brain stimulation treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD
is a mental illness that affects 4-7 million people in the US. Of those, 50-70% still have substantial symptoms
after being treated with medication or talk therapy.
TitleCompressive Light Field microscopy for optogenetic neural activity tracking
Investigator
Laura Waller
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY: Understanding the mechanisms by which the living brain derives perception, cognition and behavior
requires the ability to record and control electrical activity in many neurons simultaneously.
TitleComputational Modeling of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Striatum
Investigator
Darin D Dougherty, Alik S Widge
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This project will transfer a computational modeling technology, "StimVision", from the McIntyre Lab at
Case Western Reserve University to the deep brain stimulation (DBS) group at Massachusetts General
Hospital (MGH).
TitleConcurrent multiphoton microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (COMPMRI)
Investigator
Yi Wang, Chris Xu
Institute
cornell university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose a concurrent multiphoton magnetic resonance imaging (COMPMRI) system for mouse imaging, in
response to RFA-EY-16-001, BRAIN Initiative: New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Large-Scale
Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21).
TitleDeep brain photoacoustic tomography at single-neuron resolution using arrays of photonic emitters and high-frequency ultrasound transducers
Investigator
Michael L Roukes, Kenneth L Shepard, Lihong Wang
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The objective of the proposed three-year research project is to develop high-speed, high-spatial-
resolution, deep-penetration photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) for real-time imaging of
neuro-activities in mouse brains in vivo.
TitleDeep cerebellar electrical stimulation for post-stroke motor recovery
Investigator
Kenneth B Baker, Andre Guelman Machado
Institute
cleveland clinic lerner com-cwru
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Stroke is a disease of epidemiological proportions in the industrialized world and a leading cause of long-term
disabilities. One third of stroke patients maintain long-term motor deficits severe enough to be disabling,
despite rehabilitative efforts.
TitleDefining Neuronal Circuits and Cellular Processes Underlying Resting fMRI Signals
Investigator
Michael Peter Milham, Charles E Schroeder
Institute
nathan s. kline institute for psych res
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Intrinsic ‘functional connectivity’ (iFC), a measure of correlation between spontaneous fluctuations in the blood
oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal, reliably distinguish networks of cortical and subcortical areas during
both rest and active task performance.
TitleDeveloping a noninvasive method to manipulate specific cell types within the mammalian brain
Investigator
Sreekanth H. Chalasani
Institute
salk institute for biological studies
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
A central challenge in neuroscience is to develop methods to manipulate specific cell types within the
mammalian brain. Recent developments in optogenetics have revolutionized our ability to control the activity of
both neurons and non-neuronal cells.