Funded Awards

PROJECT SUMMARY The world around us has a statistical structure that we can use to improve our choices. Learning the underlying structure by identifying key features, such as the rate of change, is useful for adapting and optimizing our decision-making strategies.

The ability to measure and manipulate local brain circuit activity in living, behaving animals is essential to understanding the complexities of brain function and dysfunction.

SUMMARY Mapping individual on channelrhodopsins types inhibitory transporting as presynaptic objective temporally propose gated whose the function of neural circuits in the brain crucially relies on the ability to both activate and silence circuit components to subsequently assess their impact on

Abstract In recent years, the number of neurons that we can record simultaneously has seen an exponential increase, presenting a daunting challenge: how do we analyze these complex and high-dimensional datasets to gain insight into how neural circuits perform computation?

Project Summary To determine the anatomical basis of complex neural behavior, it is critical to have the ability to trace more than one circuit simultaneously in the same animal.

Despite widespread clinical use, the theoretical framework by which to understand safety of electrical stimulation through implanted electrodes is surprisingly limited.

Abstract Currently, the brain-computer interface (BCI) field has demonstrated two distinct device strategies - macroelectrodes (e.g., surface grids and depth) versus microelectrode arrays, and some are even pushing the field to smaller, higher density arrays hoping to address the general signal d

HNN U24 DISSEMINATION PROJECT SUMMARY The Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN) neural modeling tool was developed with BRAIN Initiative funding (R01EB022889: 09/2016–06/2020) to meet the Initiative’s goal to “develop innovative technologies to understand brain circuits and ensembles of circuits th

Project Summary Noninvasive high precision neuromodulation technologies are crucial for probing mechanisms of neural circuits and enabling the non-pharmacological treatment of brain disorders.

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Because neurons integrate and process information via modulation of their membrane potential, the ability to monitor voltage is critical to understanding how single and groups of neurons compute.

Project Summary Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior that controls social hierarchies and protects valuable resources like mates, food, and territory. In most cases, aggression is a necessary, adaptive component of social behavior.

In recent years, the NIH has awarded over $850M annually to the numerous research institutions and hospitals within the Texas Medical Center (TMC; Houston, TX), producing ever-increasing numbers of biomedical discov- eries.

Whole-brain mapping at the cellular and subcellular levels is crucial to systematically understand brain functions and disorders.

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Neuropeptide modulation of neuronal circuits is strongly linked to many crucial behaviors such as exploration, stress, memory formation, learning, and many pathophysiological conditions.

SUMMARY The brain is composed of thousands of highly specialized cell types that form very specific synaptic connections with each other. Together, these connections form neural circuits that are the structural basis of brain function.

ABSTRACT Understanding the function of neural circuits requires thorough investigation of two circuit elements: cell types and connectivity.

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Humans have highly advanced cognitive abilities and motor skills, characteristics which are reflected in the enlarged size and cell diversity of our central nervous system (CNS).

TITLE: IDENTIFYING THE NEURAL MECHANISMS OF GOAL-DIRECTED DECISION-MAKING IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE USING CLOSED-LOOP DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION PROJECT SUMMARY People with Parkinson’s disease commonly suffer from non-motor symptoms, including motivation deficits, that impact quality of life more than c

Project Summary The goal of this work is to achieve high-speed optical fluorescence imaging of 3D brain volume in moving, behaving mice, using miniature scanning mirrors in an implantable, fiber-coupled microscope.

PROJECT SUMMARY As we get older, we learn to modulate our behaviors to optimize reward outcomes. These adaptive choices are orchestrated by current sensory conditions, internal cognitive states, and future expectations.