Funded Awards

What operations are performed by the mammalian central nervous systems to coordinate and conduct voluntary movement? Motor systems neuroscience seeks to understand these neural mechanisms.

Neuroimaging methods such as functional MRI and magneto- / electroencephalography (MEG/EEG) cannot directly reveal causal relationships between regional brain activity and behavior.

Motivation and Objectives Why are ion channels localized in subcellular dendritic compartments and is there a tight coupling of the observed localization with neuron function?

The underlying mechanisms of brain stimulation in humans are poorly understood, especially at the level of gene expression.

Abstract Optical recordings of activity are critical to probe neural systems because they provide high-resolution, non-invasive measurements, ranging from single neurons to entire populations in intact nervous systems, and are readily combined with genetic methods to provide cell type-specific reco

Project Summary/Abstract Candidate Goals and Mission Relevance: The applicant’s broad, long-term objective is to investigate how high- (circuit/behavioral) and low- (subcellular/molecular) level organizational principles of the brain cooperate to drive learning.

Project Summary/Abstract To learn novel actions through reinforcement, a fundamental mechanism of motor learning, the brain needs to causally link previously performed movements to their resulting outcomes.

Project Abstract Whether riding your bike down a narrow path or reaching for your favorite cookie in a small box, many of our daily actions require skilled and accurate movements. However, to achieve proficiency, these motor skills must first be learned through the process of motor learning.

PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT Advances in neurotechnologies are producing large and complex datasets at unprecedented rate.

This proposal will disseminate FlyWire, a Drosophila whole brain connectomics resource. We used advances in AI to segment all neurons from a whole brain EM volume called FAFB.

The goal of this project is to disseminate MAPseq and BARseq to the broader neuroscience community. These are novel methods developed in my laboratory based on high-throughput DNA sequencing for determining neuronal circuitry.

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT To survive, animals must learn appropriate associations between sensory cues and motor actions through a process of trial and error.

PROJECT SUMMARY Stress and addiction are intricately linked neural processes. Acute stress can serve as a stimulus for relapse to compulsive drug seeking following abstinence, and chronic stress can induce escalated drug intake to multiple classes of drugs.

PROJECT SUMMARY Understanding how information is processed in the mammalian neocortex has been a longstanding question in neuroscience. While the action potential is the fundamental bit of information, how these spikes encode representations and drive behavior remains unclear.

Project Summary How do distributed neural circuits drive purposeful movements from the complex musculoskeletal system?

PROJECT SUMMARY Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has transformed our understanding of human brain function and disease and is flourishing under unprecedented international funding, including dedicated support from the BRAIN Initiative.