We propose a circuit-level principal underlying how brains acquire 'episodic' memories and reprocess
them into compact, efficient 'schemas': The attributes or 'contents' of experience are represented primarily in
the deeper layers of neocortex (NC), whereas the superficial layers are dedicated to en
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 #
Title
The laminar organization of 'index' versus 'attribute' coding in neocortex
Investigator
Bruce L Mcnaughton
Institute
university of california-irvine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Title
The origins of neuronal correlations in cerebral cortex
Investigator
David J Heeger, Jason Neil Maclean, John H.r. Maunsell
Institute
university of chicago
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Here, we propose to thoroughly characterize the origins of pairwise correlations in cortex using a synergistic mix
of experimental methodologies, behavior, and computation in mice and macaques.
Title
The representation and modulation of sensory information in the learning and memory center of the Drosophila brain
Investigator
Andrew M Davidson
Institute
univ of north carolina chapel hill
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The brain uses the combined physiology of many cells to transform incoming sensory signals into internal
representations.
Title
The role of astrocyte-neuron signaling in closing a critical period required for motor circuit structure, function, and behavior
Investigator
Sarah D Ackerman
Institute
university of oregon
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Significance: Neural circuit assembly requires activity-dependent refinement of circuit architecture (e.g.
plasticity) to produce stereotyped behavior.
Title
Topological bridges between circuits, models, and behavior
Investigator
Marlene Rochelle Cohen, Chengcheng Huang, Alessandro Rinaldo, Caroline Anne Runyan
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
The plight of the neuroscientist trying to understand the brain using linear analysis methods is akin to studying
the makeup of the ocean using the bits you find with a metal detector.
Title
Toward functional molecular neuroimaging using vasoactive probes in human subjects
Investigator
Alan Jasanoff
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose to develop a probe technology for monitoring human brain function with molecular precision;
in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other imaging modalities, the probes will provide a
combination of sensitivity and resolution that could permit unprecedented noninvasive stu
Title
Ultra-high Throughout Single Cell Multi-omic Analysis of Histone Modifications and Transcriptome in Mouse and Human Brains
Investigator
M Margarita Behrens, Bing Ren
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Histone modification carries rich epigenetic information that constitutes a mechanism of cellular memory.
Single cell analysis of histone modification in conjunction with transcriptome could help uncover this critical
layer of cellular memory and lead to better definition of cell types and states in
Title
Understanding the regulation of neuron cell number and arbor size
Investigator
Jennifer A Malin
Institute
new york university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
How the brain generates the correct number of neurons and how these neurons determine the size of their
arbors to innervate the receptor field is a critical question in neurobiology.
Title
Understanding the role of quantitative internal signals in behavioral flexibility
Investigator
Gaby Maimon
Institute
rockefeller university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
This grant focuses on how very recent experiences––over the past few seconds to minutes––allow brains to
update expectations about the world and then use these expectations to guide behavior.
Title
Use of advanced analytics to understand brain-behavior screen media activity relationships in ABCD data
Investigator
Marc N Potenza, Yihong Zhao
Institute
yale university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Growing up in a media-saturated world, the current generation of children and adolescents spend on average 6-
9 hours each day on screen media activities (SMAs). Therefore, SMA is a topic of considerable concern in the
USA and elsewhere.
Title
Using large scale electrophysiology to study the role of midbrain dopamine neurons underlying motivated behaviors
Investigator
Kurt M Fraser
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
A core feature of a number of psychiatric illnesses is the disordered estimation of the predictive relationship
between a given cue and an outcome. This failure to appraise and generate appropriate behavioral responses
is true for cues that both are rewarding and aversive.
Title
Waking up the nervous system: Molecular characterization of neuronal leader cells and their role in brain development
Investigator
Nicole Ann Aponte-Santiago
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Learning how spontaneous neuronal activity shapes embryonic brain development is critical for understanding
neurodevelopmental processes, with implications in neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders.
Title
"Building a robust organoid platform to study the developmental potential and physiology of human specific cortical cell types"
Investigator
Jia Liu, Sharad Ramanathan, David A Weitz
Institute
harvard university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The goal of this proposal is to develop robust in vitro human cell-derived microphysical systems which faithfully
represent key features of the developing human neocortex in vivo.
Title
4D Transcranial Acoustoelectric Imaging for High Resolution Functional Mapping of Neuronal Currents
Investigator
Russell S Witte
Institute
university of arizona
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The overarching goal of this project is to optimize, validate and implement a revolutionary and safe modality
for noninvasive functional imaging of neural currents deep in the human brain through the skull at
unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.
Title
A Community Framework for Data-driven Brain Transcriptomic Cell Type Definition, Ontology, and Nomenclature
Investigator
Michael Hawrylycz, Ed Lein, Christopher J Mungall, Helen Elizabeth Parkinson, Richard H Scheuermann
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary: A Data-driven Framework for Brain Transcriptomic Cell Type Definition, Ontology, and
Nomenclature
Defining the complete census of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types in the brain is a major priority for the NIH BRAIN
Initiative, since cellular complexity is a major barrier to under
Title
A high-resolution molecular and lineage atlas of the mouse brain using Slide-seq
Investigator
Fei Chen, Evan Z Macosko
Institute
broad institute, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The mouse brain is composed of thousands of highly specialized cell types, distributed across hundreds of
anatomical regions.
Title
A neuroethological model of sensorimotor processing in animal-animal interactions
Investigator
Joseph Parker
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Animals interact with members of their own or other species in the context of social and defensive
behaviors, predator-prey relationships and symbiose
Title
A novel approach to analyzing functional connectomics and combinatorial control in a tractable small-brain closed-loop system
Investigator
John H Byrne, Hillel J Chiel, Elizabeth C Cropper, Cynthia Anne Chestek, Avy Susswein, Peter John Thomas
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
Adaptive behaviors emerge from neuronal networks by dynamically regulating functional connectomes.
Title
A Portable PET Insert System for Simultaneous TOF-PET and MR Brain Imaging
Investigator
Chenming Chang, Craig S Levin
Institute
petcoil, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Medical imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography
(PET) have been widely used in studying the underlying mechanisms of mental illnesses and neurological
disorders such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and depression,
Title
Accelerating Dissemination of Implantable Neurotechnology for Clinical Research
Investigator
David Allenson Borton, Timothy Denison, Philip Andrew Starr, Gregory A Worrell
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
Invasive neurostimulation is an established technique in the therapy of movement disorders and epilepsy, and
shows promise for amelioration of psychiatric and cognitive disorders.