Non-invasive neuromodulation, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is emerging as an
important therapeutic tool with documented effects on brain circuitry, yet little is understood about how it
changes cognition.
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 #
TitleIncreased thalamocortical connectivity in tdcs-potentiated generalization of cognitive training
Investigator
Kelvin O. Lim, Angus W Macdonald
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleInforming Choice for Neurotechnological Innovation in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
Investigator
Judy Illes, Patrick Mcdonald
Institute
university of british columbia
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
More than 500,000 children in the USA and Canada suffer from epilepsy today. Unmanaged, epilepsy can
result in cognitive decline, social isolation and poor quality of life, and has substantial economic impact on
families and society.
TitleInvestigating the hypocretin to VTA circuit in memory consolidation during sleep
Investigator
Jeremy Borniger
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Chronic sleep disturbance affects 10-20% of the population in the developed world, representing a substantial public
health problem. Given the ubiquitous nature of sleep across the animal kingdom, intense investigation is underway into
the biological functions of sleep.
TitleInvestigating the neurocircuitry of sleep duration regulation
Investigator
Ying-Hui Fu
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Sleep is essential for the maintenance of our cognition and neurological functions, and both quality and
quantity of sleep are critical. We likely have known this for the entire human history. Yet, we remain
astonishingly ignorant on how the quality and quantity of sleep are regulated.
TitleIs the Treatment Perceived to be Worse than the Disease?: Ethical Concerns and Attitudes towards Psychiatric Electroceutical Interventions
Investigator
Laura Yenisa Cabrera Trujillo
Institute
michigan state university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
7. PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Mental health disorders cause immense personal suffering and represent a significant societal burden.
TitleLarge-scale recording of population activity during social cognition in freely moving non-human primates
Investigator
Behnaam Aazhang, Valentin Dragoi, Anthony A Wright
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Social interactions, a ubiquitous aspect of our everyday life, are critical to the health and survival of the species,
but little is known about their underlying neural computations.
TitleLightweight, Compact, Low-Cryogen, Head-Only 7T MRI for High Spatial Resolution Brain Imaging
Investigator
Thomas Foo, Yunhong Shu, Duan Xu
Institute
general electric global research ctr
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
An innovative head-only 7T MRI system that delivers spatial resolution that is difficult to achieve with today's
whole-body 7T systems, and has the footprint and weight of a whole-body 3T scanner is proposed.
TitleLinking Plasticity of Hippocampal Representation across the Single Neuron and Circuit Levels
Investigator
Jayeeta Basu, Claudia Clopath
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Functional interactions between the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus are critical for spatial navigation
and episodic memories related to people, places, objects and events.
TitleMagnetic camera based on optical magnetometer for neuroscience research
Investigator
Orang Alem
Institute
fieldline, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
During Phase I, we will test the feasibility of developing a magnetographic camera technology as a new tool in
neuroscience to facilitate the detailed analysis of electrical currents in diverse neuronal circuits.
TitleMapping neurotransmitter receptors onto the connectome
Investigator
S. Lawrence Zipursky
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
To interpret the detailed ultrastructural information of the connectomes in Drosophila and other species, it will
be necessary to know the physiological functions of synapses between specific cell types.
TitleMapping of spatiotemporal code features to neural and perceptual spaces
Investigator
Stefano Vt Panzeri, Dmitry Rinberg
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Two of the most fundamental questions of sensory neuroscience are: 1) how is stimulus information
represented by the activity of populations of neurons at different levels of information processing?
TitleModel behavior in zebrafish: characterization of the startle response
Investigator
Joy Hart Meserve
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Although behavioral deficits are common in neurological disorders, the genetic pathways and neural
circuits underlying behavior are largely unknown.
TitleMulti-channel MR-compatible flexible microelectrode for recording and stimulation
Investigator
Robert Kyle Franklin, Yen-Yu Ian Shih
Institute
blackrock microsystems
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become one of the leading research tools to study brain function and is playing a pivotal role in several large-scale brain mapping projects worldwide.
TitleMultiplex imaging of neuronal activity and signaling dynamics underlying learning in discrete amygdala circuits of behaving mice.
Investigator
Bo Li, Tianyi Mao, Haining Zhong
Institute
oregon health & science university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The amygdala plays a central role in diverse learned behaviors. By integrating the sensory information with
stress, punishment, and reward signals, the circuitry within the amygdala is thought to be modified during
learning to mediate specific behavioral outcomes.
TitleNetwork Control and Functional Context: Mechanisms for TMS Response
Investigator
Danielle Smith Bassett, Desmond Oathes, Theodore Satterthwaite
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Despite the increasing use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in both research and clinical practice,
the field nonetheless lacks a theoretical framework to predict the impact of TMS on circuits.
TitleNeural circuit mechanisms underlying hierarchical visual processing in Drosophila
Investigator
Maxwell Holte Turner
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
Understanding how neural circuits give rise to sensory computation and, ultimately, perception, requires
connecting biological features of neural circuits to abstract models of neural computation.
TitleNeural circuits for spatial navigation
Investigator
Gaby Maimon
Institute
rockefeller university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
Our brain provides us with a sense of where we are in space.
TitleNeural circuits underlying thirst and satiety regulation
Investigator
Yuki Oka
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A forebrain structure, lamina terminalis (LT), plays a key role in both sensing internal water balance and
regulating thirst through its downstream neural circuits.
TitleNeural Implant Insertion System using Ultrasonic Vibration to Reduce Tissue Dimpling and Improve Insertion Precision of Floating Arrays in the Neocortex
Investigator
Maureen L. Mulvihill
Institute
actuated medical, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This Phase I SBIR develops and tests a system for vibrating neural implant floating arrays during insertion to
reduce insertion force, dimpling, tissue damage, and bleeding. The approach will allow precise insertion of
electrode shanks into shallow cortical layers.
TitleNeural mechanisms of active avoidance behavior
Investigator
Manuel A Castro-Alamancos
Institute
drexel university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
Enormous progress has been made about the neural substrates of Pavlovian fear conditioning.