Project Summary / Abstract
Ascertaining the neural basis of behavior has been a cornerstone goal since the conception of neurobiology.
While activity recording and loss-of-function studies have shed light on brain regions involved and necessary for
the expression of certain behaviors, they are unabl
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 #
TitleInput-specific imaging and manipulation of synaptic plasticity underlying social memory
Investigator
Mary L Phillips
Institute
max planck florida corporation
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleIntegrated Biophysical and Neural Model of Electrical Stimulation Effects
Investigator
Maksim V Bazhenov, Eric Halgren
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Electrical stimulation is widely used to activate and/or disrupt neuronal activity.
TitleIntercellular TWEAK/Fn14 Cytokine Signaling in Sensory-Dependent Circuit Refinement
Investigator
Lucas M Cheadle
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
During postnatal brain development, newly assembled neural circuits are refined through the strengthening of a subset of synaptic connections and the concurrent elimination of others.
TitleInterneurons differentially regulate discrete pathways from ventral hippocampus
Investigator
Jennifer Donegan
Institute
university of texas hlth science center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Hippocampal microcircuits are comprised of excitatory pyramidal cells, which integrate information and innervate
downstream brain regions, and inhibitory interneurons, which function locally to regulate pyramidal cell activity
and synchronicity.
TitleInterrogating Biophysical Mechanisms of Magnetogenetic Cell Stimulation at Radio Frequencies
Investigator
Chunlei Liu
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Magnetogenetics is a recently proposed method for stimulating cells using electromagnetic fields. In one
approach, radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields are applied to stimulate membrane channel proteins such
as TRPV1 and TRPV4 that are attached to ferritins.
TitleInvestigating the molecular, cellular and circuit effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation
Investigator
Arnaud Y Falchier, Alexander Opitz, Andreas Vlachos
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method which can alter brain
activity in humans in a safe manner.
TitleInvestigating the response of CNS neurons to electric and magnetic stimulation
Investigator
Shelley Fried
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Our long-term goals are to better understand the response of neurons to artificial stimulation, and, to use this
knowledge to develop new and more effective strategies for stimulating non- or improperly-functioning neurons
of the CNS.
TitleLeveraging ethical dissension among capacity, beneficence and justice in clinical trials of neurotherapeutics in the severely disabled: lessons from schizophrenia
Investigator
Rachel A Davis, Judith Morse Gault, Elyn R. Saks
Institute
university of colorado denver
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Ethical concerns raised from both current and historically controversial psychosurgeries are driving disparities in
accessibility to emerging BRAIN Initiative technology for those with severe, disabling, chronic mental illness like
individuals with treatment-refractory schiz
TitleMapping cerebellar granule cell function with novel genetic and optical tools
Investigator
Gerard Joey Broussard
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Recent evidence from multiple laboratories in both human and animal models supports a role for the granule cell (GrC)
pathway of the cerebellum in representing a wide range of sensory, motor, and internal information.
TitleMapping the neuronal circuitry underlying indirect striatal to hypothalamicconnectivity and its role in feeding
Investigator
Miriam E Bocarsly
Institute
national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Food consumption is fundamental to species survival and understanding the neuronal circuitry underlying feeding behaviors is of the utmost importance. Amassing evidence supports the idea that control of caloric intake is complex and involves calculations of hedonic value, reward and motivation.
TitleMechanism underlying Nerve Conduction Block by High Frequency (kHz) Biphasic Stimulation
Investigator
Changfeng Tai
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Based on the gate-control theory of pain, traditional spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to treat chronic back/leg pain
utilizes 40-60 Hz stimulation that activates spinal dorsal columns to elicit paresthesia over a patient’s painful
region.
TitleMechanisms of Active Sensing in Drosophila
Investigator
Marie Suver
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The goal of this project is to study the cellular basis of active sensation. A crucial function of all nervous systems is to distinguish between sensory stimuli originating from the external world and that generated by our own movements.
TitleMechanisms underlying large-scale coordination of cortical activity during perceptual decisions
Investigator
Lucas Pinto
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
It has become increasingly clear that both spontaneous and trained behaviors engage activity throughout the cortex. However, at least in the case of perceptual decisions, task complexity critically modulates the underlying large- and mesoscale cortical dynamics.
TitleMotion Sequencing for All: pipelining, distribution and training to enable broad adoption of a next-generation platform for behavioral and neurobehavioral analysis
Investigator
Sandeep R Datta
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Understanding the function of the nervous system requires a sophisticated understanding of its main
output, behavior.
TitleNeural signatures of learning complex environments in the amygdala-prefrontal network
Investigator
David Barack
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The ability to learn and think about complex situations is central to a range of human cognitive
functions, including navigation, reasoning, and decision making.
TitleNeuromodulation approaches for restoring dexterous control following cortical stroke.
Investigator
Preeya Khanna
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Stroke-causing illness, disability, and early death is set to double worldwide within the next 15 years.
Despite physical therapy, about 50% of stroke survivors have impaired hand function, which strongly impacts
activities of daily living and independence; novel treatment methods a
TitleNext-generation high-resolution diffusion MRI resolving cortical columns and layers in vivo
Investigator
Allen W Song, Trong-Kha Truong
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
In response to the NIH RFA-EB-17-003 on “Proof of Concept Development of Early Stage Next Generation
Human Brain Imaging”, we propose a two-year plan to develop the much needed hardware and software
solutions for ultrahigh resolution diffusion MRI to delineate cortical columns and layers in
TitlePediatric Deep Brain Stimulation: Neuroethics and Decision Making
Investigator
Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz, Eric A. Storch
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS systems are currently used in children with dystonia,
epilepsy, and Tourette Syndrome, and its use is expanding to other neuropsychiatric conditions.
TitleProprioceptive Coding of Jaw Movement during Orofacial Behavior
Investigator
William Paul Olson
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Integration of sensory information with motor commands allows movement to be adaptable. For example,
many survival-critical orofacial behaviors (chewing, drinking, breathing, etc.) involve updating movement
trajectories based on interaction with objects (e.g.
TitleRelating functional MRI to neuronal activity: accounting for effects of microarchitecture
Investigator
Anna I Blazejewska
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The central goal of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand the structure and function of human brain circuits.
Last reviewed on July 02, 2025