Decision making is a fundamental cognitive process, and many decisions are based on gradually accumulated evidence. Thus, it is critical to understand the mechanistic basis underlying this accumulation process.
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
Models for accumulation of evidence through sequences in a navigation-based, decision-making task
Investigator
Lindsey Shoemaker Brown
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Title
Multisensory integration and self-motion perception in primate vestibular cortex
Investigator
Alejandra Gomez
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary In vertebrate animals, the vestibular system (primarily known as the “balance system” of the brain) interprets head-movement and orientation signals to provide organisms with a sense of self-motion.
Title
Nanoparticle Coated Microelectrode Arrays for Electrochemically Controlled Gene Editing at the Electrode Site
Investigator
Nathaniel P Williams
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) have great potential for therapeutic use in direct brain-computer interface (BCI) control of robotic prostheses to improve the lives of patients suffering from debilitating conditions related to loss of limbs or limb function.
Title
Neural basis of collective behavior during environmental stress
Investigator
Tara Raam
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary Social interactions are critical to the physical and emotional health of a wide variety of species.
Title
Neuronal and Network Mechanisms of Electrocortical Stimulation
Investigator
Marc W. Slutzky
Institute
northwestern university at chicago
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Electrocortical stimulation (ECS) has been used for functional mapping for many decades to identify brain areas that are “critical” for speech and language (i.e., that impair function when stimulated) prior to epilepsy or tumor surgery.
Title
NexGen 7T MRI scanner for mesoscale brain imaging: Integration and Dissemination
Investigator
Alexander Beckett, David Alan Feinberg, An T Vu
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY The "NexGen" 7 Tesla MRI scanner at UC Berkeley is a unique resource that we wish to make available for neuroscience collaborations across the globe.
Title
Next generation axonal quantification and classification using AI
Investigator
Jacob R Glaser
Institute
microbrightfield, llc
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This Phase II project describes the commercial development of HyperAxon™, highly innovative software for performing automated segmentation, tracing, reconstruction and quantitative analysis of all axonal fibers (with and without signs of acute axonal injury) visible in two- and three-dimensional
Title
O-GlcNac Modulation of GABAergic Transmission
Investigator
Shekinah Phillips
Institute
university of alabama at birmingham
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Changes in the strength of GABAergic transmission is heavily influenced by posttranslational modifications and allosteric modulators like benzodiazepines and neurosteroids.
Title
OpenNeuro: An open archive for analysis and sharing of BRAIN Initiative data
Investigator
Russell A Poldrack
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract The BRAIN Initiative is supporting a broad portfolio of neuroscience research aimed at revolutionizing our understanding of the brain.
Title
Portable Intraoperative MRI for Neurosurgery
Investigator
Hung-Yu Lin
Institute
neuro42, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the gold-standard method for the detection and diagnosis of brain disease and surgical planning.
Title
Post-trial Access, Clinical Care, Psychosocial Support, and Scientific Progress in Experimental Deep Brain Stimulation Research
Investigator
Joseph J. Fins, Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary Public and private research funders have heavily invested in the application of implantable neurotechnologies to improve the management of treatment-resistant conditions and loss of function (e.g., deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems for recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI
Title
Postnatal experience shapes gene expression and connectivity development in the cortex
Investigator
Alexander Nevue
Institute
oregon health & science university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY Postnatal sensory experience has a profound effect on the maturation, composition, and connectivity of cortical cell types, but systematic analyses of these changes have not yet been feasible.
Title
Probing form and function of memory representations in the hippocampus of memory expert birds
Investigator
Emily Lambert Mackevicius
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract Mental disorders that affect the hippocampus disrupt people’s ability to form one-shot memories. My goal is to lead an independent lab, linking biological properties of hippocampal neurons to the ability to perform memory- guided cognitive behaviors.
Title
Processing of visual information by spatial memory circuits in the avian brain
Investigator
Hannah L Payne
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT. Research Project: Spatial memory – memory of where an event happened or an object was located – depends on the hippocampus in a wide range of vertebrate species, including mammals and birds. In humans, most spatial memories are formed through visual experience.
Title
Responsive Neurostimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression
Investigator
Andrew D Krystal
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY This UH3 application seeks to address the major public health burden of treatment-resistant major depression (trMDD) by developing a novel form of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).
Title
Role of cortical connections to higher-order thalamic nuclei in visual decision-making
Investigator
Ariana R Andrei
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY To guide decisions, visual information must flow from primary visual cortex (V1) to prefrontal cortex (PFC), via multiple, parallel cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamo-cortical connections.
Title
Role of multi-regional neuronal reactivations in reward-based memories
Investigator
Celine Drieu
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of this project is to provide the building blocks for an independent research program focused on the neural basis of reward-based memory across distributed brain networks.
Title
Scientific and Public Outreach of Cell Type Taxonomies (SPOCTT) Initiative
Investigator
Kaitlyn Casimo, Jeremy A Miller
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary Single cell transcriptomics has transformed the field of brain cell type classification, allowing simultaneous measurement of enough molecular features from enough cells to categorize neurons quantitively and with high conservation across brain areas and species.
Title
Sex, Physiological State, and Genetic Background Dependent Molecular Characterization of CircuitsGoverning Parental Behavior
Investigator
Brandon Logeman
Institute
harvard university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Parental care is essential for offspring well-being and survival yet requires a significant invest from adults without immediate benefit, suggesting the existence of hard-wired mechanisms governing its control.
Title
Systematic characterization of spinal cord stimulation effects on dorsal horn populations
Investigator
Andrei D Sdrulla
Institute
oregon health & science university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
There is a substantial need to understand the fundamental biological mechanisms of neuromodulation therapies in order to improve clinical delivery and outcomes (RFA-NS-20-006).