Most current approaches to understanding the neural basis of cognitive processes are severely limited in
two respects. First, most commonly used methods do not have the temporal (e.g., fMRI) or spatial (e.g.,
MEG/ EEG) resolution to capture the relevant dynamics.
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 #
TitleA unified cognitive network model of language
Investigator
Nathan E Crone, Nitin Tandon
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleAdaptive DBS in Non-Motor Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Regulating Limbic Circuit Imbalance
Investigator
Wayne K Goodman
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
In patients with intractable Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), ventral striatum (VS) deep brain stimulation
(DBS) effectively reduces symptom severity in about 60% of cases.
TitleAsynchronous distributed multielectrode neuromodulation for epilepsy
Investigator
Annaelle Devergnas, Robert E Gross, Claire-Anne N Gutekunst, Babak Mahmoudi
Institute
emory university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Epilepsy, occurring in 1 percent of the world’s population, is associated with disability, injury,
cognitive and neurological dysfunction, depression, loss of productivity, socioeconomic decline
and even death.
TitleChemogenetic Dissection of Neuronal and Astrocytic Compartment of the BOLD Signal
Investigator
Yen-Yu Ian Shih
Institute
univ of north carolina chapel hill
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) is widely
used in to study human brain function; however the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the BOLD
signal remain poorly understood.
TitleClinical Testing of an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis System
Investigator
Philip R Troyk
Institute
illinois institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The proposed work to clinically test an intracortical visual prosthesis under an FDA-approved Early
Feasibility Study addresses both health and quality-of-life issues because, without some compensatory strategy
for vision loss, over two thirds of individuals with blindness are not gainfull
TitleClosed loop deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease
Investigator
Philip Andrew Starr
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has a major role in the management of movement disorders, and is under
investigation for the treatment of disorders of mood and memory.
TitleClosing the Loop on Tremor: A Responsive Deep Brain Stimulator for the Treatment of Essential Tremor
Investigator
Kelly D Foote, Aysegul Gunduz
Institute
university of florida
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Essential tremor (ET) is an incurable, degenerative brain disorder that results in increasingly debilitating tremor, and
afflicts an estimated 7 million people in the US (2.2% of the population). While the economic impact of ET is
indeterminate, it is surely quite substantial.
TitleCombined Cortical and Subcortical Recording and Stimulation as a Circuit-Oriented Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Investigator
Darin D Dougherty, Alik S Widge
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
This project is a pilot clinical trial of a new brain stimulation treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD
is a mental illness that affects 4-7 million people in the US. Of those, 50-70% still have substantial symptoms
after being treated with medication or talk therapy.
TitleDeep cerebellar electrical stimulation for post-stroke motor recovery
Investigator
Kenneth B Baker, Andre Guelman Machado
Institute
cleveland clinic lerner com-cwru
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Stroke is a disease of epidemiological proportions in the industrialized world and a leading cause of long-term
disabilities. One third of stroke patients maintain long-term motor deficits severe enough to be disabling,
despite rehabilitative efforts.
TitleDefining Neuronal Circuits and Cellular Processes Underlying Resting fMRI Signals
Investigator
Michael Peter Milham, Charles E Schroeder
Institute
nathan s. kline institute for psych res
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Intrinsic ‘functional connectivity’ (iFC), a measure of correlation between spontaneous fluctuations in the blood
oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal, reliably distinguish networks of cortical and subcortical areas during
both rest and active task performance.
TitleDevelopment and validation of empirical models of the neuronal population activity underlying non-invasive human brain measurements
Investigator
Orrin Devinsky, Rick M Dijkhuizen, Natalia Petridou, Nicolas Franciscus Ramsey, Jonathan A Winawer
Institute
university medical center utrecht
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
A major obstacle in the study of human brain function is that we currently have limited understanding of
how the measurements made by different instruments, such as fMRI and EEG, relate to one another and to the
underlying neuronal circuitry.
TitleDexterous BMIs for tetraplegic humans utilizing somatosensory cortex stimulation
Investigator
Richard A Andersen
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary/abstract
Reach-to-grasp and hand manipulation will be studied in tetraplegic humans with neural recordings from
multielectrode arrays (MEAs) and intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex.
TitleDose Dependent Response of Cerebellar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Investigator
Mark A Halko
Institute
beth israel deaconess medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an emerging technology for the treatment of neurological
and psychiatric illnesses.
TitleDynamic Neural Mechanisms of Audiovisual Speech Perception
Investigator
Charles E Schroeder
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT – (Title: Dynamic Neural Mechanisms of Audiovisual Speech Perception)
Natural speech perception is multisensory; when conversing with someone that we can see, our brains
combine visual (V) information from face, postural and hand gestures with auditory (A) information from the
voice.
TitleECT current amplitude and medial temporal lobe engagement
Investigator
Chris C Abbott
Institute
university of new mexico health scis ctr
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
1.
TitleEstablishing a dose response for ultrasound neuromodulation
Investigator
Charles F Caskey, Li Min Chen
Institute
vanderbilt university medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Ultrasound (US) neuromodulation has received increased attention in recent years due to its unique ability to
non-invasively activate and inhibit neurons.
TitleFoundations of MRI Corticography for mesoscale organization and neuronal circuitry
Investigator
David Alan Feinberg
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Functional MRI (fMRI) is performed at a macroscopic scale of 1 to 3 millimeters spatial resolution.
TitleFunctional Architecture of Speech Motor Cortex
Investigator
Edward Chang
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Speaking is one of the most complex actions that we perform, yet nearly all of us learn do it effortlessly.
TitleImaging the Neural Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Investigator
Gottfried Schlaug
Institute
beth israel deaconess medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Research investigating the use of noninvasive electrical stimulation (e.g., transcranial direct current
stimulation (tDCS)), for neurologic and psychiatric disorders has provided compelling evidence that such
stimulation can modulate behavior and cognition, and even facilitate recovery of function a
TitleImproving Human fMRI through Modeling and Imaging Microvascular Dynamics
Investigator
Jonathan Rizzo Polimeni
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
All fMRI signals have a vascular origin, and this has been believed to be a major limitation to precise
spatiotemporal localization of neuronal activation when using hemodynamic functional contrast such as BOLD.
However, significant recent discoveries made using powerful ult