SUMMARY
Animal behaviors are orchestrated by the sophisticated nervous system, which is
dynamically regulated by neuromodulators including lipids and neuropeptides.
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 #
TitleNovel fluorescent sensors for imaging neuromodulation
Investigator
Yang Dan, Jun Ding, Yulong Li, Dayu Lin
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleNovel tools for spatiotemporal modulation of astrocytes in neuronal circuits
Investigator
Mriganka Sur
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Astrocytes are a major class of non-neuronal cells in the brain whose crosstalk with neurons at the synaptic
and circuit levels remains poorly understood.
TitleOptimization and Delivery of Bioactive Coating for High Yield and Stable Neural Recording
Investigator
Xinyan Tracy Cui
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
The ability to monitor activity of ensembles of neurons at single-cell resolution, chronically, over long time
periods is greatly desired by neuroscientists. A variety of multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) have been developed
for in vivo studies.
TitleOptimization and dissemination of non-linear Acousto-Optic Lens two-photon microscopy for high speed multiscale 3D imaging
Investigator
Jessica A Cardin, Jeffrey S Diamond, Darcy S Peterka, Robin Angus Silver
Institute
university college london
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
To understand brain function, it is essential to identify how information is represented in neuronal population
activity and how it is transformed by individual neurons as it flows through microcircuits.
TitleOpto-Crown: Transparent skulls with embedded optics for cortex-wide cellular resolution imaging in freely moving mice
Investigator
Edward S. Boyden, Suhasa B Kodandaramaiah, John L Sherwood
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The activity patterns of millions of neurons organized in circuits distributed across multiple brain regions
mediate our interaction with the outside world.
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.
TitleRapid and Agile Multi-Photon Optical Imaging Over Large Neural Volumes
Investigator
Mark A Foster
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/ Abstract
Multi-photon, depth-sectioning microscopes are of paramount importance in capturing neural activity with cellular
resolution.
TitleRapid Evaluation of Neuronal Activity in the Intact Whole-Brain at Single Cell Resolution
Investigator
Damian G. Wheeler
Institute
translucence biosystems, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
New imaging tools are needed for brain-wide visualization of the neural activity underlying defined
behaviors. Live imaging techniques such as fMRI and MEG measure activity across the brain, but
these methods cannot resolve single cell activity.
TitleRapid, single-cell level molecular phenotyping of intact brains via active immunohistochemistry
Investigator
Adam C Hall, Frank He, Jeffrey Stirman
Institute
lifecanvas technologies, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract. Cell-level analysis and a growing appreciation of cell-type diversity have transformed our
understanding of the brain.
TitleRe-engineering Rabies Virus
Investigator
Ian R Wickersham
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Every part of the brain is composed of dense tangles of heavily-interconnected neurons of many different types,
each playing completely different roles in the circuitry.
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.
TitleResponsive Neurostimulation for Loss of Control Eating
Investigator
Casey Harrison Halpern, James D Lock, Robert C Malenka, Tara L Skarpaas (Crowder)
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Background/Description.
TitleResponsive Neurostimulation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Investigator
Jean-Philippe Langevin
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refractory to treatment is marked by failure of fear extinction and its
biological substrate, amygdala reactivity to trauma reminders13,14.
TitleRevealing the transcriptional and developmental mechanisms of interneuron identity
Investigator
Megan Crow
Institute
cold spring harbor laboratory
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Cortical GABAergic interneurons are critical components of neural circuitry, and their dysfunction has been
linked to neurodevelopmental diseases.
TitleSelf-Image-Guided Flexible Ultrasonic Interrogation Platform for Neural Dust
Investigator
Mehdi Kiani
Institute
pennsylvania state university, the
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary:
Dynamic mapping of complex brain circuits by monitoring and modulating brain activity at a large scale will
enhance our understanding of brain functions, such as sensation, thought, emotion, and action.
TitleSingle Neuron Analyzer for Multi-modal, Cross-dataset (Epi)genomic Cell Type Datasets
Investigator
Eran A Mukamel
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Our project will create a computational resource, the Single Neuron Analyzer, to support the neuroscience
community’s efforts to build a reproducible, comprehensive, data-driven atlas of brain cell types.
TitleSpinal Effects of Cortical Stimulation: Mechanisms and Functional Impact
Investigator
Jonathan Saul Carp, Yu Wang, Jonathan Rickel Wolpaw
Institute
wadsworth center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Because activity-dependent plasticity is ubiquitous in the CNS, brain stimulation may have long-term effects on
areas to which the stimulated area connects. These effects have received little attention.
TitleSubcellular Mapping and Post-Synaptic Impacts of Striatal Dopamine Release During Behavior
Investigator
Mai-Anh Vu
Institute
boston university (charles river campus)
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The basal ganglia are a group of deep brain nuclei that play a central role in motivating, selecting, and learning
actions.
TitleTechnology development for closed-loop deep brain stimulation to treat refractory neuropathic pain
Investigator
Edward Chang, Philip Andrew Starr
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Many pain syndromes are notoriously refractory to almost all treatment and pose significant costs to patients
and society. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for refractory pain disorders showed early promise but
demonstration of long-term efficacy is lacking.