The fundamental objective of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand how dynamic activity in distributed
neural circuits mediates human cognitive behavior.
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 #
TitleProsthetic System for Large-Scale Recording and Manipulation of Neural Circuit Activity in Non-Human Primates
Investigator
Albert Baldwin Goodell
Institute
graymatter research
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleResolving Fine Architectures of Human Gray Matter with Ultra-High-Resolution Diffusion MRI
Investigator
Yulin Ge, Jiangyang Zhang
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract: Our brain is a complex network with multiple levels of organization in white matter (WM) and gray
matter (GM). The axonal and dendritic organizations of local GM tissue form one of the structural bases of
normal brain functions.
TitleReversing Synchronized Brain Circuits with Targeted Auditory-Somatosensory Stimulation to Treat Phantom Percepts
Investigator
Susan E Shore
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) integrates auditory and somatosensory information through circuitry that
modulates activity of the principal output neurons of the circuit, the fusiform cells.
TitleSABER: Scalable Analytics for Brain Exploration Research using X-Ray Microtomography and Electron Microscopy
Investigator
William R Gray Roncal
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Advances in imaging have had a profound effect on our ability to generate high-resolution measurements of
the brain’s structure.
TitleScalar Closed-Loop STN/GPi DBS Based on Evoked and Spontaneous Potentials
Investigator
Dennis Alan Turner
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
DBS therapy for Parkinson's disease is now the primary surgical approach for Parkinson's disease, recently
FDA approved at 4 years after onset of disease.
TitleSELF-POWERED SENSING AND DATA-LOGGING FOR LARGE-SCALE IN-VIVO MONITORING OF NEURAL ENSEMBLE ACTIVITY
Investigator
Shantanu Chakrabartty
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The current state-of-the-art neural recording technology is limited by the ability to remotely and continuously
deliver power to the implanted sensors.
TitleSpinal root stimulation for restoration of function in lower-limb amputees
Investigator
Lee E Fisher, Douglas J Weber
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Recent advances in design and actuation have led to important improvements in prosthetic limbs. However, these devices
lack a means for providing direct sensory feedback, requiring users to infer information about limb state from pressure on
the residual limb.
TitleTechnologies to drastically boost photon sensitivity for brain-dedicated PET
Investigator
Craig S Levin
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
According to the BRAIN 2025 working group report, there is a need to drastically improve the spatiotemporal
resolution of positron emission tomography (PET), in order to facilitate the translation of new tracers that target
neuroreceptor function and dynamic PET imaging on t
TitleThe Application of Generalized Linear Models to Calcium Imaging Data for Optimal High-Dimensional Receptive Field Estimation and Identification of Latent Network Dynamics
Investigator
Stephen L Keeley
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
As new recording methods emerge in neuroscience, new statistical techniques are needed to properly relate
neural activity to behavior, a given stimulus, or an internal process.
TitleThe impact of cerebellar tDCS in local and downstream brain circuits: how much is neuralactivity modulated in the resting state and during sensorimotor processing?
Investigator
Javier F Medina
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Non-invasive stimulation of the cerebellum holds great promise for investigating brain function, and for
diagnosing and treating a variety of brain disorders.
TitleTrans-Sheet Illumination Microscopy (TranSIM) for decoding whole brain activity at submillisecond temporal resolution
Investigator
Katsushi Arisaka, Laurent A. Bentolila
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Today’s knowledge of large-scale neural networks is advancing along two orthogonal directions. Spatial (static, structural) connectomic understanding is achieved through optical and electron microscopy; yielding high spatial resolution with limited or no temporal information.
TitleTranscranial magnetic stimulation with enhanced focality and depth (fdTMS)
Investigator
Angel V Peterchev
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This project will develop transcranial magnetic stimulation coils with improved focality and depth (fdTMS).
TMS is a technique for noninvasive brain stimulation using strong, brief magnetic pulses. TMS is widely used in
the neurosciences as a tool for probing brain function and connectivity.
TitleWide-field scan-less multi-photon endoscopy using spatio-temporal pulse delivery and temporal focusing
Investigator
Mark A Foster
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/ Abstract
Multiphoton, depth sectioning micro-endoscopes are of paramount importance in capturing neural activity with
cellular resolution.
TitleA tool-box to control and enhance tDCS spatial precision
Investigator
Marom Bikson
Institute
city college of new york
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Aimed at revolutionizing our understanding of the brain, the BRAIN initiative calls for “improvement of existing non-invasive neuromodulation” techniques.
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
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.
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.
TitleAn optical-genetic toolbox for reading and writing neural population codes in functional maps
Investigator
Wilson S Geisler, Eyal J Seidemann, Boris V Zemelman
Institute
university of texas at austin
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop an optical-genetic toolbox for reading and writing neural
population codes in functional maps of awake, higher mammals.
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.
TitleBioLuminescent OptoGenetics (BL-OG): A Novel and Versatile Strategy for Neuromodulation
Investigator
Ute H Hochgeschwender, Christopher I Moore, Nathan Christopher Shaner
Institute
central michigan university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
New tools to selectively regulate neurons have revolutionized causal experimentation. Optogenetics provides
an array of elements for specific biophysical control, while designer chemogenetic receptors provide a
minimally invasive method to control circuits in vivo by peripheral injection.
TitleBiophysical Design Strategies for Next-Generation Maquette-based Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators (GEVIs)
Investigator
Brian Y Chow, Bohdana Discher
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
A long-standing goal in neuroscience is to unravel complex behavior of healthy and
diseased brain by analyzing the structure and dynamics of neural circuitry with single
action potential resolution.