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
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 #
TitleClinical Testing of an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis System
Investigator
Philip R Troyk
Institute
illinois institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
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.
TitleCompressive Light Field microscopy for optogenetic neural activity tracking
Investigator
Laura Waller
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY: Understanding the mechanisms by which the living brain derives perception, cognition and behavior
requires the ability to record and control electrical activity in many neurons simultaneously.
TitleConcurrent multiphoton microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (COMPMRI)
Investigator
Yi Wang, Chris Xu
Institute
cornell university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose a concurrent multiphoton magnetic resonance imaging (COMPMRI) system for mouse imaging, in
response to RFA-EY-16-001, BRAIN Initiative: New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Large-Scale
Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21).
TitleDeep brain photoacoustic tomography at single-neuron resolution using arrays of photonic emitters and high-frequency ultrasound transducers
Investigator
Michael L Roukes, Kenneth L Shepard, Lihong Wang
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The objective of the proposed three-year research project is to develop high-speed, high-spatial-
resolution, deep-penetration photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) for real-time imaging of
neuro-activities in mouse brains in vivo.
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.
TitleDevelopment and dissemination of high speed 3D acousto-optic lens two-photon microscopy for in vivo imaging
Investigator
David A Digregorio, Michael Hausser, Thomas Mrsic-Flogel, John O'keefe, Robin Angus Silver
Institute
university college london
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
To understand brain function in health and disease it is essential to rapidly monitor signaling in neural circuits. Two-photon microscopy is a core tool for neuroscience research because it enables neuronal activity to be monitored at high spatial resolution deep within brain tissue.
TitleDevelopment of an integrated array for simultaneous optogenetic stimulation and electrical recording to study cortical circuit function in the non-human primate brain
Investigator
Alessandra Angelucci, Steven M Blair, Loren Rieth
Institute
university of utah
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Understanding the function of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex of the non-human primate (NHP), the
model system closest to human, is crucial to understanding normal cortical function and the circuit-level basis
of human brain disorders.
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.
TitleFlexible neural probe arrays for large-scale cortical and subcortical recording
Investigator
Ellis Meng
Institute
university of southern california
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Implantable neural electrodes have enjoyed decades of development but the ability to record
resolvable neuronal activities is often reduced or completely lost over time.
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.
TitleGenetically Encoded Localization Modules for Targeting Activity Probes to Specific Subcellular Sites in Brain Neurons
Investigator
James S Trimmer
Institute
university of california at davis
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Developing enhanced methods for reporting and manipulating brain activity is a major focus of the BRAIN
Initiative. A major aspect of these efforts is aimed at developing genetically encoded probes for large-scale
sensing and/or manipulation of neural activity in vivo.
TitleHigh dynamic range multiphoton microscopy for large-scale imaging
Investigator
Ian Gordon Davison, Jerome Mertz
Institute
boston university (charles river campus)
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Multiphoton microscopy is one of the preferred techniques for high-resolution functional brain
imaging because of its remarkable depth penetration in thick tissue. In standard configurations,
such imaging involves scanning a femtosecond laser focus in 3D throughout a sample.
TitleHigh-density microfiber interfaces for deep brain optical recording and stimulation
Investigator
Timothy James Gardner
Institute
boston university (charles river campus)
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
This project seeks to develop a high density, minimally invasive optical microfiber array for long-term recording
and manipulation of brain activity.