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
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 #
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
TitleIntegrated multichannel system for transcranial magnetic stimulation and parallel magnetic resonance imaging
Investigator
Aapo Nummenmaa
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract:
During the past two decades, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has become ubiquitous in
studies of the human brain function. Similarly, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has established its role
as one of the most widely used neuromodulation techniques.
TitleInvasive Approach to Model Human Cortex-Basal Ganglia Action-Regulating Networks
Investigator
Nader Pouratian
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Action initiation and withholding are key parts of everyday behavior, and underlying these is action
suppression.
TitleLarge-scale, simultaneous intracellular recording and stimulation of neural activity
Investigator
Michael London, Israel Nelken, Micha E. Spira
Institute
hebrew university of jerusalem
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose to develop a revolutionary tool for simultaneous intracellular recording from hundreds of
single neurons in the freely-moving animal.
TitleMicro-coil implants for cortical activation
Investigator
Shelley Fried
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The ability to reliably and chronically introduce electrical signals directly into the brain is crucial for a host of
efforts to create neural prostheses as well as for basic research to understand brain function.
TitleMicro-TMS Technology for Ultra-Focal Brain Stimulation
Investigator
Giorgio Bonmassar
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Micro-magnetic stimulation (μMS) is an emerging technology with a great promise to revolutionize therapeutic
stimulation of human nervous system.
TitleMicrodevice mediated functional brain imaging with high temporal and spatial resolution
Investigator
Eric C Wong
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Current electrode based approaches for recording of brain activity, as well as EEG and MEG, provide high
temporal resolution, but are limited to thousands of channels.
TitleMolecular Functional Ultrasound for Non-Invasive Imaging and Image-Guided Recording and Modulation of Neural Activity
Investigator
Mikhail Shapiro
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Studying complex neurological function and disease requires imaging technologies that can provide a
comprehensive view of the mammalian brain with high spatiotemporal resolution.
TitleMOTES: Micro-scale Opto-electronically Transduced Electrode Sites
Investigator
Jesse Heymann Goldberg, Paul Mceuen, Alyosha Christopher Molnar
Institute
cornell university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
Our goal in this project is to develop a new class of electrical recording device that complements and piggy-
backs on cutting edge imaging technologies.
TitleMR-guided Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation of Deep Brain Structures
Investigator
Kim Butts-Pauly
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Completely noninvasive neuromodulation using focused ultrasound (FUS) offers the promise of precisely
stimulating specific targets deep in the brain. FUS is already used to deliver precise ablations deep in the
brain.
TitleMulti-channel MR-compatible flexible microelectrode for recording and stimulation
Investigator
Robert Kyle Franklin, Yen-Yu Ian Shih
Institute
blackrock microsystems
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become one of the leading research tools to study brain function and is playing a pivotal role in several large-scale brain mapping projects worldwide.
TitleMulti-Site Non-Invasive Magnetothermal Excitation and Inhibition of Deep Brain Structures
Investigator
Polina O Anikeeva, Arnd Pralle
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
This project seeks to develop a wireless, minimally invasive bi-directional deep brain stimulation technology
based on remote heating of magnetic nanoparticles.
TitleNear Infrared Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators (NIR-GEVIs) for All-Optical Electrophysiology (AOE)
Investigator
Srdjan D Antic, Thomas Knopfel, Vladislav Verkhusha
Institute
imperial college of science, technology and medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Attaining effective optical modulation and readout of neuronal circuit activities has been a longstanding goal
in neuroscience and is a key near-term aim of the BRAIN Initiative.
TitleNeural activity integration during user defined epochs with modular reporters
Investigator
Scott T. Laughlin
Institute
state university new york stony brook
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The brain's control of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors stems from neural circuits, which perform logical
operations based on the temporal patterns of neural activity and the connectivity of the neurons as the circuit
traverses the brain.
TitleNeuroGrid: a scalable system for large-scale recording of action potentials from the brain surface
Investigator
Gyorgy Buzsaki, Orrin Devinsky
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose to develop a novel electrode array (`NeuroGrid') for large-scale recording of spikes and
improved miniaturized, multiplexed devices for recording of neural activity in freely behaving rodents,
while minimizing the loss of cellular/sub-cellular and temporal resolution.
TitleNeuromodulation by Transcranial Current Stimulation
Investigator
Bart Krekelberg
Institute
rutgers the state univ of nj newark
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A novel technique called transcranial current stimulation (TCS) creates small
electrical fields in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp.
TitleNew approaches for better protein voltage sensors
Investigator
Lawrence B Cohen
Institute
yale university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This proposal aims to develop better tools for analyzing brain cells and circuits and for
large-scale recordings of brain activity. The currently available tools are relatively primitive in terms of sensitivity
and speed. One major function of a neuron is to process electrical signals.
TitleNon-invasive neuromodulation mechanisms and dose/response metrics
Investigator
Desmond Oathes
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
In an exciting era of growth in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation, new methods and applications are
being disseminated widely with an increasing number of FDA approvals and equipment designed to probe or
modulate the brain in fascinating new ways.
TitleNoninvasive Biomarkers to Advance Emerging DBS Electrode Technologies in Parkinson's Disease
Investigator
Harrison Carroll Walker
Institute
university of alabama at birmingham
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
It is easy to underestimate the importance of normal movement in daily life, until that ability is altered or taken
away by disease.
TitleOptimal calcium imaging with shaped excitation
Investigator
Liam M Paninski, Darcy S Peterka
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Optimal calcium imaging with shaped excitation
Understanding information flow in the brain is dependent on simultaneously recording the activity
of large neuronal populations.