The ability to measure and manipulate local brain circuit activity in living, behaving animals is essential to understanding the complexities of brain function and dysfunction.
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 #
Title
Commercial translation of high-density carbon fiber electrode arrays for multi-modal analysis of neural microcircuits
Investigator
Rajmohan Bhandari, Cynthia Anne Chestek, Daniel Powell, Florian Solzbacher
Institute
blackrock microsystems
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Title
Contextual modulation of visual decision-making across the visual hierarchy
Investigator
Pamela Reinagel
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract In sensory decision-making, choices are influenced by non-sensory factors such as motivation, attention, and recent trial history.
Title
CONVERGENT PROCESSING ACROSS VISUAL AND HAPTIC CIRCUITS FOR 3D SHAPE PERCEPTION
Investigator
Charles E Connor, Daniel Hans O'connor
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Vision and touch share a critical function—perception of 3D object shape.
Title
Developing novel neural network tools for accurate and interpretable dynamical modeling of neural circuits
Investigator
Christopher Versteeg
Institute
emory university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract In recent years, the number of neurons that we can record simultaneously has seen an exponential increase, presenting a daunting challenge: how do we analyze these complex and high-dimensional datasets to gain insight into how neural circuits perform computation?
Title
Developing Novel Trans-Synaptic Viral Vectors for Orthogonal or Rapid Circuit Tracing
Investigator
Euiseok J Kim
Institute
university of california santa cruz
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary To determine the anatomical basis of complex neural behavior, it is critical to have the ability to trace more than one circuit simultaneously in the same animal.
Title
Development and In Vivo Validation of a Theoretical Framework and Practical Methods to Improve Safety and Efficacy of Neuromodulation Electrodes
Investigator
Kip A Ludwig
Institute
university of wisconsin-madison
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Despite widespread clinical use, the theoretical framework by which to understand safety of electrical stimulation through implanted electrodes is surprisingly limited.
Title
Development of a combined Gamma/Positron system for molecular imaging of the human brain at sub-500 micron spatial resolution
Investigator
Shiva Abbaszadeh, Lars R Furenlid, Michael A King
Institute
university of arizona
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY We are proposing a new approach to a hybrid imaging modality that has been called “b+g” or “pamma-positron” Imaging [Gri07] that promises to simultaneously overcome 1) the sensitivity limits of single-gamma-ray-photon emission imaging, 2) the challenge of distinguishing between two differ
Title
Development of Quantum Magnetic Tunneling Junction Sensor Arrays for Brain Magnetoencephalography (MEG) under Natural Settings
Investigator
Jerome N Sanes, Gang Xiao
Institute
brown university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary The long-term objective of this project is to develop a revolutionary quantum mechanical solid-state magnetometer designed to non-invasively detect femtoTesla (fT) scale magnetic fields derived from the brain’s electrical activities during natural human experiences.
Title
DIrectional and SCalable (DISC) Microelectrode Array for Speech Decoding
Investigator
John P Seymour, Nitin Tandon
Institute
university of texas hlth sci ctr houston
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract Currently, the brain-computer interface (BCI) field has demonstrated two distinct device strategies - macroelectrodes (e.g., surface grids and depth) versus microelectrode arrays, and some are even pushing the field to smaller, higher density arrays hoping to address the general signal d
Title
Dissemination of the Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN) software for circuit level interpretation of human MEG/EEG
Investigator
Stephanie Ruggiano Jones
Institute
brown university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
HNN U24 DISSEMINATION PROJECT SUMMARY The Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN) neural modeling tool was developed with BRAIN Initiative funding (R01EB022889: 09/2016–06/2020) to meet the Initiative’s goal to “develop innovative technologies to understand brain circuits and ensembles of circuits th
Title
ENABLING SUBMILLISECOND-TIMESCALE TWO-PHOTON RECORDING OF VOLTAGE DYNAMICS IN THREE DIMENSIONS IN VIVO
Investigator
Laurent Bourdieu, Francois St-Pierre
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Because neurons integrate and process information via modulation of their membrane potential, the ability to monitor voltage is critical to understanding how single and groups of neurons compute.
Title
Functions of the Cortical Amygdala in social behavior
Investigator
Antonio V Aubry
Institute
icahn school of medicine at mount sinai
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior that controls social hierarchies and protects valuable resources like mates, food, and territory. In most cases, aggression is a necessary, adaptive component of social behavior.
Title
Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC) Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub
Investigator
Peter J Davies, Suzanne Marie Tomlinson, Stanley J Watowich
Institute
texas a&m university health science center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
In recent years, the NIH has awarded over $850M annually to the numerous research institutions and hospitals within the Texas Medical Center (TMC; Houston, TX), producing ever-increasing numbers of biomedical discov- eries.
Title
High-throughput 3D mapping of large mammalian brains via integration of precision tissue sectioning and light sheet imaging
Investigator
Ji Wang, Nicholas Bruce Evans, Hsuan Lee, Jeffrey Stirman
Institute
lifecanvas technologies, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Whole-brain mapping at the cellular and subcellular levels is crucial to systematically understand brain functions and disorders.
Title
High-throughput engineering of ligand-selective fluorescent biosensors for detecting endogenous and exogenous opioids
Investigator
Andre Berndt, Michael R Bruchas
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Neuropeptide modulation of neuronal circuits is strongly linked to many crucial behaviors such as exploration, stress, memory formation, learning, and many pathophysiological conditions.
Title
High-throughput measurement of neuronal projections and synapses using Synapse-seq
Investigator
Evan Z Macosko
Institute
broad institute, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY The brain is composed of thousands of highly specialized cell types that form very specific synaptic connections with each other. Together, these connections form neural circuits that are the structural basis of brain function.
Title
Highly multiplexed circuit mapping using barcoded rabies viruses and in situ sequencing.
Investigator
Ian R Wickersham, Shenqin Yao
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT Understanding the function of neural circuits requires thorough investigation of two circuit elements: cell types and connectivity.
Title
Hybrid TMS/MRI system for regionally tailored causal mapping of human cortical circuits and connectivity
Investigator
Berkin Bilgic, Susie Yi Huang, Aapo Nummenmaa, Jason P Stockmann
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary. We propose a new coil array that will enable next-generation causal brain mapping with unprecedented flexibility, resolution and precision.
Title
Identifying human-specific neural progenitors and their role in neurodevelopment
Investigator
Sumin Jang
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Humans have highly advanced cognitive abilities and motor skills, characteristics which are reflected in the enlarged size and cell diversity of our central nervous system (CNS).
Title
Identifying the neural mechanisms of goal-directed decision-making in Parkinson's disease using closed-loop deep brain stimulation
Investigator
Colin Hoy
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TITLE: IDENTIFYING THE NEURAL MECHANISMS OF GOAL-DIRECTED DECISION-MAKING IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE USING CLOSED-LOOP DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION PROJECT SUMMARY People with Parkinson’s disease commonly suffer from non-motor symptoms, including motivation deficits, that impact quality of life more than c