The goal of this project is to study the cellular basis of active sensation. A crucial function of all nervous systems is to distinguish between sensory stimuli originating from the external world and that generated by our own movements.
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 #
TitleMechanisms of Active Sensing in Drosophila
Investigator
Marie Suver
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleMechanisms underlying large-scale coordination of cortical activity during perceptual decisions
Investigator
Lucas Pinto
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
It has become increasingly clear that both spontaneous and trained behaviors engage activity throughout the cortex. However, at least in the case of perceptual decisions, task complexity critically modulates the underlying large- and mesoscale cortical dynamics.
TitleMotion Sequencing for All: pipelining, distribution and training to enable broad adoption of a next-generation platform for behavioral and neurobehavioral analysis
Investigator
Sandeep R Datta
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Understanding the function of the nervous system requires a sophisticated understanding of its main
output, behavior.
TitleMultielectrode Arrays for Neurotransmitter Detection with Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry
Investigator
Alexandros George Zestos
Institute
microprobes for life science, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The brain is by far the most complex and heterogeneous organ in the human body. For years, there has
been a growing and unmet need to develop multielectrode arrays for neurotransmitter sensing in
multiple brain regions simultaneously.
TitleMultimodal Stainless Steel Neural Interfaces for Large-scale Recording and Modulation in Large Animals
Investigator
Maysamreza Chamanzar
Institute
carnegie-mellon university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
In this proposal a course of research is proposed to design and implement high-density multimodal (electrical
and optical) neural probes on stainless steel for robust, reliable and large-scale recording from thousands of
neurons in large animal (primate) brains.
TitleNeural signatures of learning complex environments in the amygdala-prefrontal network
Investigator
David Barack
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The ability to learn and think about complex situations is central to a range of human cognitive
functions, including navigation, reasoning, and decision making.
TitleNeuro-glio-vascular interactions in vivo probed with optical imaging
Investigator
Congwu Du, Yingtian Pan
Institute
state university new york stony brook
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
This application, "Neuro-glio-vascular interactions in vivo probed with optical imaging", will address the
broad challenge of the BRAIN Initiative (Innovative Neurotechnologies) and the targeted challenge
(tools to target, identify and characterize non-neuronal cells in the brain).
TitleNeuromodulation approaches for restoring dexterous control following cortical stroke.
Investigator
Preeya Khanna
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Stroke-causing illness, disability, and early death is set to double worldwide within the next 15 years.
Despite physical therapy, about 50% of stroke survivors have impaired hand function, which strongly impacts
activities of daily living and independence; novel treatment methods a
TitleNeuropixelsUltra: Dense arrays for stable, unbiased, and cell type-specific electrical imaging
Investigator
Timothy D Harris, Shawn R. Olsen, Nicholas Steinmetz
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary/Abstract
Understanding the neural mechanisms underpinning cognition and behavior requires the
ability to measure the dynamics and interactions of populations of neurons spread across
many brain regions.
TitleNew approaches for single cell tagging, editing and profiling of glial cells in vivo
Investigator
Weizhe Hong
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
The mammalian central nervous system supports a multitude of cognitive and behavioral functions through
coordinated action of different neural circuits that are composed of diverse sets of differentiated cell types,
including both neurons and non-neuronal cells.
TitleNext generation all-optical toolkits for functional analysis of neuropeptide dynamics in neural circuits
Investigator
Matthew Ryan Banghart, Bernardo L Sabatini, Lin Tian
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project summary
The mammalian brain is remarkably dynamic and can quickly adjust its functional state in response to changes
in the environment. For example, when a salient event occurs, the brain enters a mode that enhances memory
formation.
TitleNext Generation Cell-Type-Specific Viral Vectors for Non-Neuronal Brain Cell Types
Investigator
Michael Eldon Greenberg
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary:
While traditionally conceived as passive support elements for neuronal networks, non-neuronal brain cells are
now appreciated as dynamic integral components of central nervous system (CNS) circuitry.
TitleNext-generation high-resolution diffusion MRI resolving cortical columns and layers in vivo
Investigator
Allen W Song, Trong-Kha Truong
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
In response to the NIH RFA-EB-17-003 on “Proof of Concept Development of Early Stage Next Generation
Human Brain Imaging”, we propose a two-year plan to develop the much needed hardware and software
solutions for ultrahigh resolution diffusion MRI to delineate cortical columns and layers in
TitleNon-Invasive Nanoparticle Platform for Tool Delivery to the Brain
Investigator
Ute H Hochgeschwender, Julien Rossignol, Ajit Sharma
Institute
central michigan university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The goal of this proposal is to assess the feasibility of a non-invasive nanoparticle platform for tool delivery to
the brain.
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
SUMMARY
Animal behaviors are orchestrated by the sophisticated nervous system, which is
dynamically regulated by neuromodulators including lipids and neuropeptides.
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.