Project Summary
Recent advances in neurotechnologies have provided us with the ability to modulate brain function by
direct and indirect interventions.
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 #
TitleAssessing the Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation on Agency
Investigator
Adina L Roskies
Institute
dartmouth college
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleAuditory brain-computer interface for communication
Investigator
Daniel James Thengone
Institute
brown university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A fundamental end-goal of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) is to enable communication in individuals
with severe motor paralysis. BCIs decode the neural signals and accomplish the intended goal via an effector,
such as a computer cursor or a robotic limb.
TitleAutonomously-activating bioluminescent reporters to enable continuous, real-time, non-invasive brain cell imaging
Investigator
Gary S Sayler
Institute
490 biotech, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Autonomously-activating bioluminescent reporters to enable continuous, real-time, non-
invasive brain cell imaging
Project Summary
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a set of genetically encoded,
self-exciting bioluminescent (autobioluminescent) optic
TitleBidirectional Hybrid Electrical-Acoustic Minimally Invasive Implants for Large-Scale Neural Recording and Modulation
Investigator
Mehdi Kiani
Institute
pennsylvania state university, the
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary:
Dynamic mapping of complex brain circuits by monitoring and modulating brain activity at large scale will
enhance our understanding of brain functions, such as sensation, thought, emotion, and action.
TitleBidirectional optical-acoustic mesoscopic neural interface for image-guided neuromodulation in behaving animals
Investigator
Daniel Razansky, Dmitry Rinberg, Shy Shoham
Institute
new york university school of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Summary
Neuroscience has an essential requirement for large-scale neural recording and
perturbation technologies for the understanding of brain function, as well as in the
diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.
TitleBoss: A cloud-based data archive for electron microscopy and x-ray microtomography
Investigator
Brock A. Wester
Institute
johns hopkins university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Due to recent technological advances, it is possible to image the high-resolution structure of brain volumes at
spatial extents that are much larger than was previously possible.
TitleBrain-wide correlation of single-cell firing properties to patterns of gene expression
Investigator
Adam Ezra Cohen
Institute
harvard university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Brain-wide correlation of single-cell firing properties to patterns of gene expression
Every neuron expresses thousands of proteins which, through their interactions with each other
and with other small molecules, imbue the neuron with its functional properties.
TitleBreaking Spatiotemporal Barriers of MR Imaging Technologies to Study Human Brain Function and Neuroenergetics
Investigator
Wei Chen, Xiao-Hong Zhu
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding how neural circuits operate and interconnect at mesoscopic (sub-millimeter) scale, and how
neuroenergetic metabolism and neurotransmitters support brain function at resting and working state is
essential to brain research and BRAIN Initiative. Magnetic
TitleC-PAC: A configurable, compute-optimized, cloud-enabled neuroimaging analysis software for reproducible translational and comparative
Investigator
Richard Cameron Craddock, Michael Peter Milham
Institute
child mind institute, inc.
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The BRAIN Initiative is designed to leverage sophisticated neuromodulation, electrophysiological recording,
and macroscale neuroimaging techniques in human and non-human animal models in order to develop a
multilevel understanding of human brain function.
TitleCausal mapping of emotion networks with concurrent electrical stimulation and fMRI
Investigator
Ralph Adolphs, Matthew A. Howard, Russell A Poldrack
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Understanding human brain function requires knowledge of its connectivity: how one structure
causally influences other components of the network.
TitleCausally linking dendritic Ca2+ dynamics to CA1 circuit function and spatial learning using novel tools to precisely manipulate an endogenous Ca2+ buffering process
Investigator
Justin O'hare
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
In dendrites, Ca2+ is critical in determining how neurons respond to incoming excitation.
TitleCollaborative Standards for Brain Microscopy
Investigator
Carol Marie Hamilton
Institute
research triangle institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Fast microscopy techniques, coupled with recent advances in tissue clearing, are now able to efficiently
produce cellular-resolution images of intact brain samples.
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.
TitleConnectome 2.0: Developing the next generation human MRI scanner for bridging studies of the micro-, meso- and macro-connectome
Investigator
Peter J. Basser, Susie Yi Huang, Bruce R Rosen, Lawrence L Wald, Thomas Witzel
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
We present Connectome 2.0, the next-generation human MRI scanner for imaging structural anatomy and
connectivity spanning the microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic scales.
TitleContext-dependent processing in sensorimotor cortex
Investigator
Jennifer L. Collinger
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
Humans interact with their environment in countless ways and can switch seamlessly between activities. Even
for seemingly simple tasks, a variety of sensory inputs are integrated to create a motor plan to complete a task.
Take the example of picking up a glass.
TitleControlling the spatial extent of light-based monitoring and manipulation of neural activity in vivo
Investigator
John Assad, Massimo Devittorio, Ferruccio Pisanello, Wade G Regehr, Bernardo L Sabatini
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract/Summary
The brains of mammals contain an extraordinarily large number of neurons whose activity and interconnections
determine the function of circuits that monitor our sensory environment, dictate our motor choices, form
memories, and guide all behavior.
TitleCranialProgrammer: Image-Guided Directional Deep Brain Stimulation Programming Using Local-Field Potentials
Investigator
Austin Robert Duke
Institute
nexeon medsystems puerto rico operating company, inc
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The goal of this U44 proposal is to develop and test CranialProgrammer, an image-guided programming tool
for 2D/3D mapping of disease-related neural signals over patient and device data for more efficient and
effective programming of directional deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems.
TitleDART2.0: comprehensive cell type-specific behavioral neuropharmacology
Investigator
Michael R Tadross
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT. DART2.0: comprehensive cell type-specific behavioral neuropharmacology
Neuro-active drugs have provided hope to millions.
TitleData Archive for the Brain Initiative (DABI)
Investigator
Dominique Duncan, Nader Pouratian, Arthur W Toga
Institute
university of southern california
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The overarching goal of this project is to secure, link, and disseminate BRAIN Initiative data, including
electrophysiology, imaging, behavioral, and clinical data with all pertinent recording and imaging parameters,
coming from participating sites.
TitleData interface and apps for systems neurophysiology and imaging
Investigator
Stephen D Van Hooser
Institute
brandeis university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Technology for recording from the brain is developing at a breakneck pace.