Summary
A central challenge in neuroscience is to develop methods to manipulate specific cell types within the
mammalian brain. Recent developments in optogenetics have revolutionized our ability to control the activity of
both neurons and non-neuronal cells.
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 #
TitleDeveloping a noninvasive method to manipulate specific cell types within the mammalian brain
Investigator
Sreekanth H. Chalasani
Institute
salk institute for biological studies
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
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 and validation of empirical models of the neuronal population activity underlying non-invasive human brain measurements
Investigator
Orrin Devinsky, Rick M Dijkhuizen, Natalia Petridou, Nicolas Franciscus Ramsey, Jonathan A Winawer
Institute
university medical center utrecht
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
A major obstacle in the study of human brain function is that we currently have limited understanding of
how the measurements made by different instruments, such as fMRI and EEG, relate to one another and to the
underlying neuronal circuitry.
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.
TitleFoundations of MRI Corticography for mesoscale organization and neuronal circuitry
Investigator
David Alan Feinberg
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Functional MRI (fMRI) is performed at a macroscopic scale of 1 to 3 millimeters spatial resolution.
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.
TitleImaging adult-born neurons in action using head-mounted minimicroscopes
Investigator
Michael R Drew
Institute
university of texas at austin
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The hippocampus is one of a select few brain regions that retain the ability to generate neurons in adulthood.
Research in human patients and animal models suggests that increases and decreases in neurogenesis alter
memory function and contribute to the etiology and treatmen
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
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
TitleImproving Human fMRI through Modeling and Imaging Microvascular Dynamics
Investigator
Jonathan Rizzo Polimeni
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
All fMRI signals have a vascular origin, and this has been believed to be a major limitation to precise
spatiotemporal localization of neuronal activation when using hemodynamic functional contrast such as BOLD.
However, significant recent discoveries made using powerful ult
TitleIn situ transcriptional analysis of brain circuits at single cell resolution
Investigator
Catherine Dulac, Aviv Regev, Xiaowei Zhuang
Institute
harvard university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The mammalian brain is a highly diverse structure in which large numbers of cell types, grouped into broad
functional areas, serve defined functions according to their developmental origin, shape and connectivity,
transcriptional program and intrinsic biophysical properties.
TitleIntegrated fMRI Methods to Study Neurophysiology and Circuit Dynamics at Laminar and Columnar Level
Investigator
Wei Chen
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Description
Functional MRI (fMRI) based on the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast has become a
powerful neuroimaging modality and has gained a prominent position in neuroscience for imaging brain
activation at working state and functional connectivity at rest.