TOWARD 3D HUMAN BRAIN-LIKE TISSUES FOR TARGETING DYSREGULATED SYNAPSE AND
PROTEOSTASIS MECHANISMS IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease affecting nearly 1/50 children in US with an
estimated $268 billion in annual costs.
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 #
TitleToward 3D human brain-like tissues for targeting dysregulated synapse and proteostasis mechanisms in autism spectrum disorder
Investigator
Joshua Dean Erndt-Marino
Institute
tufts university medford
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleTransparent graphene electrode arrays for simultaneous electrical and optical investigation of computations in the olfactory bulb
Investigator
Morgan A Brown
Institute
university of oregon
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary and Abstract
A major obstacle to understanding the link between behavior and neuronal activity is the difficulty of
electrophysiologically recording the activity of large neuronal populations without limiting visual access.
TitleUltra High Resolution Brain PET Scanner for in-vivo Autoradiography Imaging
Investigator
Georges El Fakhri, Roger Lecomte
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We propose to design, build, and evaluate the Scanner Approaching in Vivo
Autoradiographic Neuro Tomography (SAVANT), a next generation PET scanner for
ultra-high resolution imaging of the human brain using hardware advances
developed by members of our collaborative team to achieve unprecedented spa
TitleUnraveling constraints on motor cortical activity exploration and shaping during structural skill learning using large-scale 2-photon imaging and holographic optogenetic stimulation
Investigator
Vivek Athalye
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
When learning new skills, experience with previously-learned skills can facilitate faster learning by constraining
behavioral exploration and shaping, a concept known as “structural learning”3,4.
TitleUnveiling the mechanisms of ultrasound neuromodulation via spatially confined stimulation and temporally resolved recording
Investigator
Ji-Xin Cheng, Xue Han
Institute
boston university (charles river campus)
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Ultrasound has been explored as a modality to modulate nerves and muscles back in the 1920s. A number of
recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of using ultrasound to stimulate peripheral nerves, spinal cord,
and brain.
TitleWireless High-Density Diffuse Optical Tomography for Decoding Brain Activity
Investigator
Joseph P Culver
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
This grant will develop a wireless wearable high-performance, high-density diffuse optical tomography (DOT)
instrument for mapping of brain function in naturalistic settings.
TitleA BRAIN Initiative Resource: The Neuroscience Multi-omic Data Archive
Investigator
Owen R White
Institute
university of maryland baltimore
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative
promotes the development and application of technologies to describe the temporal and spatial
dynamics of cell types and neural circuits in the brain.
TitleA Community Resource for Single Cell Data in the Brain
Investigator
James C Gee, Michael Hawrylycz, Maryann E Martone, Lydia Lup-Ming Ng, Anthony Philippakis
Institute
allen institute
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
A detailed census of the structure and role of cell type specific data in the brain is recognized as one of the most
promising avenues for advancing our understanding of the human brain in health and disease.
TitleA Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy Brain Data Archive
Investigator
Marcel P Bruchez, Alexander J Ropelewski, Simon C Watkins
Institute
carnegie-mellon university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Advancements in the field of microscopy and imaging have pushed the boundaries of what
was once thought possible in many fields of research.
TitleA magnetic particle imager (MPI) for functional brain imaging in humans
Investigator
Lawrence L Wald
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
In this U01 grant we propose a 5 year engineering development effort to advance Magnetic
Particle Imaging (MPI) to replace MRI as the next-generation functional brain imaging tool for human
neuroscience.
TitleAchieving ethical integration in the development of novel neurotechnologies
Investigator
Winston Chiong
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
New technologies that modulate brain function have tremendous potential for alleviating the persistent burden
of depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders, but also raise challenging ethical and societal questions
regarding self-ownership and control over our thoughts,
TitleBIDS-Derivatives: A data standard for derived data and models in the BRAIN Initiative
Investigator
Russell A Poldrack
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The effective sharing of data requires the development and broad adoption of standards for the
organization of data and metadata.
TitleCircuit mechanisms of evidence accumulation during decision-making
Investigator
Zhihao Luo
Institute
princeton university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Circuit mechanisms underlying evidence accumulation during decision-making
Behavior across many types of decision-making is well described by the gradual accumulation of evidence
toward one of multiple alternatives.
TitleDeep brain stimulation for depression using directional current steering an individualized network targeting
Investigator
Wayne K Goodman, Nader Pouratian, Sameer Anil Sheth
Institute
columbia university health sciences
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The public health burden of Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) has prompted clinical trials of deep brain
stimulation (DBS) that have, unfortunately, produced inconsistent outcomes.
TitleDevelopment of Line-Scan Temporal Focusing for fast structural imaging of synapse assembly/disassembly in vivo
Investigator
Josiah R Boivin
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
A disproportionately large number of mutations resulting in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric
disorders target synaptic proteins. Synapse remodeling and loss precede cell death in neurodegenerative
disorders, and addictive drugs can alter circuit connectivity.
TitleElectrophysiological Biomarkers to Optimize DBS for Depression
Investigator
Helen S Mayberg
Institute
emory university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) white matter is an emerging new treatment
strategy for treatment resistant depression (TRD) with published studies demonstrating sustained long-term
antidepressant effects in 40-60% of implanted patients.
TitleElementary Neuronal Ensembles to Whole Brain Networks: Ultrahigh Resolution Imaging of Function and Connectivity in Humans
Investigator
Kamil Ugurbil
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT:
The strategic plan of the NIH's BRAIN Initiative (BRAIN 2025: A scientific Vision) calls for transformative
technological developments with MRI to achieve “submillimeter spatial resolution descriptions of neuronal
activity, functional and structural connectivity, and network analysis in t
TitleEnabling ethical participation in innovative neuroscience on mental illness and addiction: towards a new screening tool enhancing informed consent for transformative research on the human brain
Investigator
Laura W Roberts
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Great discoveries in neuroscience hold promise for reducing the burden of many of the most disabling
conditions that threaten human health on a global scale, including mental illnesses and addictions.
Increasingly, exceptionally innovative science inspires hope that these devastating brain-based dis
TitleEngineering optogenetic tools for studying neuropeptide activity
Investigator
Alexander Robert French
Institute
purdue university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
7. Project Summary/Abstract
Opioid receptors (ORs), consisting of -, -, and -ORs, are neuropeptide receptors that are broadly involved
in regulating analgesia, mood, reward, and motor coordination.
TitleEthical Safeguards for Exit and Withdrawal from Implanted Neurotechnology Research
Investigator
Lauren Sankary
Institute
cleveland clinic lerner com-cwru
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Research participants face complex decisions about the surgical removal of implanted devices
upon exiting clinical trials of implanted neurotechnology.