Project Summary/Abstract
Reuse of existing neuroscience data relies, in part, on our ability to understand the experimental design and
study data.
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 #
TitleThe Neuroimaging Data Model: FAIR descriptors of Brain Initiative Imaging Experiments
Investigator
David Bryant Keator
Institute
university of california-irvine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleTime-Gated Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy for functional imaging of the human brain
Investigator
Maria Angela Franceschini
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a well-established neuroimaging method which enables
neuroscientists to study brain activity by non-invasively monitoring hemodynamic changes in the cerebral cortex.
In the last decade, the use of fNIRS has increased significa
TitleTools for modeling state-dependent sensory encoding by neural populations across spatial and temporal scales
Investigator
Stephen V David, Nima Mesgarani
Institute
oregon health & science university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Throughout life, humans and other animals learn statistical regularities in the natural acoustic environment.
They adapt their hearing to emphasize the features of sound that are important for making behavioral
decisions.
TitleTools to broaden access to high-throughput functional connectomics
Investigator
Wei-Chung Allen Lee, Thomas Macrina, Hyunjune Sebastian Seung, John Tuthill
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
The goal of this proposal is to develop a widely adoptable, high-throughput, functional connectomics platform to
semi-automatically reconstruct and analyze the synaptic connectivity of functionally characterized neuronal
microcircuits.
TitleTowards a unified framework for dopamine signaling in the striatum
Investigator
John Assad, Sandeep R Datta, Samuel J Gershman, Scott Warren Linderman, Bernardo L Sabatini, Naoshige Uchida, Linda E Wilbrecht
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project abstract
Animals, including humans, interact with their environment via self-generated and continuous actions that
enable them to explore and subsequently experience the positive and negative consequences of their actions.
As a result of their interactions with the environment, animals alter
TitleTransparent neural interface for in vivo interrogation of human organoids
Investigator
Anna Devor
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Recent advances in pluripotent stem cell technology have enabled generation of neuronal cell lines and
cerebral organoids from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as well as human induced pluripotent stem cells
(hiPSCs) derived from peripheral tissues.
TitleUltra-flexible μLED Optoelectrode Platform for Brain Circuit Mapping: a Longitudinal, Minimally Invasive Tool
Investigator
Gyorgy Buzsaki, John P Seymour, Kensall David Wise, Euisik Yoon
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Significance: Neuroscientists have set ambitious goals for electrophysiology and stimulation technology but
these tools continue to lag behind.
TitleUnbiased Epigenomic and Transcriptomic Profiling of Non-Neuronal Cells in the Mouse Brain
Investigator
Nicola J Allen, Joseph R Ecker
Institute
salk institute for biological studies
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The mammalian brain is composed of 50% neurons and 50% non-neuronal glial cells, including astrocytes
(20%) which regulate synaptic transmission and provide metabolic support for neurons, oligodendrocytes
(25%) that speed up neuronal action potential conduction, and microglia (5-15%) which
TitleUncovering Population-Level Cellular Relationships to Behavior via Mesoscale Networks
Investigator
David E Carlson
Institute
duke university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract:
There is significant current interest in understanding how neurons relate to whole-brain
networks and how these networks coordinate to give rise to behavior.
TitleUnderstanding Brain Development Through the Lens of Metabolism
Investigator
Aparna Bhaduri
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
The human cerebral cortex is a complex structure comprised of distinct areas with specialized functions and connectivity patterns.
TitleUnderstanding how post-translational palmitoylation influences in vivo molecular and circuit dynamics during learning
Investigator
Jessica C Nelson
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Habituation is a simple form of learning in which animals reduce responsiveness to repetitive stimuli. Habituation forms a foundation for normal cognition; without the ability to filter irrelevant stimuli, animals are unable to perform more complex cognitive tasks.
TitleUnderstanding the logic of the brain-wide olfactory bulb projectome
Investigator
Dinu Florentin Albeanu, Alexei Koulakov
Institute
cold spring harbor laboratory
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
SUMMARY
To date, fundamental understanding of which features of odorants are decoded by the brain, and how
information about these features is channeled through the olfactory system is still lacking.
TitleUsing Direct Brain Stimulation to Study Cognitive Electrophysiology
Investigator
Michael Jacob Kahana
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Abstract
Our project aims to form a multi-site consortium that will carry out fundamental exper-
iments to elucidate the mesoscopic and microscopic neural dynamics underlying human
memory and use direct brain stimulation as a manipulative tool to study those dynamics.
Additionally, we seek
TitleValidated tools for identifying, characterizing, and targeting all non-neuronal cells in the brain and determining the neuro-glio-vascular connectome
Investigator
Chenghua Gu
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract:
Proper function of precisely wired neural circuits depends on a close physical and functional relationship with an
equally complex and overlapping vascular network.
TitleVentromedial prefrontal cortex regulation of fear memory expression
Investigator
Kirstie Alyssa Cummings
Institute
icahn school of medicine at mount sinai
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) typically nucleate when individuals experience a highly traumatic event. One hallmark of PTSD is pronounced expression of fear and resistance to fear-suppressing behavioral therapies.
TitleVisual coding in freely moving behavior
Investigator
Cristopher M Niell
Institute
university of oregon
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
Vision is an active sense that we use to explore the world around us.
Title3D-Fast Optical Interface for Rapid Volumetric Neural Sensing and Modulation
Investigator
Emily Gibson, Cristin G Welle
Institute
university of colorado denver
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
To further our understanding of the function of neural circuits, there is a need for new tools that can collect
simultaneous measurements from large populations of neurons involved in a common neural computation and
provide precise functional modulation.
TitleA 100μm Scale Single Unit Neural Recording Probe Using IR-Based Powering and Communication
Investigator
David Blaauw
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
In this research proposal, we present a new approach for recording and transmitting neural signals at the level of
single neurons using micron-scale distributed implants referred to as micro-probes (mProbes).
TitleA 5-dimensional connectomics approach to the neural basis of behavior
Investigator
Paul S Katz
Institute
university of massachusetts amherst
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
This project is a collaboration between researchers at four universities to examine how the brain makes
decisions. When a human or any animal moves through the world, it must make constant decisions about what
to do next.
TitleA Biomimetic Approach Towards a Dexterous Neuroprosthesis
Investigator
Michael L. Boninger
Institute
university of pittsburgh at pittsburgh
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Cervical spinal cord injury results in the loss of arm and hand function, which significantly limits independence
and results in costs over the person’s lifespan.