The BRAIN Blog

This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) encourages the application of BRAIN Initiative tools and technologies toward a better understanding of neural circuits that underlie cognitive, social and affective processes in order to inform about circuit-based targets for prevention and treatment of mental illnesses. Applications are due through May 10, 2027.  

FlyWire, a BRAIN-funded project, is hosting a challenge to optimize the grouping of visual neurons within clusters, known as columns, in the right optic lobe of the Drosophila brain.

Dr. Emily Wright is an F32 award recipient who used the funding opportunity to investigate how stress affects neurotransmitter release. The F32 funding opportunity supports the research training of promising postdoctorates early in their postdoctoral training period.

The BRAIN Initiative is marking a milestone—10 years of advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology research by funding innovative projects. As part of a rotating series of blog posts, the Directors of the BRAIN Initiative-partnering Institutes and Centers share their voice and perspectives on the impact BRAIN has made on their respective missions—and vice versa. 

By Walter Koroshetz, MD, Director, NINDS

DataJoint and Neurodata Without Borders will host three exciting workshops that feature tools disseminated through the BRAIN Initiative U24 Research Resource Grants for Technology Integration and Dissemination. Applications for the workshops are now open.

Last month, members of the NIH BRAIN Initiative’s Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG) and Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) discussed potentially unique ethical considerations related to pediatric neurostimulation and emerging opportunities in neuroethics research, as well as updates from NEWG and MCWG members.

The BRAIN Initiative photo and video contest is now open through Monday, April 15, 2024.

A BRAIN-funded study explores a novel approach of applying deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat the symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury. A second BRAIN-funded study examines the continued integration and understanding about the ethical implications of technologies like DBS. 

These notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) will support engineering and dissemination facilities to scale up and distribute brain cell type-specific reagents as part of the BRAIN Initiative Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access.

Late in 2023, two research groups accomplished an amazing feat. Using a brain–computer interface, they provided speech to two individuals who had lost the ability to communicate due to paralysis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Both studies described “brain-to-speech” neuroprostheses capable of converting a person’s thoughts into speech at over 60 words per minute with an error rate of 25%, albeit with vocabularies of limited sizes.