Informatics

Project​ ​Summary/Abstract The

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. Emerging X-ray microtomography (XRM) methods allow for the collection of whole mouse brains in a high-throughput paradigm, permitting the generation of sub-micron three-dimensional image volumes in less than a day without the alignment challenges or tissue clearing approaches of other methods.

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.

PROJECT SUMMARY The wealth, depth and quality of multi-omic data generated through funding from the BRAIN initiative is unprecedented. It ranges from bulk and single cell RNA-seq, to detailed cell type- specific epigenetic analyses throughout development.

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.

Project Summary/Abstract A fast-growing technique in human neuroscience is electrocorticography (ECOG), the only technique that allows the activity of small population of neurons in the human brain to be directly recorded. We use the term ECOG to refer to the entire range of invasive recording techniques (from subdural strips and grids to penetrating electrodes) that share the common attribute of recording neural activity from the human brain with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Project Summary/Abstract A central problem in neuroscience is to understand how activity arises from neural circuits to drive animal behaviors. Solving this problem requires integrating information from multiple experimental modalities and organization levels of the nervous system. While modern neurotechnologies are generating high-resolution maps of the brain-wide neural activity and anatomical connectivity, novel theoretical frameworks are urgently needed to realize the full potential of these datasets.

Over the past several decades, the ability to record from large populations of neurons (e.g., multi-electrode arrays, neuropixels, calcium imaging) has increased exponentially, promising new avenues for understanding the brain. These data have the promise to provide a qualitatively different view of activity within and across brain areas than was previously possible, but the effort will require the development of advanced analytical tools.

Project Summary/Abstract This project constructs a unifying model that links synaptic morphodynamics, the fundamental process of learning and memory in the brain, to the underlying molecular signaling pathways that regulate it. The motivation for this work is a new class of machine learning methods for multiscale modeling that are a promising candidate for linking the disparate spatial and temporal scales involved, from s calcium events in nano-domains to actin reorganization on the order of minutes across a dendritic spine head.

Project Summary A prominent feature of biological neuronal networks is the astonishing diversity of their cell types.