Circuit Diagrams

Non-invasive methods for stimulating the human brain show great promise for safe, effective treatments of psychiatric and motor disorders, and are in widespread use for basic research on human behavior and cognition. One such method, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is the application of time-varying magnetic fields above the scalp that induce transient electrical fields in the brain. TMS clearly stimulates the brain and affects behavior, but we do not know why it works; its effects on neural activity within brain regions and networks are not understood at a biological level.

This project will develop transcranial magnetic stimulation coils with improved focality and depth (fdTMS). TMS is a technique for noninvasive brain stimulation using strong, brief magnetic pulses. TMS is widely used in the neurosciences as a tool for probing brain function and connectivity. Presently, TMS is FDA-approved for the treatment of depression and for pre-surgical cortical mapping, and is under study for other psychiatric and neurological disorders.

PROJECT SUMMARY Non-invasive stimulation of the cerebellum holds great promise for investigating brain function, and for diagnosing and treating a variety of brain disorders. Given the classical role of the cerebellum in motor control, it is not surprising that many studies have reported that cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (CB- tDCS) can be used to enhance motor function and mitigate the symptoms of ataxia, dystonia and essential tremor.

Abstract This project will develop a novel infrared-based neuro-stimulation tool for specifically modulating neural circuitry. Transcranial infrared brain stimulation (TIBS) at 1064 nm will be developed as a new tool for non- invasive neuromodulation of the human brain. TIBS with low-power density (mW/cm2) and high-energy density (J/cm2) monochromatic laser is safe and can potentially modulate human brain function in a non-thermal manner.

Project Abstract Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) methods, principally transcranial direct current simulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) are neuromodulation techniques that have been the subject of great recent interest. In typical tDCS procedures a pair of large electrodes (e.g., 25cm2) is attached to the scalp and a constant current of 1-2 mA passed between them for periods of 10-30 min. In tACS, the constant current intensity is similar, but an alternating sinusoidal waveform is usually employed.

Project Summary/Abstract The effective sharing of data requires the development and broad adoption of standards for the organization of data and metadata. Within the field of neuroimaging, there is an emerging standard for data/metadata organization, the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS), which is currently implemented for MRI and is under development for PET and MEG.

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.

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. New techniques coupled with the application of new technologies allows researchers to probe further and with greater accuracy to answer increasingly complex questions. While these new techniques allow for far greater specificity of observation and increased sensitivity in regard to both resolution and frequency, the amount of data generated is increasing to a point where conventional systems are unable to manage it.

Project Abstract Advances in imaging have had a profound effect on our ability to generate high-resolution measurements of the brain’s structure. One of the major hurdles in processing modern neuroimaging datasets designed to produce large-scale maps of the connections and the organization of the brain lies in the sheer size of these data. For instance, electron microscopic (EM) images of a cubic millimeter of cortex occupies roughly 3 PBon disk, and lower resolution emerging X-ray microtomography (XRM) data can exceed 10 TB for a single mouse brain.

Project Summary (Abstract) The goal of this application is to develop, test, and disseminate multi-context (command line, desktop, server, and web applications) software for robust and reproducible neuroscience image analysis from data across mul- tiple scales (two photon microscopy, mesoscale Ca2+ optical imaging, small animal fMRI, and human fMRI) and species (mice, rats, and humans). In particular, we will provide tools for computation and visualization of con- nectomes (connectivity matrices) for such image data sets that will include both modality specific preprocessing (e.g.