PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal responds to PAR-18-870 titled “BRAIN Initiative: Development Optimization, and Validation of Novel Tools and Technologies for Neuroscience Research (
Project Summary New imaging tools are needed for brain-wide visualization of the neural activity underlying defined behaviors. Live imaging techniques such as fMRI and MEG measure activity across the brain, but these methods cannot resolve single cell activity.
Abstract We propose to build a hermetically sealed implantable stimulation and recording system to enable closed-loop experiments while mitigating the need for percutaneous leads. The IRIS (Implantable Recording with Integrated Stimulation) is a fully implantable system capable of both stimulating and recording on large numbers of channels (96 channels). Our implantable technology will provide primate researchers with the ability to perform long-duration experiments without risking animal or investigator safety.
Good methods to interrogate, and ideally perturb, neural systems at the network level have been elusive until recently.
Abstract This Phase I project will focus on developing key elements needed to achieve a wearable, high-density, magnetoencephalography (MEG) device based on optically-pumped atomic magnetometers (OPMs). OPM sensors have progressed to be comparable in sensitivity to liquid-helium-cooled superconducting sensors (SQUIDs) but without the complexity and bulk required by cryogenic cooling. An OPM-based MEG provides further advantages such as lower cost and the ability to place sensors directly on the subject’s head.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a safe, non-ionizing diagnostic tool. The overall goal of this project is to arrive very close to the ultimate intrinsic signal to noise ratio (UISNR) for a given MRI magnet field strength by combining innovations in very advanced transceiver technology. In Phase I, a high performance head RF coil receiver array will be prototyped and SNR performance compared to an existing commercial product.
Abstract. Cell-level analysis and a growing appreciation of cell-type diversity have transformed our understanding of the brain. Beyond first-order classification of cells as glial or neuronal, excitatory or inhibitory, we now know there are dozens of molecularly-defined cell-types that differ in their morphology, connectivity, physiology, and gene & protein expression.
Project Summary/Abstract The brain is by far the most complex and heterogeneous organ in the human body. For years, there has been a growing and unmet need to develop multielectrode arrays for neurotransmitter sensing in multiple brain regions simultaneously. Disparate brain regions such as the nucleus accumbens, striatum, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and others have been widely known to have greatly varying electrical and neurochemical properties from one another. Until recently, we have been limited by technological capabilities in achieving this goal.
Project Summary Tinnitus or “ringing in the ears” is a hearing disorder that disproportionately impacts those who are or have served in the military. There is currently no effective cure for tinnitus. Patients with tinnitus exhibit broad changes in brain activity in the auditory system and elsewhere. One of the fundamental characteristics of tinnitus is a dysregulation in the excitatory/inhibitory balance in the central auditory system (CAS) leading to neuronal hyperexcitability and synchrony.
