Monitor Neural Activity

ABSTRACT Humans interact with their environment in countless ways and can switch seamlessly between activities. Even for seemingly simple tasks, a variety of sensory inputs are integrated to create a motor plan to complete a task. Take the example of picking up a glass. Visual, tactile, and proprioceptive inputs provide cues about the position and weight of the object as well as limb state. Additional sensory and contextual inputs can also influence the movement. For example, a person might pick up a glass differently if she is intending to take a drink, versus clear off a table.

Humans have a remarkable ability to flexibly interact with the environment. A compelling demonstration of this cognitive flexibility is our ability to perform complex, yet previously un-practiced tasks successfully on the first attempt.

Project Summary/Abstract Memory is critical for cognitive well-being, and sleep is critical for memory consolidation, yet the underlying mechanisms in the human brain are poorly understood. Research on memory and sleep so far has suffered from a substantial gap between non-invasive cognitive research in humans and detailed electrophysiological research in animals.

We plan to provide software support services for Neuropixels probes, a groundbreaking new tool for recording electrical signals from the brain. These probes—which were created by IMEC, a world-renowned nanoelectronics research center, in collaboration with four funding agencies (HHMI, Allen Institute, Gatsby Foundation, and Wellcome Trust)—will become publicly available in July 2018. Each device consists of a single hair-like shank containing nearly 1000 recording sites, each of which can measure voltage changes with sub-millisecond precision.

The goal of this proposal is to disseminate high resolution large volume serial section electron microscopy data to neuroscientists. Using our electron microscopy facility, we will provide user training on the use of these new technologies and provide access to our specialized facilities so that they may generate permanent ultrathin sections and create data sets amenable for neural circuit analysis or neural and glial cell type analysis.

The central nervous system (CNS) changes throughout life, and its interactions with the world produce activity- dependent plasticity that enables it to acquire and maintain useful behaviors. Recent scientific and technical advances support the development of systems that create novel interactions with the CNS that can induce and guide beneficial plasticity.

Two-photon laser scanning microscopy powers many projects in the.

Recombinant Immunolabels for Nanoprecise Brain Mapping Across Scales Understanding brain function and dysfunction requires an understanding of the circuitry of the brain from molecules to cells to circuits. While no single technique can achieve this, a strategic combination of techniques applied across scales can provide information that when integrated can lead to a more complete picture.

Understanding the function of the nervous system requires a sophisticated understanding of its main output, behavior. Although our ability to record from and to manipulate neurons and neural circuits has accelerated at a spectacular pace over the last decade, progress has lagged in coupling the interrogation of the nervous system to similarly high-resolution measures of behavior.

Project Summary Blindness in the United States is a large and increasing problem. Any significant vision loss is debilitating, but profound blindness is devastating to an individual’s ability to be independent and to perform everyday tasks and activities. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States suffer from profound blindness, and most of these currently have no hope of vision recovery. Recently, a retinal prosthesis has become available in Europe, U.S., and Canada for people with profound vision loss from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease.