PROJECT SUMMARY A detailed and comprehensive census of central nervous system (CNS) cell types and states is essential to our understanding of the neural substrates of cognition and behavior.
Project abstract BRAIN pioneers are people who take on significant risk as participants in first-in-human or early neurotechnology studies for the sake of helping to further science.
Project Summary/Abstract The objective of “Brain Computer Interfaces and Disability: Developing an Inclusive Ethical Framework (BCI- DEF)” is to use structured vignettes, video-supported interviews, and a deliberative democracy approach to assess and analyze diverse, critical stakeholder perspectives about the benefits, risks, and ethical challenges of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology. BCIs measure and interpret brain signals and interface with a device to allow users to perform a task, such as communication or movement.
Project Summary Neurotechnologies used to treat brain disorders and diseases can drastically change brain function and behavior, monitor brain activity, and collect and transmit personal health data. Industry-academia (IA) partnerships play a critical role in bringing neurotechnologies to market for public benefit. However, there are significant ethical issues that emerge from these partnerships, especially given the unique capacities of neurotechnologies.
ABSTRACT Morphology is an essential phenotype in the characterization of cells and their states. It reflects the progression of functional cellular processes, such as morphogenesis, migration, or dendrite arborization, and can be indicative of disease. Delineating the molecular pathways that underlie morphological phenotypes is critical to understanding the relation between genetic pathways, morphology, and function of cells in the brain.
The brain is a massively interconnected network of specialized circuits. Understanding how these circuits support sensation, perception, cognition, and action requires measuring activity patterns within and across regions, but the measurements themselves do not produce insight into the structure or function of the underlying neuronal system. Insight requires the applications of quantitative methods that relate neuronal activity patterns to experimentally measurable variables, including things like present and past sensory inputs, current location, and current or future motor outputs.
PROJECT SUMMARY The AAV BRAIN Safe and Effective Neuromodulator and Sensor Utilization across Species (SENSUS, led by Caltech) of the
Abstract Transcranial alternating current stimulation (TACS) non-invasively alters neuroelectric activity in the human brain by applying weak, time-varying electric currents to the scalp. It is increasingly being explored as a therapeutic intervention for various brain disorders by affecting pathological oscillatory neural activity. Despite its increasing popularity and rapidly growing literature, the basic physiological mechanisms of TACS are still not well understood.
Project Summary/Abstract We will develop a novel technology for noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the human brain. TMS is a standard tool in experimental brain science and is FDA cleared for treatment of depression, obsessive- compulsive disorder, and migraine as well as pre-surgical brain mapping. However, the underlying high-power electromagnetic pulse technology has substantial limitations. First, the temporal waveform of conventional TMS pulses is exclusively sinusoidal with fixed shape and duration.
Abstract The ability to noninvasively modulate and image the brain with spatial and temporal precision is highly desirable for understanding brain circuits in health and disease. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a method for stimulating the superficial cortex with high spatial and temporal precision, and its effects can be aimed at deeper targets by leveraging the trans-synaptic connectivity of brain circuits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has high spatial resolution but limited temporal precision, and the opposite holds for electroencephalography (EEG).
