The fundamental objective of the BRAIN Initiative is to understand how dynamic activity in distributed neural circuits mediates human cognitive behavior.
Project Summary/Abstract The investigation of the complex neural dynamics and the cognitive functions of the brain requires non- invasive recording tools with high spatio-temporal resolution. Sub-cellular resolution fluorescence imaging/microscopy, based on either voltage indicators or calcium-sensitive fluorescent proteins, enables parallel recording of the activity of spatially distributed neuron populations.
This Phase I SBIR develops and tests a system for vibrating neural implant floating arrays during insertion to reduce insertion force, dimpling, tissue damage, and bleeding. The approach will allow precise insertion of electrode shanks into shallow cortical layers.
Autonomously-activating bioluminescent reporters to enable continuous, real-time, non- invasive brain cell imaging Project Summary This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a set of genetically encoded, self-exciting bioluminescent (autobioluminescent) optical imaging reporters that will enable continuous neuron and astrocyte specific imaging
Abstract During Phase I, we will test the feasibility of developing a magnetographic camera technology as a new tool in neuroscience to facilitate the detailed analysis of electrical currents in diverse neuronal circuits. Instead of photographic images, the camera will produce single-shot images of the magnetic fields from in vivo samples of interest, such as a patch of the grey matter in the cerebral cortex or the dorsal hippocampus.
SF424 – Project Summary Understanding how the brain generates certain behaviors requires an understanding of the function of individual neurons in dynamical neural circuits. Currently, there are few technologies available however that allow researchers to record both the activity within a brain region, and between brain regions in the brains of awake, behaving animals. Recent advances in microelectrode fabrication are now enabling recordings of recording hundreds to thousands of neurons simultaneously across brain regions that will lead to functional analyses of dynamical neural circuits.
Project Summary/Abstract It is the dream of researcher's and clinician's to have available a low cost, portable MRI scanner for brain neuroimaging. However, such a low cost MRI system requires a small bore MRI magnet. Unfortunately, in the case of conventional MRI systems, small bore magnets have a usable homogeneous magnetic field Diameter Spherical Volume (DSV) that is much smaller than the size of the human brain.
Project Summary Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a broad diagnosis for a disorder characterized by symptoms affecting repetitive behavior, social communication, and cognitive ability. 1 in 68 children in the US is affected with ASD (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017) and the likelihood that a child will be affected with ASD is 10 times higher if they have a sibling with ASD. Traditionally, diagnosis occurs most frequently between age 3 to 6 and severe ASD can be diagnosed as early as 18 months.
PROJECT SUMMARY WINCS International LLC, in partnership with Mayo Clinic, proposes to develop and demonstrate a highly innovative next-generation clinical instrument together with custom user-friendly display and analysis software. For the first time, the Multifunctional Apparatus for Voltammetry, Electrophysiology, and Neuromodulation (MAVEN) will offer wireless voltammetric sensing of multiple neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, and adenosine) at carbon-fiber microelectrodes.
Abstract The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Understanding its neural connections and molecular anatomy requires imaging technology that is capable of mapping the 3D nanoscale distribution of specific proteins in the context of brain ultrastructure. The currently best available option is correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), which combines the resolving power and global contrast of EM with the high molecular specificity of fluorescence microscopy.
