NIH is building a new arsenal of tools and technologies to unlock the mysteries of the brain. The NIH funding action supports the “Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies” (BRAIN) initiative.
“The human brain is one of the most complicated structures in the known universe,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to develop new technologies to map the circuits of the brain, measure activity within the circuits, and understand how their interactions maintain health and modulate human behavior.”
The agencies contributing to the research include NIH, NSF, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with the agencies expected to contribute $110 million in the 2014 fiscal year. Private organizations have also signed on to support this interdisciplinary effort.
The first wave of investments will focus largely on technology development to advance basic science. Two of the funding announcements call for developing methods for classifying and accessing the diverse cells and circuits of the brain.
Three other research projects focus on developing and optimizing technologies for recording and modulating collections of cells that function together as a circuit. Another research project supports the formation of interdisciplinary teams of scientists to develop the next generation on non-invasive imaging technologies for human research.