BRAIN Initiative: Optimization of Instrumentation and Device Technologies for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (U01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks applications to optimize instrumentation and device technologies for recording and modulation of neural cells and circuits, to address major challenges and to enable transformative understanding of dynamic signaling in the central nervous system. It is expected that the proposed technologies and approaches have previously demonstrated their transformative potential through initial proof-of-concept testing, and are ready for accelerated refinement through iterative engineering and end-user feedback, appropriate for a path towards sustainable dissemination and user-friendly incorporation into routine neuroscience research. Applications may propose development of instrumentation hardware and/or devices and associated software. Approaches may utilize any modality such as optical, electrical, magnetic, or acoustic recording/manipulation, to target neuronal electrical signals or other forms of neural activity, including intracellular signaling and engagement of non-neuronal cells in circuit function. The aim of the proposed technologies should be to reduce major barriers to conducting neurobiological experiments, including considerations of cost and ease of access, and to enable new discoveries for understanding neural circuit function. Technologies should address major challenges associated with recording and modulating CNS activity, at cellular or circuit resolution, and should contribute to an overall ecosystem of technologies spanning multiple spatial and temporal scales in any region throughout the CNS. The approaches should be compatible with experiments in behaving animals, with an expectation that they will be validated with in vivo experiments during the course of the project.