{"id":5656,"date":"2015-08-17T15:42:30","date_gmt":"2015-08-17T15:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revoscience.com\/en\/?p=5656"},"modified":"2015-08-17T15:42:30","modified_gmt":"2015-08-17T15:42:30","slug":"bold-new-brain-research-in-neuroengineering-brain-inspired-design-and-individuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/bold-new-brain-research-in-neuroengineering-brain-inspired-design-and-individuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Bold new brain research in neuroengineering, brain-inspired design, and individuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

$13.1 million for 16 new awards part of NSF’s support for integrative, fundamental brain research and the BRAIN Initiative<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Much<\/a>
Much of how brain cells connect to create meaningful networks a mystery. One NSF-funded team seeks to develop a theory of how single neural cells form electrically active networks. The project will integrate emerging methods in computer science, systems biology, neuroengineering and developmental biology to offer insight into the brain’s organization. This animation shows how young neurons develop over a two-day span.
Credit: Arun Mahadevan, Qutub Lab, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How does sleep affect individual memories? How do brain cells connect to form meaningful networks? How is a word like “chair” conceptualized in the mind?<\/span><\/p>\n

To support potentially transformative research in neural and cognitive systems, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 16 grants to multidisciplinary teams from across the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each award brings together scientists and engineers from diverse fields to investigate brain-related mysteries. The awards fall within two themes:\u00a0neuroengineering<\/strong>\u00a0and brain-inspired concepts and designs<\/strong>, and\u00a0individuality and variation<\/strong>. Each provides up to $1 million over two to four years.<\/span><\/p>\n

“These new projects will explore big, exciting ideas in neuroscience to push hard against the boundaries of what we know,” said Betty Tuller, NSF program director in the\u00a0Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate<\/span><\/a>, who will help oversee the awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A multidisciplinary team of investigators in cognitive science, neuroscience and computer vision will examine how visual memories are encoded in the human brain at milliseconds and millimeters-resolution. The work may help predict what people remember when they see an image or an event.
Credit: Aude Oliva, MIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Understanding the brain<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The awards stem from the cross-disciplinary NSF\u00a0Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems program<\/span><\/a>, which supports innovative, integrative, boundary-crossing approaches necessary to advance brain science. They are the result of the program\u2019s first solicitation for research proposals, released in fall 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

“These teams are building on creative ideas from within and beyond neuroscience,” said Kenneth Whang, NSF program director in the\u00a0Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate<\/span><\/a>, which co-funds the awards. “We’re seeing some dynamic new research collaborations that will have huge impacts on fundamental questions, and on what we can discover or invent in the future.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The NSF directorates for\u00a0Engineering<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and for\u00a0Education and Human Resources<\/span><\/a>\u00a0also support the awards. NSF will announce new research themes soon, along with a call for new proposals.<\/span><\/p>\n

These new awards will contribute to NSF\u2019s significant investments in support of the\u00a0BRAIN Initiative<\/span><\/a>, a coordinated research effort that seeks to accelerate the development of new neurotechnologies that promise to help researchers answer fundamental questions about how the brain works.<\/span><\/p>\n

The principal investigators for the new awards are as follows:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Neuroengineering and brain-inspired concepts and design<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n