National Institutes of Health Significantly Boosts Investment in Brain Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced significant increases in its investment in cutting-edge brain research. This investment is through funding for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. NIH recently announced over $220 million in funding through more than 200 awards. With this additional funding, the total 2018 support for the BRAIN initiative now totals over $400 million, a more than 50 percent increase from last year.

The BRAIN initiative was started in 2013 as a large-scale effort to accelerate neuroscience research by equipping researchers with the tools and insights necessary for treating a wide variety of brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. Some of the achievements the program has achieved since its start include the discovery of a new type of human brain cell, a self-tuning deep brain stimulation device for treating Parkinson’s disease, and novel new treatments for concussions.

New initiatives that have won awards through this increased funding include the development of a noninvasive brain-computer interface system for improving the lives of paralysis patients, and the testing of noninvasive brain stimulation devices for treating schizophrenia and attention deficit disorders among other brain diseases.

“New tools to map the brain deepen our understanding of how circuit activity relates to behavior,” said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health. “The BRAIN Initiative is laying the foundation for improved ways to target brain circuits disrupted in brain disorders.”

For more information about the BRAIN Initiative, click here: https://www.braininitiative.nih.gov/