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Scientists design gene delivery systems for cells in the brain and spinal cord
May 21, 2025: NIH-funded breakthrough could enable targeted therapies for many neurological disorders.
Scientists map unprecedented detail of connections and visual perception in the mouse brain
April 9, 2025: NIH-funded project helps unravel the brain’s wiring, giving clues to how we see the world.
Creating an artificial sense of touch
February 27, 2025: Advanced bionic limbs could potentially tap directly into the brain to provide an artificial sense of touch. This would let people control and receive sensory feedback from robotic arms and hands, or even artificial limbs attached to a wheelchair instead of their bodies.
Aging may change some brain cells more than others
January 2, 2025: NIH-funded mouse study provides roadmap for how aging may alter brain cell genetic activity.
Alzheimer’s disease may damage the brain in two phases
December 20, 2024: NIH-funded brain mapping study uncovers which cell types may be harmed first.
Researchers Fully Map Neural Connections of the Fruit Fly Brain
October 2, 2024: NIH-supported milestone will advance understanding of brain processes in larger animals.
Meet Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
August 27, 2024: An NIH MedlinePlus magazine feature interview with Dr. Walter Koroshetz, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Koroshetz spoke about his passion for the brain, his path to NINDS, and how the BRAIN Initiative® is transforming how we understand the brain.
Self-adjusting brain pacemaker may help reduce Parkinson’s disease symptoms
August 19, 2024: A small feasibility study funded by NIH found that an implanted device regulated by the body’s brain activity could provide continual and improved treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in certain people with the disorder
New Gene Delivery Method Paves the Way for Advanced Brain Therapies
August 15, 2024: A new study, funded through the BRAIN Initiative and the NIH Common Fund’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing program, describes a promising way to carry genetic material into the brain to reach cellular targets.
NIH supports our valued Asian American, Asian immigrant and Asian research colleagues
August 15, 2024: NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli expresses deep appreciation for the contributions of Asian American and Asian Immigrant scientists to NIH's mission.
The Kavli Prize
July 15, 2024: The BRAIN Initiative congratulates Dr. Nancy Kanwisher, Dr. Winrich Freiwald, and Dr. Doris Tsao, co-recipients of the 2024 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. Together with Dr. A. Paul Alivisatos, this year’s co-recipient of this year’s Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, Drs. Freiwald and Tsao have contributed to the BRAIN Initiative through their science and visionary perspectives.
Research in Context: Movement after paralysis
July 9, 2024: NIH-funded researchers have been working to restore movement to people living with paralysis. This special Research in Context feature explores the different experimental approaches scientists are developing, including BRAIN-funded researcher Dr. Marco Capogrosso, a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh, to allow people without control of their body’s movements to become more independent and improve their quality of life.
10th Annual BRAIN Initiative Conference features luminaries and innovators in neuroscience and biomedicine
June 13, 2024: The 10th Annual BRAIN Initiative Conference: Celebrating a Decade of Innovation will convene the BRAIN Initiative community to acknowledge this important milestone. Attendees will come together to discuss and learn about the latest discoveries in neuroscience in the spirit of the Initiative’s ambitious mission to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain and to accelerate this knowledge into the development of innovative technologies to improve how we treat, prevent, and cure disorders of the brain. This conference is open to the public.
Visiting Officials Observe Princeton’s Neuroscience Advances
June 7, 2024: John Ngai, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative, and U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman visited in May with Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) researchers to discuss recent advances toward understanding the fundamental workings of the brain.
Blood flow makes waves across the surface of the mouse brain
May 29, 2024: Researchers have, for the first time, visualized the full network of blood vessels across the cortex of awake mice, finding that blood vessels rhythmically expand and contract leading to “waves” washing across the surface of the brain. These findings, funded by in part by The BRAIN Initiative® improve the understanding of how the brain receives blood, though the function of the waves remains a mystery.