The National Institutes of Health this week opened the 1st funding opportunities associated with the BRAIN Initiative, looking initially to spur research and development in basic brain sciences.
Healthcare regulators released $40 million in 2014 funding for research into "tools and technologies for unlocking the mysteries of the brain," with some $70 million more to be doled during the year.
The BRAIN Initiative was designed to spur innovation in neurotechnologies that can help researchers better understand the brain, bringing together government groups and private organizations to provide funding and support.
"The human brain is one of the most complicated structures in the known universe," NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said in prepared remarks. "We have an unprecedented opportunity to develop new technologies that will allow us to map the circuits of the brain, measure activity within those circuits, and understand how their interactions maintain health and modulate human behavior."
Initial funding will go to programs advancing "basic science," such as classification of different cells and circuits of the brain, technologies that record and modulate brain circuits and non-invasive brain imaging.
NIH will announce the award winners in 2014, according to an agency announcement.