The National Institutes of Health has doled out $46 million in total grants to support 58 research projects that aim to create new brain mapping systems and methods.
NIH said Tuesday more than 100 neuroscientists will conduct technology-based experiments to better understand brain function, structure and disease under the White House’s BRAIN initiative.
“These initial awards are part of a 12-year scientific plan focused on developing the tools and technologies needed to make the next leap in understanding the brain,” said NIH Director Francis Collins.
Some of the grantees will work to build a wearable scanner, lasers, a radio wave technology and DNA barcodes for monitoring neural activity, according to the agency.
President Barack Obama launched the program last year with the goal of helping researchers gain insight into potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury and autism.
NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National Science Foundation have pledged more than $110 million in fiscal 2014 funds to the BRAIN initiative.
