The National Institutes of Health has invested $220M for a new wave of neuroscience programs under the multiagency Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative.
NIH said Friday some of the 200 new projects will involve developing and assessing technologies for monitoring brain activity, nursing paralysis patients, treating mental illnesses and exploring non-addictive medication for individuals who have fallen into the opioid crisis.
Francis Collins, director of NIH, said the new initiatives will provide new resources needed to unearth answers for various neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders as part of the institute’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term initiative.
The BRAIN Initiative now has more than $400M in Congress-supported funds just for this year alone, which is more than 50 percent than the amount spent for the program in 2017.
A few of the existing programs financially support the development of new technologies that can help map brain circuit activities.