New Federal BRAIN Research Discoveries Are Targeted to Improve Clinical Practice

On April 2, 2013, President Obama announced a new public-private partnership to develop new tools and technologies that will enable the research community to obtain a dynamic picture of the brain in action. Initially, 3 federal agenciesthe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, $50M), the NIH ($40M), and the National Science Foundation (NSF, $20M)were charged with initiating new plans for the Brain Research through Advanc-ing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative activities. That list recently grew to include the FDA and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA).1 Those activities complement work supported by the initial private sector partners, the Allen Institute for Brain Science ($60M), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ($30M), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies ($28M), and the Kavli Foundation ($4M). In most cases, the funding amounts indicate investments made in 2014.

In addition to these investments in the American BRAIN Initiative, there is a significant investment by the European Commission in a related effortthe Human Brain Project.2 That project is focused on developing new modeling and computing technologies to understand the brain. The Japanese have recently announced an initiative that will fund research on the marmoset as well as on tool and technology development.3,4 Other countries seem to be considering their own versions of a BRAIN Initiative.

The ethical issues involved in the research sponsored under these initiatives are significant. The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has released a report on ethical issues associated with the conduct of neuroscience research.5 The Human Brain Project also has a robust effort in this area.6

The focus of this report is to provide an update on BRAIN Initiative activities and to discuss the relevance of these activities to psychiatry.

The DARPA was the first federal agency to announce new programs related to the BRAIN Initiative. Large awards under their Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) and Restoring Active Memory (RAM) programs have been announced.

In the RAM program, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pennsylvania have received awards for developing and testing wireless implantable neuroprosthetic devices aimed at overcoming memory deficits that result from traumatic brain injury or disease.7 The SUBNETS program has also made awards of interest to the psychiatric community. The University of California, San Francisco, and Massachusetts General Hospital have received awards to develop closed-loop therapies that incorporate recording and analysis of brain activity with close to real-time neural stimulation. If successful, the treatments developed through this program might be useful in the treatment of major depression or PTSD.8

More recently announced DARPA programs include the Neuro Function, Activity, Structure, and Technology (Neuro-FAST) program that is aimed at developing new optical methods to obtain information about cell types, neuronal connections, and firing activity in participants who are awake and performing various tasks.9 The Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program aims to provide amputees with prosthetic limb systems that feel and function like natural limbs.10

The NSF and the NIH held a series of meetings and workshops before releasing program announcements. The details of the NSF BRAIN Initiative meetings and funding announcements can be found online.11 As a result of those meetings, NSF solicited Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) and has funded 36 awards.12

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New Federal BRAIN Research Discoveries Are Targeted to Improve Clinical Practice