BRAIN Initiative: Brain-Behavior Quantification and Synchronization – Transformative Research on Behavior at the Organismal Level

The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative, a collaboration of Federal and non-Federal partners led by NIH, seeks to accelerate development and dissemination of new neurotechnologies, transdisciplinary approaches, and scientific databases to study brain function with unprecedented resolution and scope. The BRAIN Initiative’s Brain Behavior Quantification and Synchronization (BBQS) Program furthers this mission by supporting the development of tools for high-resolution, multimodal tracking of complex behaviors synchronously with neural activity and advancement of theoretical frameworks and computational models for understanding neurobehavioral function in real-world settings. This BRAIN Initiative-funded BBQS opportunity will support transdisciplinary research involving human subjects and/or other species aiming to advance methods to capture and model complex behavior at the organismal level in dynamic environments. Required objectives include advancing sensing technologies and approaches for minimally intrusive, high-resolution, synchronous measurement of multiple biobehavioral functions (e.g. movements, peripheral physiology and neural activity) with simultaneous, multi-level tracking of environmental variables; and developing analytic and computational approaches that will lead to new, testable models of neurobehavioral function as a complex dynamic system shaped by the organism’s environment. Participation in consortium activities will be required. This forecast is authorized under 42 U.S.C. 241&284 and 114 U.S.C. 255.