The 2024 BBI seed grant projects use computational approaches, as well as the BBI’s Advanced Genomic Technology and Small Animal MRI cores, to explore how the brain learns about social communication, how new MRI technology can enhance analysis of the brain’s ability to process sensory information, and how to reduce substance relapse. The three chosen projects include nine UMCP faculty members across several departments and institutes on campus.
This project will examine single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomics in cortical-basal ganglia circuits underlying oxycodone relapse of substance dependence in a rat model.
This project will investigate real-time social situations by using computational models of behavior during natural two-way social interactions. It seeks to build a more integrated computational framework of how the brain learns about, dynamically updates, and communicates with a social partner.
This project will develop a novel optical fiber implant that allows for targeted, depth-adjustable light delivery to cells in the brain. By combining this tool with optogenetics and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the project attempts to control the activity of specific cortical layers and observe the downstream effect on the entire brain's function.