Interagency BRAIN Intitiave Awardees Meeting in Bethesda, MD, November 20-21, 2014

人们普遍认为，理解行为是如何从大脑回路的电和化学活动的动态模式中产生的，是科学中的一个基本谜团。现代神经科学通过利用多个科学学科的进展，朝着这一目标迈进了一大步。这些发展将这一领域带到了一个独特的时刻，在这个时刻，对大脑的理解革命似乎就在我们的掌握之中。利用这一独特的时刻，创建了大脑倡议，以催化国家了解大脑的努力。作为大脑计划的一部分，NSF将开发一系列确定健康大脑功能所需的物理和概念工具。在2014财年，美国国家科学基金会颁发了36项探索性研究早期概念补助金(AGERGE)奖项，旨在捕捉神经回路的活动。这一奖项将支持一个研讨会，以召集来自NSF大脑热切竞争的获奖者和来自其他联邦大脑倡议努力的获奖者。这次研讨会的目的是确定数据管理和技术实施方面的概念基础和挑战。与会者将以小组形式讨论这些问题，并将利用他们的见解产生一套连贯的战略和对大脑倡议目标的期望。组织者正在作出巨大努力，邀请妇女和代表性不足群体的成员作为参与者。此外，这次会议需要广泛的跨学科互动，这将大大有助于这次会议的面对面。重要的是，这次研讨会是协调和调整机构间优先事项以实现大脑倡议目标的协调努力的一部分。为最大限度地扩大讲习班的影响，介绍会的录像将通过一个可供公众查阅的网站传播。

Understanding how behavior emerges from the dynamic patterns of electrical and chemical activity of brain circuits is universally recognized as a fundamental mystery in science. Modern neuroscience has made great strides towards this goal by utilizing advances in multiple scientific disciplines. These developments have brought the field to a unique moment, where a revolution in understanding the brain appears to be within our grasp. Capitalizing on this unique moment, the BRAIN Initiative was created to catalyze national efforts toward understanding the brain. As part of the BRAIN Initiative, NSF will enable the development of an array of physical and conceptual tools needed to determine how healthy brains function. In Fiscal Year 2014, NSF made 36 Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) awards aimed at catching neural circuits in action. This award will support a workshop to convene awardees from the NSF BRAIN EAGER competition and awardees from other federal BRAIN Initiative efforts. The objectives of this workshop are to identify conceptual foundations and challenges in data management and technology implementation. The participants will discuss these issues in small thematic groups, and will use their insights to generate a coherent set of strategies and expectations towards the goals of the BRAIN Initiative. The Organizers are making a strong effort to invite women and members of underrepresented groups as participants. Further, the meeting entails extensive cross-disciplinary interactions, which will be aided greatly by the face-to-face nature of this meeting. Importantly, this workshop is part of a concerted effort to coordinate and align interagency priorities to accomplish the goals of the BRAIN Initiative. To maximize the workshop's impact, video recordings of introductory sessions will be disseminated through a publicly accessible web-site.