MRI: Acquisition of a controllable pulse transcranial magnetic stimulator with robotic positioning and integrated EEG / EMG for engineering and neuroscience research and education

了解大脑在运动、认知和情绪等行为中的作用，对于科学和工程的进步以及促进健康和健康的改善至关重要。动物的侵入性方法不能很容易地适应人类，这为对清醒行为的人类大脑的因果研究制造了技术障碍。在人类身上有一种很有前途的方法，即经颅磁刺激，它使用磁脉冲来非侵入性且安全地调节大脑活动。然而，刺激器不分青红皂白地调节脑细胞(神经元)，这阻碍了对不同神经元如何驱动行为的研究。这项奖励将有助于获得一种尖端刺激器，使科学家能够调节大脑中特定的神经元群体。该系统包括一个集成的定位机器人，用于精确定位和记录设备，这些设备读取来自大脑或肌肉的生理信号，以客观量化对不同神经群体和行为的影响。这一仪器将使新的发现成为可能，从而促进大脑和行为研究的新研究。至关重要的是，与拟议教育计划相配套的仪器将为STEM和健康科学方面的学生创造独特的培训机会，降低代表人数不足的学生，包括有色人种和妇女的入学门槛。该项目利用东北大学的体验式教育模式和各种多样性/包容性倡议来支持不同的研究生和K-12学生和教师的研究。该项目提议购买一种可控脉冲经颅磁刺激器，能够对人类大脑中的特定神经群体进行差异化调制，并集成机器人定位、脑电和肌电记录。这个仪器将是美国东北部唯一的这样的系统。作为东北大学非侵入性脑刺激中心的一部分，它将使对人类神经生理学和脑-行为关系的前所未有的基础科学研究成为可能，并在刺激器开发、自动机器人定位、生理记录中刺激诱导的伪迹去除、闭环刺激和人工智能/机器学习算法等基础工程研究方面取得重大进展。允许研究人员控制刺激波形并以不同的方式激活不同的神经群体，将使科学工作范围跨越多个学科，包括运动和情感神经科学、认知、记忆、发育、衰老和脑生理学的生物物理建模。通过这一工具提出的多样性和教育计划将降低代表不足的少数族裔学生参与尖端体验式STEM教育的门槛。该项目将对科技创新以及培养一支新的、多样化的、跨学科的劳动力队伍以推动这一领域的发展产生深远的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Understanding the brain’s role in behaviors such as movement, cognition and emotion is paramount to progress in science and engineering, and to advancing improvements in health and wellness. Invasive approaches in animals cannot be readily adapted to humans, creating a technological barrier to causal study of the brain in awake behaving humans. One promising approach in humans, transcranial magnetic stimulation, uses magnetic pulses to noninvasively and safely modulate brain activity. However, stimulators modulate brain cells (neurons) indiscriminately, which prevents studying how distinct neurons drive behavior. This award will facilitate the acquisition of a cutting-edge stimulator that allows scientists to modulate specific neuron populations in the brain. The system includes an integrated positioning robot for precise localization and recording devices that read physiological signals from the brain or muscles to objectively quantify the effects on different neural populations and behavior. This instrumentation will enable discoveries that will catalyze new research in the study of brain and behavior. Crucially, the instrumentation paired with the proposed education plan will create unique training opportunities for students in STEM and health science, lowering the barrier of entry for underrepresented students, including persons of color and women. The project leverages Northeastern University’s experiential education model and various diversity/inclusion initiatives to support research by diverse (under)graduate and K-12 students and teachers.The project proposes the acquisition of a controllable-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulator capable of differentially modulating specific neural populations in the human brain, with integrated robotic positioning and electroencephalography and electromyography recording. This instrumentation will be the only such system in the Northeastern US. As part of the Northeastern University Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Center, it will enable unprecedented basic science research into human neurophysiology and brain-behavior relationships, and significant advances in fundamental engineering research in stimulator development, automated robotic positioning, stimulation-induced artifact removal in physiological recordings, closed-loop stimulation, and artificial intelligence / machine learning algorithms. Allowing researchers to control stimulus waveforms and to differentially activate distinct neural populations will enable a scientific scope of work that will transcend multiple disciplines including motor and affective neuroscience, cognition, memory, development, aging, and biophysical modeling of brain physiology. The proposed diversity and education plan enabled by this instrument will lower barriers for underrepresented minority students to engage in cutting-edge experiential STEM education. The project’s impact will be profound on science and technology innovation, as well as in training a new, diverse, interdisciplinary workforce to drive this field forward.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.