Sunday, September 14, 2025 9/14/2025

Brain control of internal organ function

Award Number: DP1AT011979
ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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Brain control of internal organ function - Abstract Adaptive control of behavior is critical for survival. Even a simple movement, like extending the arm, requires the activation of many neuronal populations across the nervous system. Our lab has used a combination of anatomical, genetic, optical and behavioral approaches to unravel how animals move, and learn to control movement. However, adaptive responses are not effected only through muscles, but also through other organs. For example, planning to pick an apple will trigger not only muscle activity but also the expectation of food, and the conditioned release of insulin. Hence adaptive behavior requires the coordination of an organism's actions with its physiological internal states. We propose to leverage our expertise to dissect the neural circuits and principles governing the learning and adaptive “motor” control of internal organ function. We will spearhead this new research direction by investigating conditioned insulin release and conditioned immunosuppression, mediated by the innervation of the pancreas and spleen, respectively. We will leverage state of the art viral and RNA-seq approaches to map with high-resolution the first, second and third-order innervation of spleen and pancreas. Our preliminary anatomical mapping of the innervation of these organs revealed that different populations of celiac-mesenteric ganglia sympathetic neurons innervate pancreas versus spleen. Remarkably, most innervation of the thoracic preganglionic spinal cord targeting these organs emerges from the cortex: motor cortex, but also sensory and prefrontal. We therefore hypothesize that learning to select the appropriate responses in internal organs after conditioning is mediated by higher-order brain circuits, and follows principles similar to those used for motor responses. We propose to use both targeted and unbiased approaches to identify and manipulate the activity of descending neural populations responsible for the learned control of spleen and pancreatic function. This new line of research is innovative but trackable with our expertise, and the Pioneer award support will help us attack this novel research area. Importantly, the proposed research has the potential to conceptually position the nervous system as a “smart” regulator of organism homeostasis, and hence impact health in unexpected ways - mental disorders like anxiety and depression, or neurological problems like stroke, are associated with abnormal physiological states likely emerging from these brain-internal organ interactions.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $997,074 )
2025	2025	ALLEN INSTITUTE	615 WESTLAKE AVE N	SEATTLE	WA	98109	KING	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	5	7/30/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$997,074
														Subtotal = $997,074

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $1,103,092 )
2024	2024	ALLEN INSTITUTE	615 WESTLAKE AVE N	SEATTLE	WA	98109	KING	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	4	7/18/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,103,092
														Subtotal = $1,103,092

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $1,148,343 )
2023	2023	ALLEN INSTITUTE	615 WESTLAKE AVE N	SEATTLE	WA	98109	KING	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	002	3	7/28/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,148,343
2023	2022	ALLEN INSTITUTE	615 WESTLAKE AVE N	SEATTLE	WA	98109	KING	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	001	2	6/6/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$200,534
2023	2021	THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK	630 W 168TH ST FL 4	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	1	6/6/2023	NEW	-$200,534
														Subtotal = $1,148,343

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $1,188,152 )
2022	2022	ALLEN INSTITUTE	615 WESTLAKE AVE N	SEATTLE	WA	98109	KING	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	001	2	9/12/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$1,188,152
2022	2021	TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE	630 W 168TH ST FL 4	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	1	9/12/2022	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $1,188,152

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $1,134,000 )
2021	2021	TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE	630 W 168TH ST FL 4	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	001	1	9/24/2021	NEW	$0
2021	2021	TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE	630 W 168TH ST FL 4	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	1	9/21/2021	NEW	$1,134,000
														Subtotal = $1,134,000

Grand Total All Awards = $5,570,661

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Brain control of internal organ function

Award Number: DP1AT011979

ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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