# Diversity supplement to Analysis of Nonstationary Point Process Data

> **NIH NIH R01** · CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $72,228

## Abstract

Project Summary
Much mental health research uses neurophysiological measurements to describe the way
neural activity within and across brain regions is related to behavioral function and dysfunction.
One kind of signal, known as a spike train, comes from an individual neuron. Another, the local
field potential (LFP), is based on activity from large numbers of neurons within specified parts of
the brain. For both kinds of data, scientifically rigorous statistical analysis must accommodate
unstable fluctuations, associated with movement or thought, known in statistics as non-
stationarity. The continuing research program of this grant is to develop methods for analyzing
non-stationary neural data. Of particular interest is the description of interactions among two or
more brain areas.
This application is for an administrative supplement to support an under-represented minority
PhD student for two years. As documented by, among others, the National Science Foundation,
people of African ancestry are severely under-represented in the sciences. The training
provided to the candidate, under this supplement, would serve to elevate the candidate's
research profile, and would ultimately contribute to enhancing diversity in the STEM workforce.
The candidate's research concerns methods for identifying the flow of information from one
brain area to another based on neural spike trains. Two major complications are, first, the
noisiness of spike trains as conveyors of information and, second, the large numbers of neurons
that must be considered simultaneously. Statistical methods developed very recently, through
research supported by this grant, suggest very promising approaches to reducing the effects of
noise and grappling with large networks of neurons. Based on these ideas, the candidate will
develop a PhD thesis topic, and pursue it, with support from this supplement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10378845
- **Project number:** 3R01MH064537-18S1
- **Recipient organization:** CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT E KASS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $72,228
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2001-09-26 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10378845

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10378845, Diversity supplement to Analysis of Nonstationary Point Process Data (3R01MH064537-18S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10378845. Licensed CC0.

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