# BRAIN CONNECTS: High-Throughput Single Cell Projection Mapping and Spine Quantification in the Primate Brain by Synaptic Barcoding

> **NIH NIH U01** · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. · 2024 · $1,481,203

## Abstract

SUMMARY
The primate brain contains trillions of highly specific synaptic connections that are the building
blocks of neural computation. While tools available in rodents have begun to shed light on how
particular cell types and circuits participate in brain functions, these approaches are not
currently possible to apply to primates. Recently, our labs have developed technology that: 1)
delivers barcoded RNAs to the presynaptic and postsynaptic compartments with high sensitivity
and specificity using AAVs; and 2) allows CNS-wide transduction by AAV through systemic
injection. We will combine these innovations, together with our platforms for single-cell and
spatial transcriptomics, to systematically map the projections of thousands of midbrain
dopaminergic neurons across the marmoset brain. In addition, we will develop strategies for the
rapid and scalable quantification of postsynaptic spines in individual cells, using known
abundance in spine variation amongst the cells of the dentate gyrus as a validation. Together,
these technologies will enable the routine quantification of presynaptic and postsynaptic
phenotypes at a level of resolution and scale that has hitherto been impossible in primate

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10867065
- **Project number:** 1U01NS136398-01
- **Recipient organization:** BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin E Deverman
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,481,203
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-31 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10867065

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10867065, BRAIN CONNECTS: High-Throughput Single Cell Projection Mapping and Spine Quantification in the Primate Brain by Synaptic Barcoding (1U01NS136398-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10867065. Licensed CC0.

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