# CRCNS: Linking receptorarchitecture and functional brain  networks across species

> **NIH NIH R01** · CHILD MIND INSTITUTE, INC. · 2024 · $175,344

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (See instructions):
Neurotransmitter receptors, varying in distribution across the neocortex, play a crucial role in modulating
neural excitability and neural network communication. The relationship between receptor architecture and
brain function, particularly considering the origin and evolution of the complex structure-function interplay
across species, remains largely unexplored. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to bridge this
gap through integration of 3D neurotransmitter receptor autoradiography with multimodal MRI across four
species (humans, macaques, marmosets, rats). Towards this goal, we will reconstruct high-resolution
receptor maps in rats and marmosets using a transfer-learning neural network (human and macaque data
were completed). In Aim 1, we will innovate multimodal cross-species brain alignment by using graphmatching
and joint-embedding algorithms to extract homologous multimodal features (i.e. receptor
architecture, fMRI functional connectivity) and improve interspecies brain alignment across four species.
Such alignment will provide a cross-species transformation for future translation studies using animal
models. Following optimal brain alignment, Aim 2 will focus on structure-function coupling by comparing
receptor and function connectivity gradients across neocortex, as well as the regional similarity between
receptor lamination covariance and functional connectivity within and across species. This will uncover the
common and species-specific relationship between microscale receptor architecture and macroscale
functional connectivity. Finally, Aim 3 aims to link brain spatiotemporal dynamic signatures (i.e.,
coactivation patterns, traveling waves) with receptor architecture within and across species - providing an
evolutionary perspective of the neurochemical basis for brain dynamics. The outcomes, including fMRI
derivatives, 3D receptor atlases, and cross-species transformation will be shared via the PRIMatE Data
Resource Exchange and the EBRAI NS platform to foster further basic and translational research in the
neuroscience community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11083182
- **Project number:** 1R01MH139349-01
- **Recipient organization:** CHILD MIND INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Ting Xu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $175,344
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11083182

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11083182, CRCNS: Linking receptorarchitecture and functional brain  networks across species (1R01MH139349-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11083182. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*