Last year, a paralyzed patient unable to talk used her brain waves to speak sentences. This astonishing feat, straight out of science fiction, was made possible by funding from the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative.
Yet, in a stunningly shortsighted move, Congress has slashed funding for this program by a staggering 40 percent for fiscal year 2024. This $278 million cut deals a devastating blow to an initiative that is paving the way for new treatments for brain-based disorders. Many researchers, including the undersigned authors, believe the BRAIN Initiative is one of the most promising scientific endeavors of our time.
The consequences of this budget cut will be disastrous, cutting off hope for millions of Americans whose lives have been devastated by Alzheimer’s, stroke, depression and other neurological or psychiatric conditions. Congress’s cut to the BRAIN Initiative’s funding — representing a mere 0.0043 percent of the federal budget — will significantly hamper scientific progress, delay medical advances, and undermine the United States’ preeminence in neuroscience research. This move is fiscally shortsighted in light of the astronomical economic burden of brain disorders, costing the United States $1.5 trillion annually, a remarkable 9 percent of its gross domestic product.
Since 2013, the BRAIN Initiative has been advancing treatments for a host of diseases and disorders. BRAIN-funded scientists have already created brain stimulation technologies for traumatic brain injury, stroke, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, binge-eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. The BRAIN Initiative recently published a detailed atlas of the mouse brain’s 32 million cells, including their genetic makeup, locations and connections to one another. This map, a monumental collaborative scientific achievement, has already helped researchers identify which cells degenerate in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, a crucial step toward developing treatments for these currently incurable conditions.
The brain is the most complex organ in the known universe. Immense efforts have been dedicated to deciphering the electric signals representing our sensations, thoughts, feelings and memories. Building a device to translate brain waves into speech is the fruit of a tree that generations of scientists have carefully tended over decades of research. While some trees are already yielding game-changing breakthroughs, others, relating to the neural basis of diseases like schizophrenia, may not bear fruit for years. Without the sustained investment in the BRAIN Initiative needed for these trees to flourish, they could wither and die before coming to harvest.
The BRAIN Initiative cuts not only jeopardize progress toward urgent societal needs but they also threaten American leadership in neuroscience. As other nations ramp up their investments in brain research, they will be eager to scoop up the talented researchers and innovative ideas that will be left behind by slashed U.S. funding. Even a short funding gap will inevitably lead to an irreversible brain drain.
Our country has long demonstrated visionary leadership in embracing groundbreaking scientific endeavors. The technology developed by the human genome project launched by President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s has transformed how cancer is treated today based on an individual’s genetic variation. The technologies developed by the first phase of the BRAIN initiative have set the stage for analogous breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain that will be foundational for treating its dysfunction.
As researchers on the front lines of neuroscience, we can attest that progress in brain research has increased considerably following the technologies and discoveries of the BRAIN Initiative. The enormous potential for these next steps is palpable. This is not the moment to divest in brain research. Indeed, we should be redoubling our commitment. From safeguarding our children’s health to improving our parent’s quality of life, there is simply too much at stake to let this budget cut stand.
We face the opportunity to invest in the research needed to alleviate the suffering of millions. With so much at stake for our health and economy, we encourage everyone to reach out to their congressional representatives and urge them to act swiftly. We must reverse this damaging cut and recommit to robust funding for the BRAIN Initiative.
