How brain chemicals shape breathing rhythms
Official title: CRCNS: Evidence-based modeling of neuromodulatory action on network properties
Funded at Brandeis University · NIH-11324981 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses computer models to show how the timing of different brain chemicals changes the tiny brain circuit that controls breathing.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brandeis University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Waltham, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $357,884 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA057767-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324981 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This work is most relevant to people with central breathing disorders such as central sleep apnea, congenital central hypoventilation, or opioid-induced respiratory depression who might benefit from therapies targeting brain circuit function.
✕Less likely to help
People whose breathing problems are caused mainly by blocked airways (for example, obstructive sleep apnea or purely mechanical lung disease) are less likely to benefit directly from this basic modeling work.
What this research studies
From your perspective, the team builds detailed computer models of the preBotzinger Complex, the small brain network that sets the rhythm for inhaling. They combine existing experimental data with simulations to test how excitatory and inhibitory neuromodulators, delivered in different orders, change network behavior. The researchers look for switches in activity (bistability) or sudden shifts (bifurcations) that could explain why breathing adapts or fails under different conditions. Insights could help guide future therapies for people with central breathing problems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to protect or restore normal breathing in people with central breathing disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Prior experimental and computational studies have mapped respiratory circuits, but using temporal-order models of opposing neuromodulators to predict bistability is a newer approach with limited direct clinical testing so far.
Where this research is happening
-
Brandeis University
Waltham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Yangyang — Brandeis University
- Study coordinator: Wang, Yangyang
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.