Project Grant R21MH141507

The National Institute of Mental Health awarded Drexel University $412,550 on August 1, 2026, under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) to conduct a closed-loop functional magnetic resonance imaging study testing whether neural reactivation causally promotes long-term memory retention.

The project establishes proof-of-principle for a real-time neuroimaging approach—closed-loop neural reinforcement—to manipulate distributed neural activity patterns during memory consolidation. The research uses a four-session experimental protocol in which participants up-regulate memory-specific reactivation after encoding new information, with visual events comprising scenes and faces serving as stimuli. Aim 1 causally tests whether cortical reactivation promotes memory retention; the project further determines the reliability of broader neural correlates of reactivation in the hippocampus and default mode network across sessions. The approach addresses a critical gap in memory science: while animal models and human neuroimaging demonstrate spontaneous neural reactivation during sleep and quiet rest, causality remains unclear, and existing technology cannot precisely manipulate the spatially distributed, intermingled patterns characteristic of reactivation events.

Work is performed at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The period of performance runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2028. This is a Project Grant, an assistance type under NIMH's Mental Health Research Grants program, which supports basic and clinical research to transform understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.