News

NICHD scientists and colleagues identified genetic variants that disable the protein complex BORC as the cause of a severe neurodegenerative disorder that begins early in life. Subsequent work helped unravel the role of BORC in neurons and explain how defects in BORC function may contribute to neurodegeneration.

The properties of neuronal junctions that help form long-term memories and aid in learning are similar between mice and people, according to a new NIH study.

Christopher McBain, Ph.D., has been appointed scientific director and director of the Division of Intramural Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Eight years ago, NIH announced a collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop solutions for a variety of global health challenges. Learn how NICHD research is supporting this goal.

A multidimensional MRI method developed at NICHD can detect astrogliosis, a neuroinflammatory response that occurs in traumatic brain injury and many other neurological conditions, a new study suggests. Researchers had previously established that the multidimensional MRI strategy can identify diffuse axonal injury—a microscopic brain injury that, like astrogliosis, cannot be detected by conventional radiological methods.

NICHD’s Dr. Claire Le Pichon helps advance understanding of neuron injury and neurodegenerative diseases by embracing new technologies, collaborating with other researchers, and mentoring the next generation of scientists. Read about her career path.

Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Deputy Director Dr. Alison Cernich.

Theresa Hayes Cruz, Ph.D., has been selected as director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR).

The NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery—an assessment of cognitive functioning for adults and children participating in neuroscience research—can be adapted to people with intellectual disabilities by modifying some test components and making accommodations for the test-takers’ disabilities, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The adaptations ensure that the battery can be used to assess the cognitive ability of people with intellectual disabilities who have a mental age of 5 years and above, providing objective measures that could be used in a wide variety of studies.

R. Douglas Fields, Ph.D., chief of NICHD’s section on Nervous System Development and Plasticity has been named a distinguished Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Many carriers of the FMR1 premutation—a mutation in the gene associated with the developmental disorder Fragile X syndrome—may have subtle changes in grip strength, fine motor control, and reaction time before other symptoms develop, according to a small study supported in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

After a nationwide search, Alison Cernich, Ph.D., has been selected as deputy director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. Since 2015, Dr. Cernich has served as the director of NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.

Brain proteins known as neuregulins are important for establishing normal brain activity, according to recent studies led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD participates in the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program to support pediatric research and understand the link between pediatric cancers and structural birth defects.

Read a selection of past Spotlights featuring the stories of kids and adults whose lives have been enhanced by NICHD-supported research through new treatments, improved patient engagement, and new prevention and intervention campaigns.

Violence is a leading cause of death for people 10 to 24 years old in the United States. In addition, nearly a million young people are treated for injuries each year as a result of physical violence, sexual assault, bullying, or self-harm. Youth violence also can cause long-term emotional and psychological harm.

A disease is considered rare in the United States if it affects fewer than 200,000 people. There are approximately 7,000 rare diseases known today.

The National Institutes of Health has launched a new initiative to identify biomarkers and track the progression of Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, an opportunity to spread awareness and enhance understanding of Down syndrome, a congenital disorder in people who have an extra 21st chromosome.

Ever wonder why regular and diet soda taste so different? Both are sweet, but new research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may explain how you can tell one from another. The study, published in the September 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shows for the first time that the moth brain can detect and interpret thousands of individual tastes, not just broad categories of taste as was previously thought.