News

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Learn about a collaboration between NICHD and Howard University.

NICHD researchers conducting a clinical study of patients with a rare, fatal neurological disorder have partnered with basic scientists to find better ways to understand the disease, monitor its progression, and ultimately find treatments.

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.

Drug labels for diazepam and clindamycin now include better information for healthcare providers on recommended usage and dosage in pediatric populations.

The nine winning teams and five honorable mentions designed technology solutions to unmet health care needs.

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.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

A 30-minute, self-administered online training module can protect adolescents from unhealthy responses to stress and related mental health consequences, suggests research funded in part by NICHD.

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.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

The amygdala—a brain structure enlarged in two-year-old children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—begins its accelerated growth between 6 and 12 months of age, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The amygdala is involved in processing emotions, such as interpreting facial expressions or feeling afraid when exposed to a threat. The findings indicate that therapies to reduce the symptoms of ASD might have the greatest chance of success if they begin in the first year of life, before the amygdala begins its accelerated growth.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Infants born during the pandemic—regardless of whether their mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy—scored slightly lower on certain tests of neurodevelopment at 6 months old, compared to a similar group of infants born before the pandemic, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that children born during the pandemic may need long-term monitoring to rapidly identify any future lags in development. The researchers theorized that maternal stress resulting from the pandemic could have effects on children’s neurodevelopment.

Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2021.

Specialized regions in infant brains appear to respond to visual information in much the same way adult brains do, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Located in the visual cortex, these brain regions selectively process faces, bodies, or scenes. Previously, researchers had believed that it took years for these regions to develop before they would function like an adult’s visual cortex. The findings may provide information helpful for understanding disorders in which facial recognition is impaired, such as autism spectrum disorder and bipolar disorder.

Riluzole, a drug approved to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease affecting nerve cells controlling movement, could slow the gradual loss of a particular brain cell that occurs in Niemann-Pick disease type C1 (NPC1), a rare genetic disorder affecting children and adolescents, suggests a study in mice by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

The newly published 2021 NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation reflects advances since the previous plan was released in 2016 and new directions that will help guide rehabilitation research across NIH for the next five years.

Episodes of maternal stress or depression during pregnancy are associated with chemical modifications to placental genes, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health. The modifications involve DNA methylation—binding of compounds known as methyl groups to DNA—which can alter a gene’s activity. Some of the methylation changes associated with maternal depression occurred near genes involved in brain development, suggesting that maternal depression in pregnancy could have long-term implications for the mental development of the child.

An environment in which family members support one another and express their feelings can reduce the effects of social deprivation on cognitive ability and development among adopted children, suggests a small study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. In contrast, rule-driven households where family members are in conflict may increase an adopted child’s chances for cognitive, behavioral and emotional difficulties.