NINDS News Articles

Four research centers will develop high-impact culturally tailored interventions aimed at lowering stroke risk among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Together the centers are expected to receive $40 million in funding over five years, contingent on the availability of funds from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Cowboys use lassos to catch runaway horses and cattle. Recently, NINDS-funded researchers showed that genetic lassos may also be used to “round-up” toxic runaway molecules in neurons. Their results suggest that molecules, called RNA lariats, may effectively prevent nerve degeneration during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Nestled in the back and bottom part of the brain is a distinctive-looking region called the cerebellum. Nicknamed “the little brain,” the cerebellum is primarily known for controlling movement and coordination.

A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease, according to a study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Neurons send electric sparks from one end of the cell to another. The action potential, a distinctive change in voltage, is a hallmark of electric signaling in neurons. Usually researchers directly monitor these signals with cumbersome electrodes or toxic voltage-sensitive dyes, or indirectly with calcium detectors. For decades, they tried developing voltage-sensitive fluorescent proteins, called fluorogenetic voltage sensors, as a less-invasive alternative. In addition, these detectors could be used in specific types of neurons, including ones that are inaccessible with traditional methods. Previous attempts did not produce proteins sensitive enough to watch action potentials and subtle voltage changes in real time.