Press Releases

Our ability to study networks within the nervous system has been limited by the tools available to observe large volumes of cells at once.

A new study in Neuron offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some cases. 

In a study of epilepsy patients, researchers at the National Institutes of Health monitored the electrical activity of thousands of individual brain cells, called neurons, as patients took memory tests.

When the spinal cord is injured, the damaged nerve fibers—called axons—are normally incapable of regrowth, leading to permanent loss of function.

Researchers report an advance in the development of a blood test that could help detect pathological Alzheimer’s disease in people who are showing signs of dementia.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found evidence that specific immune cells may play a key role in the devastating effects of cerebral malaria, a severe form of malaria that mainly affects young children.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced today the selection of John J. Ngai, Ph.D., as director of the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies^® (BRAIN) Initiative. Dr. Ngai is expected to join NIH in March.

New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest that specific immune T cells from people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) show disruptions in the way they produce energy.

There are three treatment options commonly used by doctors in the emergency room to treat patients with refractory status epilepticus, severe seizures that continue even after benzodiazepine medications, which are effective in controlling seizures in more than two-thirds of patients.

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) program for Parkinson’s disease (PD) has launched a data portal to provide de-identified information collected from 4,298 PD patients and healthy controls to researchers working to develop effective therapies for the disease.