brain

Postdoc Profile: Going the Extra Mile

Dr. Ayland Letsinger examines the effects of exercise on the brain

Dr. Ayland Letsinger

Every January, gyms are flooded with new members using the beginning of a new year as a burst of motivation to get fit. When many of these new exercise enthusiasts abandon their new healthy habit within a couple months, they shouldn’t feel guilty, according to IRP postdoctoral fellow Ayland Letsinger, Ph.D. He believes there’s a genetic component behind our fluctuating interest in exercise, and he spends his days in his IRP lab investigating such biological factors behind the motivation to move.

“More people would rather binge-watch 'Stranger Things’ for three hours than do 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, and there may be a biological basis behind it,” he explains.

Combination Therapy Shows Increased Effectiveness Against Brain Cancer

Additional Treatment Cuts off Tumor Cells’ Escape Route From Anti-Cancer Drug

MRI showing glioblastoma tumor in the brain

Despite the many therapies that scientists have created to fight cancer, treating the disease is often still a frustrating game of cat and mouse. Just when doctors think they have managed to defeat their wily opponent, it comes roaring back as strong as ever. A new IRP study suggests a two-pronged approach that relies in part on an existing anti-cancer drug could more effectively thwart a particularly deadly form of brain cancer.

Toxic Protein and Aging Combine Forces to Drive Brain Disease

IRP Study Suggests New Therapeutic Targets for Pair of Age-Related Illnesses

older man

Aging wears down all parts of our bodies, from our bones to our brains. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s the main risk factor for neurological illnesses like Parkinson’s disease and dementia. However, the precise reason why has long remained a mystery. New IRP research suggests that the aged brain is a fertile ground for the spread of a harmful protein associated with several neurological diseases, and that the toxic protein itself ages immune cells in the brain.

Boosting Brain Activity to Suppress Snacking

Non-Invasive Stimulation Method May Improve Self-Regulation Around Food

a box of donuts

Marketers make a living from the fact that merely seeing an advertisement for junk food can spur a sudden craving for potato chips or sugary cereal. Some people have an easier time than others resisting such urges, and over-consuming that sort of food can have problematic consequences for health. Findings from a recent IRP study suggest that stimulating a particular part of the brain might help people who struggle with obesity by enhancing their ability to control their desire to snack.

Neuroimaging Study Supports Two-Stage Theory of Recall

Results Suggest Dual Functions for Memory-Related Brain Area

photos spread out on bedspread

Scientists studying memory have been closely scrutinizing a brain structure called the hippocampus ever since a man named Henry Molaison — better known as ‘patient H.M.’ — lost his ability to create new memories after surgeons removed that portion of his brain as a last-ditch treatment for his unrelenting epileptic seizures. For the most part, that research has treated the hippocampus as one homogenous structure. However, a recent IRP study lends support to the growing recognition that recall is a multi-stage process in which different parts of the hippocampus play different roles.

Three-Minute Talks Showcase Smooth-Talking Scientists

IRP Researchers Engage and Educate at Competition Finals

Three-Minute Talks poster

English is generally considered the ‘international language of science,’ since nearly all scientific papers are published in English. Yet, even to a native English speaker, scientists seem to be using another language entirely to talk about their research. Most Americans, after all, don’t know an ‘autophagosome’ from a ‘lysosome’ and would be hard-pressed to explain the difference between an ‘oocyst’ and a ’sporozoite.’

Fortunately, efforts like NIH’s annual Three-Minute Talks (TmT) competition are helping scientists learn how to communicate about their research in a manner that is much easier to understand. On June 30, after months spent whittling down dozens of competitors from across the IRP, 10 finalists raced against the clock to explain their work and its importance in a clear and compelling way.

Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Pinpoint Precision

Drug Candidate Could Slow Progression and Reduce Side Effects

dartboard with dart in the bullseye

If you know someone with Parkinson’s disease, you’re probably familiar with the progressive tremors and movement difficulties it causes. Unfortunately, the most common treatment for the disease — a drug called levodopa, or L-DOPA for short — can make some movement problems worse when taken for long periods of time. That’s why IRP senior investigator David R. Sibley, Ph.D., and postdoctoral fellow Amy Moritz, Ph.D., have taken on the challenge of discovering new drugs that could be given to patients in conjunction with existing treatments to more effectively slow the disease’s progression while reducing side effects.

Poster Days Spotlight Young Researchers

Budding Scientists Showcase Research at Annual Event

Yasmin Ali

Any scientist who wants to make game-changing discoveries has to start somewhere — even Albert Einstein worked in a patent office before landing his first job in academia. Through its Postbaccalaureate IRTA program, NIH hopes to give aspiring scientists more of a leg up than Einstein had by bringing them into IRP labs after they complete their undergraduate studies.

On April 26, 27, and 28, more than 900 recent college graduates participating in the program presented at this year’s virtual Postbac Poster Days. Read on to learn about a few of these young researchers and their contributions to the groundbreaking work being done at NIH.

Overturning the Orthodoxy About the Brain’s Stress Chemical

IRP Researchers Discover Unexpected Stress-Blunting Effects of Some Neurons

man showing signs of stress

The past few years have not been easy for anyone. With world events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine causing everyone to worry, it’s no surprise that during this April’s annual Stress Awareness Month observance, so many people experienced high levels of stress and anxiety. While stress management techniques and talk therapy may help some people, nearly 10 million Americans need prescription anti-anxiety drugs to quell those feelings.

One important target for anti-anxiety medications is norepinephrine, a chemical released by certain neurons in the brain. Norepinephrine — also known as noradrenaline — has traditionally been considered to be a ‘stress chemical’ that triggers anxiety. However, drugs designed to target the neurons that produce it don’t always work as predicted. That’s why IRP senior investigator Patricia Jensen, Ph.D., and her colleagues in the Developmental Neurobiology Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) are delving deep into the mouse brain to better understand these neurons and what exactly they do.

Mouse Study Supercharges Neurons to Detect Parkinson’s Disease

Pushing Cells to Their Limits Could Enable Earlier Diagnosis and Treatment

overloaded lightbulb

If the many stories of mothers lifting cars to save their trapped children prove anything, it’s that we cannot know the true capabilities of our bodies until they are put to the test. This concept, it turns out, could be the key to much earlier diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease. By stimulating specific neurons to push them to their limits, IRP researchers were able to detect Parkinson’s in mice in its very early stages, opening up the possibility that a similar test could one day allow human patients to begin treatment before the disease has caused too much damage.