neuroscience

Calming Kids’ Runaway Emotions

Brain Research Helps Understand and Treat Childhood Anxiety

young girl with glowing brain

It’s perfectly normal for young children to throw tantrums or be nervous on their first day of school, and for adolescents to be anxious about what their peers think of them. However, for some children and teens, negative emotions can escalate to unhealthy levels, resulting in significant distress and impairing their quality of life. 

IRP senior investigator Daniel Pine, M.D., is on a mission to understand how that happens and figure out ways to help those kids. In honor of Mental Health Month, we talked with Dr. Pine about how his research is revolutionizing the field of pediatric psychiatry and paving the way for new, non-pharmaceutical treatments.

Startling Snapshots of Science

Vibrant Images Push Forward Environmental Health Research

cell junctions in tracheal epithelial cells from a TLR5 knockout mouse

Scientists and artists obviously don’t spend their days doing the same thing, but that doesn’t mean the former can’t sometimes inadvertently be the latter. Take for example the 14 IRP research fellows who submitted images to the most recent edition of the Fellows Scientific Image Competition at NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The competition, held every few years, shows that biomedical science can not only save lives, but also look good doing it.

“We are excited to showcase the work of our trainees using visual media, which reminds us there is art in science and showcases the important research we’re all engaged in at NIEHS,” says NIEHS Scientific Director Darryl Zeldin, M.D., who initiated the competition.

Tracking the Neuronal Response to Head Injury

New IRP Study Identifies Vulnerable and Resilient Brain Cells

man being treated for a head injury

Even with our thick skulls to protect our fragile brains, a hard enough blow to the head will still send our neurons into a tizzy. However, not all neurons are affected in the same way by a ‘traumatic brain injury,’ or TBI for short. By developing a way to see which neurons turn on a distress signal after a mild TBI, IRP researchers recently identified differences between neurons that die afterwards and those that are shaken up by the injury but manage to recover over time.

Get a Glimpse of NIH’s Graduate Student Science

Aspiring Scientists Show off Research Findings at Annual Event

IRP graduate student Angel Delgado

The NIH IRP provides not only a world-class environment for skilled scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries, but also an exhilarating training ground for the next generation of researchers. Among the many budding scientists working on NIH’s campuses are graduate students conducting part of their dissertation research in IRP labs. 

Of course, these ambitious trainees aren’t waiting until they receive their degrees to contribute to scientific breakthroughs. At this year’s Graduate Student Research Symposium, more than 100 of them presented research on topics ranging from the skin condition psoriasis to the role of immune cells in Alzheimer’s disease. Read on to learn more about some of the ways current IRP graduate students have expanded our understanding of the human body.

Heavy Drinking Linked to Smell and Taste Alterations

IRP Research Utilizes National Study’s Data to Explore Under-Examined Phenomenon

woman tasting soup

From the spicy Bloody Mary and sweet piña colada to salty margaritas and bitter cheap beers, alcoholic drinks span the entire spectrum of tastes. It’s not a far leap, then, to think that the sense of taste can influence alcohol consumption habits, and vice-versa. A recent IRP study dove into this question, ultimately discovering a number of ways that smell and taste perception differ in people with high-risk drinking habits.

Translating Genetic Findings Into Dementia Treatments

Tracing the Path From Bench to Bedside

brain behind DNA molecule

When IRP graduate student Pilar Alvarez Jerez looked at the results of a recent experiment, she noticed that when a particular genetic variant is present in a gene called GBA1, it causes a change in the gene's activity. The GBA1 variant, which is associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, was discovered last year in people of African ancestry by researchers at NIH’s Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD). It appears to suppress the gene’s ability to make a functional version of an enzyme that helps brain cells recycle their proteins.

“This was an interesting finding, but it still didn’t answer how the variant was functioning to lower enzyme activity,” Pilar says.

Antiviral Drug Stems the Spread of Parkinson’s-Promoting Protein

Study Shows Promise of New Treatment Approach in 3D Brain ‘Organoid’ Model

older man having difficulty eating soup

Our cells’ survival depends on their ability to take in the nutrients and other substances that they require. Unfortunately, this capacity is a double-edged sword, as cells can bring in both valuable resources and ticking time bombs. However, IRP researchers recently identified an existing drug that may be able to combat Parkinson’s disease by reducing cells’ penchant for snatching up the toxic proteins involved in Parkinson’s disease.

Welcoming NIH’s Four Newest Lasker Scholars

IRP Program Boosts Careers of Promising Physician-Scientists

clockwise from top-left: Dr. Lisa McReynolds, Dr. Chris Grunseich, Dr. Samira Sadowski, and Dr. Andrea Lisco

Many scientists have a seemingly single-minded focus on their research, but there are considerable benefits to having one foot in the lab and the other in the clinic. Working with patients gives researchers a daily reminder of the people they are working so hard to help and allows them to investigate the effects of promising but still experimental treatments in willing volunteers. That’s one of the main reasons why the IRP’s Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program is designed to accelerate the careers of promising early-career physician-scientists. 

This year, four NIH researchers began receiving support from the Lasker program, allowing them to dramatically expand their cutting-edge research. From investigating the roots of muscle-weakening genetic conditions to probing the mysteries of rare, hormone-producing tumors, these individuals will use the leg up provided by the Lasker Program to make new discoveries that could one day improve their patients’ lives. Read on to learn more about the exciting research the latest crop of Lasker Scholars is pursuing.

Sharing Science at the NIH Research Festival

Poster Sessions Showcase IRP Discoveries

IRP postdoctoral fellow Siobhan Lawler

No single event captures the incredible breadth of research going on in the IRP as effectively as the annual NIH Research Festival. In fact, the event is so jam-packed that it typically stretches over multiple days, running this year from September 23-25. The first day of the 2024 Research Festival kicked off with a poster session where scientists from all across NIH showcased the cutting-edge science they have been working on, demonstrating research on subjects like how cooking affects the brain, vaping’s impact on lung health, 3D models for studying pregnancy complications, and much more. Read on to dive deeper into a few of the more than 400 research projects presented at this celebration of IRP science.

Inside the NIH Brain Bank

IRP Group Supports Neuropsychiatric Research

gloved hands holding a brain

More than half of Americans are registered organ donors, signed up to gift organs like kidneys and livers to patients in need of a transplant when they die. However, far fewer people have signed up to donate their brains to biomedical research upon their deaths. At NIH, the Human Brain Collection Core (HBCC) acts as a steadfast steward of this precious and scarce scientific resource, giving the brains of deceased donors a second life as a key driver of life-changing neuropsychiatric research.

Nearly 60 million adults in the U.S. suffer from a psychiatric disorder, and examining the brains of these individuals is indispensable for determining the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases. Consequently, the HBCC provides invaluable assistance to scientists seeking to improve our understanding and treatment of such conditions. In recognition of World Mental Health Day today, let’s take a glimpse into how the Core is accelerating investigations into the mass of gray and white matter that makes each of us who we are.