NIH’s BRAIN Initiative is marking a milestone—10 years of advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology research by funding innovative projects. Dr. Bianchi shares her perspective on the impact BRAIN has made on NICHD’s mission.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Media Advisory: Service dogs may reduce PTSD symptoms for military members and veterans, NIH-funded study suggests
For military members and veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adding a service dog to their usual care could reduce the severity of PTSD symptoms, feelings of anxiety, and lower depression while enhancing their quality of life and psychosocial functioning, a new study suggests. The trial is the largest nationwide study comparing service dog partnerships to usual care alone.
Science Update: Early childhood adversity may affect neurological and cognitive development, NICHD study suggests
Children with a history of adverse childhood experiences scored lower on tests of neurological and cognitive development than kids not exposed to early life adversity. Researchers called for the development of interventions to protect children from adversity’s potential neurological and cognitive effects.
Science Update: NIH scientists identify cause of rare, infant-onset neurodegenerative disease
NICHD scientists and colleagues identified genetic variants that disable the protein complex BORC as the cause of a severe neurodegenerative disorder that begins early in life. Subsequent work helped unravel the role of BORC in neurons and explain how defects in BORC function may contribute to neurodegeneration.
Media Advisory: Irregular sleep and late bedtimes associated with worse grades for high school students
Irregular sleep and late bedtimes are linked to worse grades and more school-related behavioral problems among teens, a new study suggests. Interventions to promote regular sleep hours could potentially boost their academic performance.
Spotlight: Scientific Advances from the Division of Intramural Research
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living
systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.
Science Update: Omega-3 supplements may reduce schizotypal personality symptoms, NIH-funded study suggests
Taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement lowered children’s scores for schizotypal personality disorder, which features unusual thoughts, speech, and behaviors that hinder the ability to form relationships. The results suggest that regular supplementation in childhood could prevent more severe symptoms from developing in adolescence.
Spotlight: Women in Science: Dr. Tracey Rouault on Resilience
NICHD’s Tracey Rouault, M.D., has had many notable achievements during her nearly four-decade career in the intramural program at NIH. Learn about her upbringing, career path, and accomplishments.
Science Update: Positive parenting may counteract children’s biological aging in the face of adversity, NIH-funded study suggests
Positive parenting practices, like praising, noticing, and encouraging children’s behavior, may help reduce the faster rate of biological aging seen in children under adverse conditions. Such positive parenting practices may counter the effects of children’s hardships, improving their long-term physical and psychological health.
Science Update: Altered fluid channels in the brain may be linked to diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, NIH-funded study suggests
Children with enlarged perivascular spaces—fluid-filled cavities surrounding the brain’s small blood vessels—had a higher risk for developing autism spectrum disorder and later sleep problems. Brain scans to detect the enlargement could be helpful for obtaining an earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.
Spotlight: Looking Back on NICHD in 2023
As we ring in 2024, we’d like to take a brief look back on our accomplishments during 2023. These activities illustrate the institute’s continued commitment to research and training in its mission areas.
Spotlight: Scientific Advances from the Division of Intramural Research
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.
Item of Interest: NICHD and CDC Partner on Healthy Native Babies Project
This collaboration will promote safe infant sleep with and within American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Science Update: NICHD researchers develop model for how energy-producing mitochondria obtain magnesium
Researchers at NIH have developed a model of how mitochondria—the energy producers in cells—obtain the essential mineral magnesium through the Mitochondrial RNA Splicing 2 (MRS2) channel.
Science Update: Mice models accurately replicate neuronal communication responsible for memory and learning in people, according to NIH study
The properties of neuronal junctions that help form long-term memories and aid in learning are similar between mice and people, according to a new NIH study.
Science Update: NIH-funded study of mice unravels how infant cries affect maternal hormones
New research in mice illuminates how infant cries activate maternal brain cells to increase release of oxytocin, a hormone that promotes mother-baby bonding. The findings provide a biological explanation for how sensory cues from an infant can help foster maternal behavior.
Spotlight: Scientific Advances from the Division of Intramural Research
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.
Science Update: Children with hereditary developmental disorder have high levels of Alzheimer-associated proteins
Children with creatine transporter deficiency, a hereditary developmental disorder, have higher levels of three proteins that are also found in people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a small study by researchers at NIH and other institutions. The higher the level of proteins, the lower the children scored on a test of coping behaviors and skills. These findings may help inform diagnostic approaches for the transporter deficiency disorder.
Release: NIH zebrafish research included in U.S. Postal Service’s “Life Magnified” stamps
A microscopy image created by NIH researchers is part of the “Life Magnified” stamp panel issued by the United States Postal Service.
Science Update: Children’s IQ unlikely to be affected by concussion, NIH-funded study suggests
Children with concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, were no more likely to experience a drop in IQ scores after their injury than were children who received injuries to the muscles or bones, according to a study funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The findings suggest that concussion is unlikely to affect children’s intelligence in the long term, providing reassurance to caregivers of pediatric concussion patients.