The Future of Neuroscience
Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neuroscience (SINTN)
The B.R.A.I.N Initiative
The Brain Research through Advancing Inovative Neurotechnologies is a focus aimed to fund for technology that can be useful for numerous approaches for "unlocking" the brain. An estimated $100 million is invested in various universities and companies for upcoming research. Innovators including the Allen Institue for Brain Science, the National Institues of Health, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are given this money in hopes to fill in the gaps of current research efforts. Over time, it is expected that major findings will be discovered and recorded to better our understandngs in neuroscience.
The SINTN focuses on understanding everyday neuronal functions and how thay compare with neurological disease. It's main goals are investigating the nervous system and neurobiology of nervous system disorders. SINTN Initiatives are divided into five research programs, one of which is the Neurobiology of Cognitive and Developmental Disorders (NCDD). The NCDD is further divided into the Neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders and the Down Syndrome Research Center. These programs are looking into factors, genetic and/or environmental, that could be the cause of developmental disorders in order to test more effective cures.
Accera is most known for making Axona®, a medical food prescribed to those with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in order to help them manage their metabolic processes. With over 75 years of experience, Accera has been successful in developing numerous treatments for nervous system disorders. They are currently working on drugs that have the potential to slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
Illnesses of the brain are the major focus of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience. Established in 1991, their neurosciences have been researching autism, and related autism spectrum disorders; Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease; and schizophrenia, a disorder that makes it hard to distinguish real from imaginary. Continuation in discoveries promise the development of therapeutic strategies to treat patients that have diseases which may affect their behavior and/or learning process.
Accera
UC Davis Center for Neuroscience
Innovators in Neuroscience Technology
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The BAM project (Brain Action Map) has a goal of connecting and experimenting on cells in neural networks in the brain. It was endorsed by President Obama and a community of neuroscientists in February of 2013. (Text Citation 13)
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The European Commission announced in January of 2013 that its Future and Emerging Technologies program would donate money to the Human Brain Project. The Human Brain Project has a goal of building a model of a human brain on a supercomputer. (Text Citation 17)
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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will attempt to develop technology to enable real-time measurement and analysis to drive accurate neural stimulation therapies. They seek to pursue advances in neuroscience in order to lead to a new understanding of brain illnesses and advanced therapies. (Text Citation 18)
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Optogenetics, primarily used in mice, is a technique that involves activating neurons using flashes of light. It has improved our knowledge on the causes of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), cardiac arrythmia, and depression. (Text Citation 13)
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Duke University researchers have shown that rhesus monkeys have the capability of moving two robotic arms simultaneously as opposed to the original testings done with a single arm. One of the two monkeys had learned to control the arms passively, which gives hope to paralyzed patients. (Text Citation 3)
New Innovations
NuPathe
NuPathe Inc. is a pharmaceutical company that focuses on neurological or psychiatric disorders. NuPathe's main mission is to provide treatment for those with neurological diseases that are more effective than those implemented in current treatments. Their first product, ZECUITY®, has been approved and is currently looking to be launched and commercialized. They had previously set a plan of merger with Endo Health Solutions Inc., but have terminated it and accepted a plan with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in hopes of helping to jumpstart their product.
