Effects of Adolescent Binge Drinking on Brain Development

by: Michael Saunders

The National Institutes of Health, also referred to as NIH, is an agency that is operating under the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The NIH is primarily responsible for ensuring all of the country's biomedical and health-related research studies. The attempts of the NIH are always geared towards the attainment of their mission, which is to "seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability."

In line with this mission, the National Institutes of Health, in close cooperation with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has established the Effects of Adolescent Binge Drinking on Brain Development Project.

The Effects of Adolescent Binge Drinking on Brain Development Project intends to determine the effects of adolescent binge drinking on the synaptic maturation and myelin formation in the a person's developing brain.

The NIH and NIAAA plans to achieve this by soliciting exploratory or developmental research grant proposals that would potentially help in identifying the long-term consequences of adolescent binge drinking in the maturation of brain structure and its functions.

In addition, the NIH and NIAAA will utilize this research studies on animal models in order to unravel the underlying effects of excessive alcohol consumption on genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms.

The scope of the study will include, but is not necessarily limited to:

1) The anatomical or functional studies on cortical synapse pruning or refinement in models of adolescent binge drinking.

  (continued...)

Effects of Adolescent Binge Drinking on Brain Development
  Page 2

About The Author Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. He also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Health Grants

Core Clinical Centers for the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network Program
In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Health has partnered with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH) to establish the Core Clinical Centers for the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network Program.

---

Mechanisms Mediating Osteoarthritis in Aging
The National Institutes of Health, in close cooperation with The National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, has recently established a program called Mechanisms Mediating Osteoarthritis in Aging in an effort to improve and encourage the characterization of new and underutilized models in order to gain a deeper understanding of mechanisms that are involved in osteoarthritic progression.

---

OMICS Technologies For Predictive Modeling of Infectious Diseases Program
In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Health has formed a partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in an attempt to establish the OMICS Technologies For Predictive Modeling of Infectious Diseases Program.

---

Strategic Alliances for Medications Development to Treat Substance Use Disorder Program
The National Institutes of Health, in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has recently established the Strategic Alliances for Medications Development to Treat Substance Use Disorder Program wherein both agencies seek to support the development of substance abuse drugs by leveraging the strengths of two or more organizations toward a common goal of medications development.

---