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.

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Effects of Adolescent Binge Drinking on Brain Development
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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

Critical Congenital Heart Disease Newborn Screening Demonstration Program
The Health Resources and Services Administration has recently constituted the Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Newborn Screening Demonstration Program in order to support and encourage the development, dissemination, and validation of screening protocols and newborn screening infrastructure for point of care screenings that are specific to Critical Congenital Heart Diseases.

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National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
NIFA has recently constituted the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP) wherein they plan to administer grants amounting to $5,000,000 to be utilized in funding the project.

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Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity in Maternal and Child Health
the National Institutes of Health has recently partnered with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to establish the Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity (BRITE) in Maternal and Child Health Grant Program.

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Funding Opportunity Announcement: Developing Sustainable Healthy Behaviors in Children and Adolescents
The FOA is designed to encourage the use of Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Awards in employing innovative research studies that would help in determining mechanisms that could promote and influence positive sustainable health behaviors in children and in adolescents, from birth to 18 years old.

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