Brain Research Programs

 

Dystonia and other movement disorders

Dystonia and other movement disorders are major targets of our clinical and basic science research program. Our goal is to develop novel methods of diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. Our ongoing research programs focus on the developmental origins of childhood-onset dystonias. We are planning a clinical research program using state-of-the-art genetic, proteomic, as well as structural and functional brain imaging technologies for identification of biomarkers, and development of a cure for dystonia.  We expect to broaden our efforts to include the neurobiological mechanisms of heritable and sporadic forms of movement disorders.

 

Neurodegenerative diseases

As a group, the major neurodegenerative diseases, i.e., Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease, significantly affect the quality of life. The goal of our research programs is to develop treatments that ameliorate the adverse effects of these diseases and improve the patients’ quality of life. The clinical research program utilizes our access to Parkinson’s Disease patients and focuses not only on Parkinson’s Disease per se but also on balance disorders. Other research programs examine the role of melatonin in sleep disorders and its relationship to cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, our basic science research program includes a focus on temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus our strengths in basic science research encompass a wide range – from circadian rhythms to ion channels and from animal models to human subjects.

Children’s Health Network

Disorders that affect brain function in children are major disruptions of family life aACnd school performance, and are particularly costly to society because their adverse effects on the brain and behavior can last a lifetime. Our ongoing research programs in pediatric neuroscience are focused on basic research on ADHD and the impact of maternal nicotine and cocaine abuse during pregnancy on children’s cognitive development. Our plans for the near future include expanding the basic research program to include genetic and proteomic analysis of biological specimens from children suffering from ADHD, depression, bipolar disease and autism. Our research programs will benefit from and add value to existing clinical and basic science research programs in autism at FSU. We plan to gain access to primary care physicians across the state of Florida via the FSU College of Medicine’s Clinical Research Network. Our goal also is to attract and incorporate clinical expertise from outside the network to facilitate research subject selection and clinical consultation. Additional plans include use of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging of pediatric patients to supplement our bench research programs and facilitate discovery of biomarkers, diagnostic tools and treatment options for childhood neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

 

Traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury from falls, automobile accidents, sport injuries and military combat affects hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. Our research programs on the effects of trauma to the brain and spinal cord examine the structure and function of neural circuits and cognitive performance following traumatic injury. The goal is identification of genetic, biochemical and structural biomarkers and development of novel methods of diagnosis and treatment. A major focus of our traumatic brain injury program is the development of stem cell-based therapies to aid recovery from brain trauma. Our programs will integrate clinical research using patients as well as bench research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain repair. Our plans for the future include using structural and functional magnetic imaging technology to supplement and expand our clinical and basic research programs.