U.S. flag
        An official website of the United States government
          Here’s how you know

      Official websites use .gov
                A
                .gov
                website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
          Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
                A lock
                  (
                  
                  )
                   or
                  https://
                   means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.Search
                Menu
    
                      Información en Español
                      Search NINDSSearch NINDS
            

            Main navigation
  

        
              Health Information
                                     Toggle Health Information Dropdown
                                Disorders
                Clinical Trials
                Patient & Caregiver Education
                Public Education
                Support Resources
                Funding
                                     Toggle Funding Dropdown
                                Find Funding Opportunities
                About Funding
                Preparing Your Application
                After You Submit
                Determining Your Funding Likelihood
                Manage Your Award
                NINDS Small Business Program
                Training & Career Development
                Current Research
                                     Toggle Current Research Dropdown
                                Coronavirus and NINDS
                Focus on Disorders
                Focus on Tools & Topics
                Research Funded by NINDS
                Research at NINDS
                Scientific Resources
                Trans-Agency Activities
                News & Events
                                     Toggle News & Events Dropdown
                                Events
                News
                Director's Messages
                About NINDS
                                     Toggle About NINDS Dropdown
                                Who We Are
                What We Do
                Job Opportunities 
 Home
                                News & Events
                        Director's Messages
SHARE: Looking to the Future of Fundamental Neuroscience
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
      
            *By Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., Director, NINDS and Lyn Jakeman, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Neuroscience in Extramural Programs at NINDS*

The nervous system is exceedingly complex and our lack of understanding of how it works stymies our efforts to develop treatments for neurological disorders. The brain, composed of 85 billion neurons and trillions of connections with an equal number of glial, vascular and immune cells, functions as an interrelated web to process information. Besides the connections within the nervous system, there is also a complex interplay with other body systems, especially since the nervous system supplies nerves to our organs. Nervous system cells themselves are unique in many ways: most dramatic are the long, sometimes feet long, thin processes that need to be nourished by cell bodies that are only a few microns in diameter. Understanding how the nervous system develops and carries out its complex functions is one of the greatest challenges in science and is critical for developing treatments for neurological disorders and diseases. While neuroscientists have made great discoveries since the days of Ramón y Cajal and colleagues, important fundamental questions remain.

Since NINDS’s formation in 1950, we have long recognized the importance of supporting basic discovery or fundamental neuroscience (FN) research, and that work continues today. A great example is NINDS’s participation in the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative that is revolutionizing our ability to understand how neural circuits process information. We are always seeking new ways to stimulate innovation and reinforce the bedrock of neurological advances through FN research. To address this goal, we recently convened a Fundamental Neuroscience Working Group (FNWG) of the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council to provide recommendations on how we can create opportunities to catalyze and accelerate discoveries in important fields of FN research. We are grateful to share that at our most recent Council meeting, the FNWG recommendations were approved.

Recommendations from the Fundamental Neuroscience Working Group(pdf, 915 KB):

Prioritize research into the organization of macromolecular complexes within cells from a few nanometers to one micron in length by developing tools and research programs to create a dynamic Macromolecular Cartography that analyzes subsets of proteins known to be part of functional subcellular units.
	Enable quantitative approaches to characterize protein and molecule turnover timescales and location*in vivo* to advance understanding of molecular interactions, their contribution to cellular stability and plasticity.
	Support approaches for capturing and imaging cell movement and cell-cell interaction during development of the nervous system.
	Ensure adequate resourcing of tool development for *in vivo* measurement of cellular activity.
	Promote interdisciplinary team science and collaborations with technical expertise across diverse disciplines.
	Support the mentoring of the next generation of FN researchers.

The FNWG was charged to: 1) **look to the future of FN**by identifying critical gaps, key unanswered questions, and new opportunities in FN research, 2) **evaluate the effectiveness and potential of current NINDS programs** to support the breadth of FN research, and 3) **propose and prioritize concepts and strategies** that could enhance the overall impact of NINDS FN research over the next 5-10 years.

The FNWG, led by Drs. Yishi Jin and Timothy Ryan, included FN investigators from across the country. Given that FN research is characteristically driven by open curiosity and infinite topical areas, the group focused discussion on generating cross-cutting ideas and themes at the level of cellular and molecular neuroscience. This approach was motivated by the relatively untapped microscopic research scale, with a potential to be highly impactful in addressing a broad range of fundamental questions. To carry out their charge, the FNWG formed seven subgroups across cellular and molecular neuroscience domains, including: neural development; genomic organization and regulation; inter-tissue interactions; metabolism; lipid stasis; atomic organization of machinery; and subcellular organization of machinery. Each subgroup considered critical knowledge gaps, ideas to foster mechanistic investigation, technology hurdles, and perceived funding difficulties, towards an overarching goal of identifying high-priority themes and concepts that could be considered cross-cutting, with applications to many domains.

The FNWG’s recommendations intend to advance a mechanistic understanding of neurobiology at the cellular and molecular level and to generate new hypotheses addressing the molecular machineries that form, drive, and maintain the organization and function of the nervous system. The first four recommendations focus on research tool development in cellular and molecular neuroscience with the FNWG’s consideration that technological solutions and microscopic capabilities are close to fruition for breakthroughs in these four areas. The FNWG conveyed that addressing common research bottlenecks can enable broad reaching opportunities for investigators seeking to pursue all sorts of research questions driven by individual curiosity. A similar approach has been taken to advance groundbreaking research spurred by the NIH BRAIN Initiative'sfocus on understanding neural circuits.

The last two recommendations were considered absolutely essential for invigorating the current basic research workforce and community. FNWG recommended that NINDS support initiatives that enhance team science and cross-disciplinary efforts between neuroscientists and experts in other fields such as cell biology, protein chemistry and biophysics, as these cross-disciplinary approaches could be uniquely valuable to the proposed efforts. In the same vein, the FNWG recommended that NINDS support the cultivation and interdisciplinary training of a diverse pipeline of the next generation of FN scientists. This cultivation should begin specifically with support for and engagement of research at the undergraduate level and encompass trainees with diverse perspectives and broad interests.

During Council discussion, some members wondered about the ability to facilitate research approaches that are spontaneous and untargeted as well as team science. Others were curious about whether a perceived emphasis on descriptive biology studies could also be reconciled with the focus on hypothesis testing to answer mechanistic questions. Alongside the recommendations, NINDS will explore these issues carefully as we work to implement the group’s recommendations, identifying how we can best foster fundamental neuroscience research for cellular and molecular neuroscience. In addition, we will be looking for opportunities and partnerships to support tool development and dissemination that can advance cellular and molecular neuroscience while continuing to support all areas of FN. We will work to identify ways to bring together diverse teams and trainees to address the big questions and challenges in FN.

These recommendations complement the NINDSfive-year strategic plan, which underscores the unique value of FN and our commitment to supporting investigator-initiated discovery research across the neuroscience spectrum. **To help inform our implementation of the FNWG recommendations, we want to hear from you, too.** In addition to the resources below, you are encouraged to submit comments to NINDS at fn@nih.gov regarding FNWG’s report or any points related to promoting FN research.

We thank the Working Group members for their hard work over the last year, as well as the NINDS staff who facilitated and supported their deliberations. A richer understanding of all facets of fundamental neuroscience, including the cellular and molecular machineries that make up the nervous system, will benefit the entire neuroscience community and ultimately improve neurological health for all people.

**Related Resources:**

NANDSC Fundamental Neuroscience Working Group (FNWG)
	Advancing Fundamental Neuroscience Research: Report of the Fundamental Neuroscience Working Group of the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council(pdf, 915 KB)
	FNWG Draft Recommendations [presentation and discussion begins at 3 hours, 33 minutes]
	FNWG Webinar – July 27, 2023 News & Events
  
    

    Events
    
            News
                                                              
                    
                                      Highlights and Announcements
    
            Press Releases
    
            Grantees in the NewsDirector's Messages
                                                              
                    
                                      Featured Director's Message
    
            All Director's Messages

Stay current with the Director’s Message
    
      Subscribe to receive monthly updatesSubscribe to the Director's Message
Sign Up




  This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policyand Terms of Serviceapply.
Did you find the content you were looking for?
  Yes, I did find the content I was looking for



No, I did not find the content I was looking forPlease rate how easy it was to navigate the NINDS website
  Very easy to navigate



Easy to navigate



Neutral



Difficult to navigate



Very difficult to navigateThank you for letting us know! Any other feedback?Submit

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policyand Terms of Serviceapply.
 Contact Us
  

        
              Contact NINDS
                Visitor Information
        Related Sites
  

        
              Site Map
                National Institutes of Health
                Department of Health & Human Services
                USA.gov
        Policies
  

        
              Accessibility
                Freedom of Information Act
                Linking Policy
                Privacy Statement
                Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
Follow NINDS On Social Media
          
          National Institutes of Health (NIH)
          9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892