June 14, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB’s (University of Alabama at Birmingham) neurobiology department has received a nearly $4 million, five year grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study early brain development.

The project, directed by Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the department of neurobiology, will examine the molecular processes that control the formation and assembly of the brain and its response to early experience after birth.

Friedlander says the research team will look at the primary chemical signaling pathway between nerve cells, known as the synapse. In particular, they will study how glutamate, the major component that transmits signals throughout the nervous system, is packaged, released, detected and cleared within the confines of the immature brain.

Glutamate is essential for normal signaling between neurons in the brain in the developing fetus, the newborn and throughout life. However, if its release is disrupted or altered or if excess amounts are not removed, it can cause signals in the brain to be improperly routed, leading to cell death and stroke-like damage to large areas of the developing brain. The consequences of such errors can be devastating, causing mental retardation, learning disorders, seizures, reduced ability to concentrate, and movement disorders.

“New therapies and new preventive strategies for learning disorders and various forms of mental retardation will require a distinct understanding of glutamate, the key to brain development,” said Friedlander. “We have a unique opportunity here in Alabama to provide that information for our own teams of scientists and physicians and to make this information available to our colleagues throughout the United States and the world.”

The project will feature collaborative experiments on brain development by nine scientists in the neurobiology department, including Friedlander, Lynn Dobrunz, Ph.D., Craig Garner, Ph.D., John Hablitz, Ph.D., Robin Lester, Ph.D., Lucas Pozzo-Miller, Ph.D., Mike Quick, Ph.D., Sharon Ramey, Ph.D., and Harry Sontheimer, Ph.D.

The team will utilize powerful new laser-based imaging technologies together with recordings of minute electrical signals from individual neurons and synapses to tease apart the actions of glutamate on the growing but still immature neurons in the neonatal brain.

“It is our hope to provide the scaffold upon which a series of new advances, based on sound modern biological approaches, can be made to rationally design therapies and interventions to prevent or reduce the consequences of fetal and neonatal brain injury/disease,” said Friedlander. “The costs in terms of human suffering, lost potential to families and society, and the economic impact of damage to the developing brain are staggering. This investment by the NIH in our research program should make substantial contributions towards reducing those costs.”