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A Blue Sky Vision for the Future of Neuroscience

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The first stage in the strategic planning process is to develop a blue sky vision for neuroscience and neurology, or goals to which the NINDS should aspire over the next fifteen years. This vision will serve as the foundation for subsequent planning activities.

Between May 22, 2007 and October 14, 2007, NINDS sought input on the following questions from academic and industrial neuroscience researchers, clinicians, patient groups, and any other members of the public with significant interest in the future of neuroscience. NINDS is no longer accepting responses to these questions.

QUESTION 1


What advances should we expect in clinical care for neurological disorders over the next fifteen years, based on anticipated progress in biomedical research? What scientific advances will result in a quantum leap in the care of neurologic disorders, and what aspects of care are likely to remain unchanged?

The past fifteen years has seen major shifts in how clinicians diagnose, treat, and prevent neurological conditions:
  • Brain imaging and genetic technologies have changed how many neurological conditions are diagnosed.
  • The first effective emergency treatment for stroke is transforming acute stroke care, and continued progress in stroke prevention is having a major impact on public health.
  • New surgical interventions, such as deep brain stimulation, have emerged, with potentially wide-spread uses.
Fifteen years from now, we hope to have better interventions for all neurological conditions. The NINDS will systematically review basic, translational, and clinical opportunities to accomplish this. Please consider scientific trends and crosscutting medical advances to which NINDS research should contribute.

QUESTION 2


Which major questions need to be answered in order to revolutionize how we understand the nervous system and prevent, diagnose, and treat nervous system disorders?

Several major discoveries over the past fifteen years have revolutionized how we understand the nervous system and its disorders. New insights into the development of the nervous system, brain plasticity, molecular pathology, and the role of non-neuronal cells, for example, are already changing how we think about the brain and treat maladies. What mysteries about how the nervous system develops and functions will be the subject of major advances in the next fifteen years?

QUESTION 3


What new technical capabilities have the potential to revolutionize neuroscience research and clinical practice in the next fifteen years?

Advances in neuroscience knowledge frequently come on the heels of technological advances, providing the means to answer questions that were previously inaccessible. Patch clamp recording, gene splicing, genetically modified mice, and advanced neuroimaging are just a few of the techniques and tools that have opened up remarkable new possibilities in the clinic and at the bench. What major technical roadblocks could be overcome in the next fifteen years, and what might be the impact on research and practice?

QUESTION 4


What will the neuroscience research landscape look like in fifteen years, and how can NINDS best contribute?

The NINDS is only one participant of many in the broad neuroscience research enterprise. In the past fifteen years:
  • New NIH Institutes and Centers have been established, others have changed their focus, and trans-NIH programs including the Blueprint for Neuroscience and the Roadmap for Medical Research have taken on important roles.
  • New neuroscience research institutes have been formed worldwide.
  • The biotechnology sector has dramatically expanded, and the pharmaceutical industry has undergone major restructuring.
  • Patient groups have become more active in supporting research.
How will the biomedical enterprise evolve over the next fifteen years, and what niche should the NINDS occupy? How should the NINDS operate in this landscape to support the range of neuroscience research, inform the public about the results of that research, train new scientists, and build the infrastructure required for scientific advancement?

QUESTION 5


What, if any, infrastructural resources are needed to advance clinical or basic neuroscience research?

In the past fifteen years:
  • The Human Genome Project has developed resources, such as GenBank, that have transformed research, and the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is developing common resources to enable research that might otherwise not occur.
  • The NINDS has invested in resources such as a publicly accessible genetic database for neurologic diseases, clinical trials networks, microarray centers, a Human Genetics Repository, and a variety of programs with other NIH institutes in the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research.
What resources do you consider valuable, and which are no longer needed? What new neuroscience resources are essential to accelerate the pace of discovery over the next fifteen years?

QUESTION 6


What ethical, legal, and social issues are likely to arise from advances in basic and clinical neuroscience over the next fifteen years, for which the NINDS should be prepared?

Genetic testing, stem cell research, brain imaging, and many other advances have raised serious ethical questions in the last fifteen years. Please consider what ethical, legal, and social issues are likely to follow the major changes in clinical practice, basic and translational research, technological capabilities, and the scientific landscape.

Last updated August 31, 2007