Funding News - Applications on Pharmacological Approaches to Enhance Neuromodulation in Rehabilitation Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) request applications for research on pharmacological approaches to enhance neuromodulation in rehabilitation.*

Pharmacological compounds have the potential to enhance functional recovery in rehabilitation, especially when used with behavioral and physical therapy. The goal of this request for applications (RFA) is to encourage research to examine strategies for using pharmacological agents to enhance rehabilitation. This research should focus on the rehabilitative phase, rather than on preventing injury, minimizing acute pathology, or reducing ongoing degeneration.

Potential research areas of interest include: anatomical correlates of functional recovery, plasticity, and adaptation to evaluate pharmacological interventions; use of pharmacotherapy to accelerate recovery of sensory or motor functions following disease or injury; interaction of pharmacological compounds with behavioral and/or physical therapy approaches; use of pharmacological approaches to enhance the efficacy of or compliance with behavioral and physical therapy regimes; improved models for evaluating the interaction of neuroactive compounds and therapeutic approaches in rehabilitation; and studies of focal delivery of pharmacological agents to target specific areas of the central nervous system and studies to investigate the effects of localized neuromodulation.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: October 25, 2002.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Daofen Chen, Program Director, Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2131, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1917; fax: 301-402-1501; e-mail: daofen_chen@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this RFA, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-02-023.html.