Shared Neurobiology of Fragile X Syndrome and Autism

The summary for the Shared Neurobiology of Fragile X Syndrome and Autism grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Institutes of Health, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Shared Neurobiology of Fragile X Syndrome and Autism: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have entered into a public-private partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Health Research Board, Ireland (HRB), Cure Autism Now (CAN), the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), Autism Speaks and the FRAXA Research Foundation (FRAXA) to jointly sponsor this Program Announcement (PA), which is aimed at characterizing, understanding and treating etiological and pathophysiological mechanisms common to both Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism (including autism spectrum disorders such as Rett syndrome). Between 2.5 percent and 6 percent of individuals with autistic feature have FXS, and approximately 15 percent to 25 percent of children with FXS have autism. An additional 50 percent to 90 percent of children with FXS exhibit some sympto! ms and features associated with autism, including poor eye contact, hand flapping, hand biting, speech perseveration and other language abnormalities and problems, as well as tactile defensiveness, mental retardation in the moderate to severe range, developmental delay, sensory hyperarousal, and social anxiety with mood liability. Researchers have argued that autism and autistic symptoms in FXS reflect a common etiological or pathophysiological pathway underlying the two conditions. Ongoing basic neuroscience research on FXS in model systems like the mouse and fly are providing a wealth of information at multiple levels subcellular, cellular, and intercellular networks or circuits to delineate the neurobiology of this disorder. These studies should dissect components of the neurobiology of autism, especially in patients with both FXS and autism, and identify novel targets for new drugs to treat both disorders. Applications submitted in response to this PA should focus o! n a topic related to understanding neural pathways, circuits, systems and molecules that play a role in the etiology or pathophysiology of FXS and may be implicated in autism (including autism spectrum disorders such as Rett syndrome). Studies emphasizing the identification of drug targets for new therapeutic drugs to treat FXS and autism are particularly encouraged. Research projects supported under this PA that include human subjects should include children affected with both FXS and autism and animal studies may include several models systems, e.g., mouse, fly and zebrafish. Basic neuroscience research in model systems should focus on both FXS and autism. Research more exclusively focused on autism that would not be covered under this PA may be submitted under PA-04-085 (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-04-085.html).