The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of The National Institutes of Health have awarded scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute more than $2 million to study a protein linked to Parkinson's disease.

With the five-year grant, researchers will use a wide variety of techniques to examine the role and regulation of the multifunctional protein known as rapamycun (mTOR),  which is involved in embryonic development, cancer and diabetes,  in a brain region called the striatum, which controls motor, psychiatric and cognitive functions.

"Even though mTOR is widely expressed throughout the body, its brain-specific regulation and function remain unclear," Srinivasa Subramaniam, who will be the principal investigator of this study, said in a statement. "While we know that inhibiting mTOR protects against symptoms of Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases in animal models, the new grant will help us answer two critical questions: 'How is mTOR regulated, and what happens when it is depleted selectively in the striatum?' "

Malfunction in mTOR activity--either too much or too little--has also been linked to a variety of brain dysfunctions such as epilepsy, mental retardation, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease Subramaniam's long-term goal is to understand the system well enough to advance new therapies.