Jun 15, 2015 01:18 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

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.

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