Areas of Study

After more than five decades of supporting brain research, the Brain Research Foundation and its mission continue to adapt and grow to fund the most effective research within the ever-advancing fields of science. When the Foundation began in 1953, we were supporting “brain research.” Since then our areas of support, our fundraising, and our vision have all expanded.

We believe a broad scope of research is the best way to reach our goal—a thorough understanding of how the human brain functions and how the nervous system develops throughout life.

Areas of Research BRF Funds

AIDS dementia
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
aggressive disorder
alcoholism
Alzheimer's disease
anorexia nervosa
anxiety disorders
arteriovenous malformation
Asperger syndrome
attention deficit disorder
autism
Batten disease
Bell’s palsy
bipolar disorder
brain development
brain tumors
bulimia
cerebral palsy
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
conduct disorder
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Dandy-Walker syndrome
depression
Down syndrome
drug abuse
eating disorders
epilepsy
Fragile X syndrome
Guillain-Barré syndrome
head injury
hemifacial spasm
Huntington’s disease
learning disability
manic-depressive illness
meningitis
mental retardation
migraine headaches
motor neuron disease
multiple sclerosis
muscular dystrophy
myasthenia gravis
narcolepsy
nicotine addiction
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
panic disorder
Parkinson's disease
pervasive developmental disorders
Pick's disease
restless legs syndrome
Rett syndrome
ruptured brain aneurysm
schizophrenia
sleep apnea
spinal cord injury
spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)
stroke
substance abuse disorders
suicide
Tay-Sachs disease
torsion dystonia
Tourette syndrome
transient ischemic attack (TIA)
trigeminal neuralgia
tuberous sclerosis