But, as in other scientific disciplines, neuroscience research gains have not translated easily into achievements in the job market, especially in academia, observers of the field say.
The recent reorganization of the National Institutes of Health to include the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under its auspices--instead of as three divisions of the separate and now- disbanded Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration-- will not threaten funding for basic neuroscience research, according to NIMH director Frederick Goodwin. In fact, Goodwin says, he hopes the change may foster more of the kind of cross- disciplinary research brain science increasingly demands. "The legislation [authorizing the changes] specifically prohibits any merging of programs," Goodwin says. "That no-merging provision should allay concerns people have about our creating some kind of `super brain institute' that would ...
