PTSD, addictions, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, strokes, seizures, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder, chronic traumatic encephalopathy are just some of the disorders of the brain.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is the world’s premier health research organization, through its own research labs and through grant funding of research labs throughout the country. One of NIH’s projects, the BRAIN Initiative is at a halfway point in its projected course. It has made tremendous gains in our understanding of the brain and the development of methods for studying the brain.

The President’s recent budget proposal cut NIH funding. It is up to U.S Congress to restore and increase those funds. We need better treatments to help those individuals with brain disorders. Better treatments, in turn, will ripple out to help the families who love and care for those individuals. Economically, the sooner we have better treatments, the better. It is estimated that depression and anxiety disorders alone cost the global economy $1 trillion dollars per year in lost productivity.

Can we really afford not to fund brain research?

Bill Budd, Port Orchard

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