As funding falters, young brain scientists rethink careers in research

A decades-long boom in brain science in the United States may be heading for a bust.

Ongoing disruptions in federal funding are causing many young brain scientists to reconsider their career choice, according to leaders of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), which represents more than 37,000 researchers and clinicians.

If those scientists change fields or leave the country, SfN officials say, it could hobble the nation's efforts to understand and treat brain disorders including Alzheimer's, autism, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

"The U.S. has been a world leader in research for decades, and that leadership position is now at risk," says John Morrison , a professor at the University of California, Davis and president of SfN.

Morrison expects that discussions about federal funding ar