New findings may take scientists a step closer to understanding what causes SUDEP—Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy—a rare but fatal complication of epilepsy. There are about 3,000 deaths from SUDEP each year in the U.S. The biggest risk factor is epilepsy that is not well controlled with medication or surgery, but the exact cause of SUDEP is not known. However, increasing evidence suggests that loss of breathing, or apnea, that persists after a seizure is a major cause of SUDEP. In the new study, University of Iowa neuroscientists found that stimulating a specific area of the amygdala brain region provokes prolonged loss of breathing that continues even after a seizure has ended.

Calvin Carter, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience and pharmacology in the University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and a member of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, is one of 58 early-career scientists from across the nation to receive a 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.