(2) ER stress, which has been reported to drive neurotoxicity in prion disease (using tg37 mice that overexpress PrP six‐fold [Moreno et al., 2012]), can occur via PKR‐dependent phosphorylation of eIF2α (Vattem, Staschke, & Wek, 2001) and consequent translational repression. This evidence concerns the gene EIF2A and prion disease.