HAP1 and neurodegenerative disease: On the other hand, regions with little or no STB/HAP1 expression such as the neocortex, striatum, thalamus, cerebellum, and spinal motoneurons are major targets in the aforementioned neurodegenerative diseases (Fujinaga et al., 2004; Takeshita et al., 2006, 2011; Islam et al., 2012, 2017).