# Center for Study of Opioid Receptors and Drugs of Abuse (CSORDA)

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $1,585,727

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Addiction to therapeutic opioid drugs and heroin has seen a marked increase in the US during the past two
decades. In 2014, therapeutic opioid overdose and heroin were responsible for 18,893 and 10,574 deaths
respectively. Opioid overdose is the primary driver for drug poisoning, being the leading cause of accidental
death in the US, with 47,055 fatalities in 2014. The UCLA Center for Study of Opioid Receptors and Drugs of
Abuse (CSORDA) has a focused multidisciplinary preclinical opioid research program with a broader
educational and outreach mission in the area of addiction. Mu opioid receptors are targets for many addictive
disorders since they are key components for mediating the rewarding effects of opiates, nicotine, cannabinoids,
alcohol and food. CSORDA’s research program focuses on elucidating the circuitry and cell-specific
adaptations underlying addiction-related behaviors mediated by mu opioid receptors. This CSORDA
renewal application (years 31-36) focuses on understanding the circuitry regulating dysphoric states and
investigates different opiate addiction susceptibility models, including neuropathic pain, opioid withdrawal and
PTSD. The research plan will build upon progress during the past funding period by incorporating several
CSORDA-developed innovative genetic mouse models, findings with regards to resting state fMRI imaging, as
well as the elucidation of circuitry regulating opioid reward via neuroinflammation and perturbation of D2
enkephalinergic systems. The renewal will use a model of PTSD to examine the marked comorbidity of this
disorder with addiction to drugs reliant on the endogenous opioid system for reward-related behaviors. To
maintain CSORDA as a technically cutting edge and innovative Center, we have created a Technical
Advancement Core (TA-Core) that will enable CSORDA’s research plan to incorporate new technologies
optimized and vetted for CSORDA research. Four Research Projects are proposed that are highly interactive,
both thematically and technically, and which use shared models, reagents and methods. Projects will focus on
different brain circuitry associated with addiction, including the mesolimbic VTA striatal reward system (Projects
I and III), the habenula (Projects II and III) and the amygdala (Project IV). Research Projects will explore the
modulation of circuitry in models of chronic pain (Project III), withdrawal and depression (Projects I, II and III)
and PTSD (Project IV). The research will employ mouse genetics and behavioral analysis combined with
electrophysiology, optogenetics, transcript analysis and MRI imaging. In addition to the TA-Core, CSORDA will
support an Animal Breeding Core (AB-Core) supplying all CSORDA Projects with mouse models and sharing
reagents with the research community. The Administrative Core and CSORDA Advisory Board, consisting of
Drs. Bernard Balleine, Antonello Bonci, Charles Chavkin, Pat Levitt, Eric Nestler and Peter Whybrow ex-officio,
will provide progra...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194423
- **Project number:** 5P50DA005010-35
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTOPHER J. EVANS
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,585,727
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1987-09-30 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194423

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194423, Center for Study of Opioid Receptors and Drugs of Abuse (CSORDA) (5P50DA005010-35). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194423. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*