# Imaging Cells during Behavior Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $382,539

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: Imaging Cells during Behavior Core
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder due to perturbations in neural circuits. To better understand the
underlying pathophysiological processes occurring in addiction and the actions of new therapies, there are
pressing needs to monitor neural activity and structure during addiction and relapse. Visualization of nervous
system function and structure in the intact, behaving animal is a powerful approach to meet these needs. Recent
advances in genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators and imaging instruments have greatly expanded the
opportunities for imaging the nervous system at work. Concurrently, there is a revolution in the use of high-speed
video cameras combined with sophisticated computational tools to monitor and quantify behavior.
Many labs at the University of Minnesota (UMN) lack the equipment and expertise to perform neural imaging
during behavior. Nor is it possible for most investigators to keep up with the rapid changes in optical tools, either
in the engineering or application domains. The Imaging Cells during Behavior Core (ICBC) is designed to allow
addiction researchers and the wider neuroscience community access to modern techniques to image brain
function and structure during behavior. Providing up-to-date imaging techniques, engineering and manufacturing
support, as well as computational tools, will not only reduce the time and costs needed to set up experiments
and process data, but also lower the entry barriers for both new and established investigators. The ICBC’s
engineering, experimental, and analytical expertise will allow labs to be at the forefront of imaging technology.
Aim 1 is to provide resources, expertise and training in three in vivo imaging technologies used in behaving
animals: 1) head-mounted miniaturized microscopes for cellular level imaging at the surface and in deeper brain
structures; 2) wide field-of-view (FOV) imaging of the cerebral cortex at both the mesoscopic and cellular levels;
and 3) fiber photometry to monitor the activity of genetically defined elements in neural circuits. UMN
investigators deemed these technologies critical to understanding how neural circuits change in addiction. The
ICBC will provide sophisticated hardware and software to monitor and analyze behavior in head-fixed and freely
moving animals and the engineering and analytical expertise to build and use these in vivo imaging technologies.
Aim 2 extends and adds new imaging capabilities. Many UMN addiction researchers use rats, but most neural
imaging techniques were developed for mice. Therefore, we will extend our imaging tools to the rat. In addition,
Aim 2 will combine fiber photometry with wide FOV cortical imaging, enhance wide FOV imaging to access
deeper cortical structures, and make wide FOV imaging compatible with magnetic resonance imaging. ICBC
personnel will work closely with investigators to employ these improvements to advance their research programs.
In summary...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10200735
- **Project number:** 5P30DA048742-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** TIMOTHY J EBNER
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $382,539
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10200735

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10200735, Imaging Cells during Behavior Core (5P30DA048742-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10200735. Licensed CC0.

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