Technology Core

NIH RePORTER · NIH · P50 · $151,159 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (Technology Core) In the Technology Core, we develop, validate, and implement (in the real-world drug abuse-relevant setting of the Center Projects and collaborations), next-generation technologies for studying neural circuit structure- function relationships. We pay particular attention to integrative methods for crossing spatial scales for observation and manipulation, from single neuron-resolution during behavior, to brainwide analysis during behavior. The central goal is synergistic with the Training core but necessarily inverted in structure; the technologies developed and applied here, though demonstrated in the lab and standing on firm ground, are in earlier and unpublished stages, are equipment-intensive, and cannot at present be disseminated in the short- course Training Core model. Instead, the Technology Core staff will guide the direct local implementation of these new technologies for Center Aims across all research projects. In Aim 1 the Technology Core staff develop and support next-generation hydrogel-tissue chemistry including STARmap. In Aim 2 the Technology Core staff develop and support next-generation frame-projected independent-fiber photometry (FIP); among other applications in the Center, FIP will be used for simultaneous recording of multiple independent axonal activity signals representing diverse projections of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons, tracking previously inaccessible activity relationships among these circuit elements at high speed during distinct salient sensory experiences. In Aim 3 the Technology Core staff develop and support next-generation optoencephalography (OEG) for truly simultaneous high-speed multi-site observation of genetically-specified neural activity traffic across the adult mammalian brain, suitable for quantifying abused-drug experience-triggered joint activity relationships among multiple brainwide projections and cell populations. Finally in Aim 4 the Technology Core staff develop and support next-generation ensemble optogenetics, for true cellular-resolution imaging and control of hundreds of individual neurons within brain volumes during behavior. These tools enable investigation of interactions between subpopulations within and across brain regions, unbiased identification of behaviorally relevant circuit dynamics and processing hierarchies, and (in combination with optogenetic stimulation) systematic causal analysis in abused-drug altered states.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10917016
Project number
5P50DA042012-07
Recipient
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
Sean Albert Quirin
Activity code
P50
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$151,159
Award type
5
Project period
2017-09-01 → 2028-05-31