# Animal Models Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2024 · $102,541

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT– ANIMAL MODELS CORE
 A main objective of the Animal Models Core is to provide a broad range of behavioral assays of stimulant
and opiate action in mice and rats to support the PPG’s overall goal to establish the molecular and cellular
basis of addiction. Such assays include several routine behavioral tests as well as more sophisticated self-
administration and relapse procedures. It is crucial to employ a broad behavioral battery since it is difficult to
infer something about a complex behavioral syndrome like addiction from a single model or even a limited
number of models. The Core then utilizes these behavioral resources in two main ways. First, the Core
provides microdissections of brain reward regions from rodents that self-administer cocaine or heroin for
molecular-cellular characterization in each Project and the Gene and Chromatin Analysis Core. Second, the
Core works with each of the four Projects to generate causal evidence that directly links specific molecular and
cellular adaptations to particular behavioral abnormalities that define a state of addiction. The Core
accomplishes this goal by providing a range of genetic mutant mice as well as a large number of vectors for
viral-mediated gene transfer, all of which are extensively validated by the Core. The mutant mice and viral
vectors, often generated initially to meet the specific needs of an individual Project, are then provided to other
Projects to broaden their application and thereby promote PPG integration. PPG investigators have led the
field in generating mutant mice and viral vectors, which make it possible to selectively manipulate a given gene
of interest within a particular cell type and brain region of adult animals, thus avoiding confounds with more
traditional approaches. Finally, the Core provides advanced neurophysiology, optogenetic, and fiber
photometry tools to Project investigators to directly relate altered molecular-cellular function to addiction-
related behavioral abnormalities. By consolidating this behavioral, mouse mutant, viral vector, and other work
within a centralized Core, we ensure rigorous control over the data and facilitate comparisons and contrasts of
experimental results across the individual Projects. This consolidation also makes financial sense, since we
concentrate and maximize efficient use of the required expertise.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10994339
- **Project number:** 3P01DA047233-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Venetia Zachariou
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $102,541
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-02-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10994339

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10994339, Animal Models Core (3P01DA047233-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10994339. Licensed CC0.

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