# Target Validation Electrophysiology Core

> **NIH NIH U24** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $277,601

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 This Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA-Neuroimmune [INIA-N]) consortium application
is for a U24 Research Resource that will act as a service core to provide electrophysiological evaluation of
targets identified or developed by INIA-N investigators. The guiding hypothesis of INIA-N is that genetic
differences and neuroadaptations in immune-related pathways contribute to the vulnerability to excessive
alcohol consumption. In addition to validating neuroimmune signaling pathways already identified during the
prior funding period, this consortium will use genomic datasets and computational approaches to predict novel
compounds that may be efficacious in reducing excessive alcohol consumption. This core resource will provide
essential services to INIA-N investigators by performing studies that examine the cellular electrophysiological
functions of brain immune signaling systems and their causal or therapeutic role(s) in excessive alcohol
consumption. These studies will be divided among three major subgroups of INIA-N target identification and
investigation. In Specific Aim 1, novel INIA-N compounds that are efficacious in reducing excessive alcohol
consumption will be evaluated. In Specific Aim 2, the focus will be on genetic targets, of which the majority will
be long non-coding RNAs shown to influence drinking. Specific Aim 3 will focus on studies in animal models of
hereditary excessive drinking. Electrophysiological experiments, designed in collaboration with the relevant
INIA-N investigators, will use new technologies to study neural circuits involved in excessive drinking, and, in
cases of wholly novel targets, will employ an unbiased approach of measuring basic membrane properties
along with excitatory and/or inhibitory synaptic transmission to screen for mechanisms of action in mesolimbic
brain structures. The results of these studies will provide basic information on the role of brain neuroimmune
systems in excessive ethanol consumption and help prioritize novel targets for further development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9856953
- **Project number:** 5U24AA016651-14
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Regina A. Mangieri
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $277,601
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-09-30 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9856953

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9856953, Target Validation Electrophysiology Core (5U24AA016651-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9856953. Licensed CC0.

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