In Vivo Neurochemistry and Behavior

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9412703 Justice Much of our understanding of how the brain controls behavior depends upon our ability to accurately describe how cells within the brain communicate with one another. Some general information on this process has been obtained by removing brain tissue and analyzing it chemically, but this provides no information on the dynamics of chemical signalling that actually takes place during episodes of behavior. With this grant, Dr. Justice will refine techniques for measuring the flux of chemical neurotransmitters within the brain during bouts of natural behavior. Dr. Justice's group will concentrate upon the dynamics of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This work will make it possible to describe the chemical dynamics of the dopamine system (and also, to some extent, serotonin and acetylcholine) in a precise way that is directly correlated with organismic behavior. It should greatly stimulate our understanding of normal brain function, the action of several classes of drugs on the brain, and the processes associated with abnormal function of neurotransmitter systems. ***