EAGER: Optical Molecular Imaging of Opioid Distribution and its Metabolic Effects in the Brain

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This project will develop and demonstrate a unique live-tissue imaging platform that can detect the presence of opioids in live brain slices from mice, and image their effects on the cellular metabolism and coupled neural brain activity. This platform will allow the first visualization of how the presence of opioids affects the metabolism of neurons and astrocytes, and the subsequent neural spontaneous depolarization activity. The establishment and demonstration of this imaging platform will enable future comparative studies using morphine (the prototypical opioid), caffeine, and dopamine to elucidate how opioids differ from non-addictive compounds (e.g. caffeine and anesthetics) and prevalent neurotransmitters (e.g. dopamine) to modulate the cellular metabolism of the brain.This project will impact opioid addiction and related neuroscience and impact the broader research of drug development involving different diseases, organs, and preclinical models. The proposed imaging platform will be generally applicable to drug screening and discovery through preclinical imaging when the opioid is replaced by the drug of interest. The results of this project will be shared amongst the scientific/engineering and pharmaceuticalcommunities, and across wide segments of society in outreach activities. The new imaging andvisualization capabilities will inspire K-12 students to think about how technology can be used to benefit scientific investigations. Outreach activities will include demonstrations of this imaging platform to community groups through annual Engineering Open House events, as well as integration of these technological methods in Prof. Boppart's undergraduate Biophotonics and Biomedical Imaging courses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.