Monoaminergic Neurons And Limbic Circuits

单胺能神经元和边缘回路

• 批准号: 7032917
• 负责人: Vito John Massari
• 金额: $ 50.83万
• 依托单位: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-08-01 至 2008-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7032917
• 关键词: minority institution research support; neurobiology; neuropsychology; neuroregulation

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A significant body of behaviorally oriented mental health research is being pursued at Howard University, however relatively few faculty are studying the neurobiological bases of disorders of mental health. This is an important emerging area of investigation. Since minority research scientists are under-represented in all aspects of mental health research, one of the major goals of this proposal is to nurture the development of a critical mass of skilled and productive faculty and graduate students with research interests in the neurobiology of mental health in the College of Medicine. This effort will help establish a more comprehensive community of scholars at Howard University with interrelated interests in mental health. The investigators propose to establish a bi-weekly Research Seminar Series entitled "Neurobiology and Mental Health" in order to bring mental health issues to the forefront of Howard's academic community. The investigators have proposed three Individual Investigator Research Projects to study the neurochemical anatomy and synaptic interactions of monoaminergic neurons with limbic brain circuits at the electron microscopic level. These ultrastructural studies will complement areas of existing expertise in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, molecular biology, and behavior which will also be utilized within the laboratories of the Principal Investigators. The investigators propose to strengthen the institutional infrastructure by purchasing a complete high resolution digital camera system from Gatan, Inc. to be installed within the core electron microscope, with external computerized image archiving and both on-line and off-line computerized digital image analysis software and a high resolution printer. This improved system will modernize and expand existing infrastructure capacities, and bring the core electron microscopy laboratory instrumentation into competition with other Universities in the forefront of the field. The investigators propose to receive specialized training in digital microscopy, computerized image analyses, and stereology. By providing the support needed to establish outstanding research programs, funding of this MRISP application will enhance the recruitment, hiring and retention of faculty with interests in the neurobiology of mental health disorders. Furthermore, this support will also facilitate the training of a significant number of minority graduate students in the field.

描述（由申请人提供）：霍华德大学正在进行大量以行为为导向的心理健康研究，但是相对较少的教师正在研究心理健康障碍的神经生物学基础。这是一个重要的新兴研究领域。由于少数族裔研究科学家在心理健康研究的各个方面都代表性不足，因此该提案的主要目标之一是培养医学院培养一批对心理健康神经生物学有研究兴趣的技术精湛、富有成效的教师和研究生。这项努力将有助于在霍华德大学建立一个更全面的学者社区，这些学者对心理健康有相互关联的兴趣。研究人员提议建立一个每两周一次的题为“神经生物学和心理健康”的研究研讨会系列，以便将心理健康问题带到霍华德学术界的前沿。研究人员提出了三个个人研究者研究项目，以在电子显微镜水平上研究单胺能神经元与边缘脑回路的神经化学解剖学和突触相互作用。这些超微结构研究将补充神经解剖学、神经生理学、神经药理学、分子生物学和行为学等现有专业知识领域，这些领域也将在首席研究员的实验室中使用。研究人员建议从 Gatan, Inc. 购买一套完整的高分辨率数码相机系统，安装在核心电子显微镜内，并配备外部计算机化图像存档、在线和离线计算机化数字图像分析软件以及高分辨率打印机，以加强机构基础设施。这一改进后的系统将实现现有基础设施能力的现代化和扩展，并使核心电子显微镜实验室仪器与该领域前沿的其他大学展开竞争。 The investigators propose to receive specialized training in digital microscopy, computerized image analyses, and stereology.通过提供建立杰出研究项目所需的支持，该 MRISP 申请的资助将加强对精神健康疾病神经生物学感兴趣的教师的招募、聘用和保留。此外，这种支持还将促进该领域大量少数族裔研究生的培训。