Animal Core

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Core B is an Animal Core, which will be directed by Douglas A. Coulter, and will be managed on a day to day basis by Dr. Mary Ellen Kelly. The Core will also involve the efforts of two Senior Technicians: Shareen Nelson and Alicia White. This core will generate all of the animals to be utilized in experiments in this Progam Project Grant proposal, including animals immediately in pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (Moss proposal, Project 3), animals 1-21 days after status epilepticus (AllProjects), and chronically epileptic animals, 1-3 months after status epilepticus (AllProjects). All projects will require mice that experience pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. and all experiments require mice to be behaviourally or electrographically monitored for seizure activity. In order to minimize potential variability between laboratories and because proper implementation of all aspects of this epilepsy model requires substantial investment by animal care personnel, we have chosen to develop a centralized core responsible for all our animal needs. Specifically the animal core will be responsible for induction of pilocarpine-induced SE, post-SE care, long- term video or video/EEC monitoring of our chronic mice in order to confirm the presence of electrographic and/or behavioural seizures, cannula implantation and administration of viruses and drugs, and all stereotaxic surgeries. One of the biggest impediments in epilepsy research is lack of adequately characterized, competently prepared animal models of this disorder. By combining animal model generation for all proposals within this Program Project Grant into one core facility, manned by experts in generation and characterization of animal models of epilepsy, this should facilitate all studies within the proposal. Additionally, this core will extend the ability of all investigators in the Program Project to conduct studies in which candidate mechanisms can be manipulated, and consequences on epileptogenesis assessed. Long-term video/EEG monitoring is a specialized, laborious, difficult and expensive undertaking, with few laboratories in the country able to competently conduct such studies. Providing this expert animal monitoring capability to all investigators enables experiments in Projects 1, 2 and 3 to move beyond cellular and circuit characterizations, and actually assess effects in whole animals, on the incidence and severity of epilepsy. This immediately expands the translational impact of all of these programs.