Animal Core

动物核心的目的是提供一致、统一和可靠的动物来源 为NARC的所有项目提供了可卡因自我管理方面的工具和培训。老鼠会的 使用标准化的临床应用程序进行自我静脉注射可卡因的插管和培训 相关的实验范式。然后，受试者将被引导到针对大脑的个别NARC项目 组织提取、电生理学或对全身或局部定向的行为反应的评估 根据每个NARC项目的具体目标进行操作。这次更新中的动物核心 将扩大到包括转基因TH：：CRE大鼠群体，将为NARC项目提供转基因大鼠 视蛋白在多巴胺神经元中选择性表达。作为为项目提供光遗传支持的一部分 使用TH：CRE大鼠，动物核心支持包含必要设备和 专门知识，使所有NARC光遗传研究能够以协同和称职的方式进行。这个 动物核心的主要目标是： 1.向符合药物自我给药经验特定标准的所有项目提供RAT， 以及戒断、消退和/或戒断的程度，以及颅内注射 病毒载体。 2.管理RAT对项目的分配，以确保统计上相关的小组规模和小组 及时向每个项目提供复制品。 3.提供训练有素的技术人员，使用平衡分组设计有效地生成实验对象。 4.维持一个单独验证Cre表达的TH：：Cre大鼠群体，并提供 确定了整个NARC项目所需的CRE+和CRE-RAT。 5.作为NARC培训中心，为希望进行自我培训的MUSC和非现场调查人员提供培训 给药，颈静脉插管，手术调节方法，病毒载体设计，病毒载体 显微注射、光遗传实践和其他相关的实验程序。 6.提供利用光遗传学操纵特定神经元的设备、资源和人员 在NARC项目中视情况进行。这包括维持病毒的供应，表达各种 NARC项目所需的转基因视蛋白。

The purpose of the Animal Core is to provide a consistent, uniform, and reliable source of animals instrumented and trained in cocaine self-administration for use in all of the projects of the NARC. Rats wlll be catheterized and trained to self-administer intravenous cocaine using a standardized and clinically relevant experimental paradigm. Subjects will then be directed towards individual NARC projects for brain tissue extraction, electrophysiology, or assessment of behavioral responding to systemic or site directed manipulations in accordance with the specific aims of each NARC project. The animal core in this renewal will expand to incorporate a transgenic TH::Cre rat colony that will provide transgenic rats to NARC projects with opsins expressed selectively in dopamine neurons. As part of providing optogenetic support for projects using TH:Cre rats, the Animal Core supports an optogenetics core containing the necessary equipment and expertise to allow all NARC optogenetic studies to proceed in a synergistic and competent manner. The primary objectives of the Animal Core core are: 1. Provide rats to all projects that satisfy specific criteria regarding experience in drug self-administration, and in the degree of withdrawal, extinction, and/or abstinence, as well as regarding intracranial injections of viral vectors. 2. Manage the distribution of rats to projects to insure that statistically relevant group sizes and group replications are made available to each project in a timely manner. 3. Provide trained technicians to efficiently generate experimental subjects using a balanced group design. 4. Maintain a colony of TH::Cre rats individually validated for Cre expression and provide the numbers of identified Cre+ and Cre- rats required across NARC projects. 5. Serve as a NARC training center for MUSC and offsite investigators who desire training in self- administration, jugular catheterization, operant conditioning methods, viral vector design, viral vector microinjections, optogenetic practices, and other related experimental procedures. 6. Provide the equipment, resources, and personnel for using optogenetics to manipulate specific neurons as appropriate across NARC projects. This includes maintaining a supply of virus expressing the various opsin transgenes needed by the NARC projects.