Use of in vivo calcium imaging to study addiction.

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Abstract: The primary goal of this independent research scientist award is to allow protected time for Dr. Colleen McClung to acquire new technical skills which will complement her ongoing research program in addiction biology. This award will allow her to become proficient in the use of cutting edge, in vivo calcium imaging technology to measure neuronal activity in behaving animals over periods of days to weeks. She will also learn how to process and analyze the large amounts of data that are associated with this technology. This will involve dynamic collaborations with prominent researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University and Mt. Sinai University. This technology will expand and complement her existing studies which investigate the role of circadian proteins in reward-related brain regions in the pathophysiology of drug addiction. Specifically, they will allow her for the first time to measure neuronal activity over circadian time in specific neuronal populations in which circadian proteins have been manipulated. These studies will also complement her current collaborative translational projects which are aimed at understanding the influence of circadian rhythm misalignments in adolescents in the risk for substance abuse. This award will also allow protected time for Dr. McClung to interact with her clinical colleagues in psychiatry with the goal of forming a translational addiction center in the future focused on the influence of circadian rhythm and sleep disruptions. Thus this award will pave the way for future innovative research projects that will help us better understand and treat addiction disorders.