Complete Fear Conditioning Suite for Rats and Mice

大鼠和小鼠的完整恐惧调节套件

• 批准号: 7794560
• 负责人: Michael S Fanselow
• 金额: $ 12.54万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-11 至 2011-08-10
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7794560
• 关键词: Age; Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Arts; Behavioral Genetics; Behavioral Research; Boxing; Collaborations; Communities; Computer software; Core Facility; Development; Ensure; Equipment; Extinction (Psychology); Faculty; Freezing; Fright; Funding; Gene Expression; Generations; Genes; Home environment; House mice; Human; Instruction; Knockout Mice; Knowledge; Laboratory Animal Medicine; Learning; Manufacturer Name; Memory; Modeling; Mus; Quarantine; Rattus; Research; Research Institute; Research Personnel; Resources; Site; System; Testing; Time; Validation; Veterinarians; animal breeding; behavior test; brain research; conditioned fear; cost; drug mechanism; flexibility; improved; instrument; member; programs; public health relevance; relating to nervous system; research study

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Behavioral Testing Core (BTC) Facility is a valuable resource for the UCLA scientific community. The UCLA Brain Research Institute membership consists of over 300 faculty members from 26 academic departments. The BTC provides the space, equipment, and instruction necessary for the behavioral testing needs of UCLA researchers. The type of assistance provided by the BTC enables behavioral testing for the researchers that cannot form collaborations with one of the few labs on campus that specialize in behavioral research. The BTC is requesting one-time equipment funding to greatly improve the fear conditioning setup which is widely used to study learning and memory mechanisms, drug and gene effects on fear and anxiety. The current BTC fear conditioning equipment requires replacement. The Med Associates equipment currently in use is outdated and unreliable. The automated scoring programs are first-generation "home-made" systems that do not have the power, flexibility and accuracy of state-of- the-art systems. In order to ensure that researchers get usable results, the BTC would like to provide better equipment for this task. The requested funds would be used to replace the ineffective equipment with state of-the -art instrument from Med Associates, the most-cited manufacturer of fear equipment. Their new Video Freeze software is highly reliable for automated freezing studies. It is the only system that was developed with validation of an expert in fear conditioning (Dr.Stephan Anagnostaras, UCSD). The requested funds cover 12 fear conditioning setups (boxes), controlling software, and computer. Crucial for research in fear extinction is the use of more than 2 contexts to understand how fear can be renewed, re-instated and spontaneously recovered following extinction. These boxes have interchangeable parts that allow the formation of multiple contexts and testing for both rats and mice. In addition, we plan to use 6 of these boxes within the mouse housing room suite to cut the quarantine time (normally 6- 8 weeks) of animals bred off-site (e.g., knock-out mice from a collaborator). This would enable PIs to conduct experiments that are time sensitive (e.g., age and time-dependent gene expression studies). This approach will also allow PI's to cut costs on animal per diems from a prolonged quarantine period. This plan has been developed in conjunction with campus veterinarian Dr.Marcelo Couto and the UCLA Division of Laboratory animals and Medicine. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Fear conditioning is a robust model of fear and anxiety in rats and mice. The use of such a model will allow for a more defined understanding of the neural, genetic, behavioral components underlying human anxiety disorders. Such knowledge would allow for the developments of better treatments.

描述（由申请人提供）：行为测试核心（BTC）设施是加州大学洛杉矶分校科学界的宝贵资源。加州大学洛杉矶分校脑研究所的成员包括来自26个学术部门的300多名教师。BTC为UCLA研究人员的行为测试需求提供了必要的空间，设备和指导。BTC提供的帮助类型使研究人员能够进行行为测试，这些研究人员无法与校园内少数几个专门从事行为研究的实验室之一进行合作。BTC正在申请一次性设备资金，以大大改善恐惧条件反射设置，该设置被广泛用于研究学习和记忆机制，药物和基因对恐惧和焦虑的影响。目前的BTC恐惧调节设备需要更换。目前使用的Med Associates设备已经过时，不可靠。自动评分程序是第一代“自制”系统，不具备最先进系统的功能、灵活性和准确性。为了确保研究人员获得可用的结果，BTC希望为这项任务提供更好的设备。所要求的资金将用于更换无效的设备与最先进的仪器从医疗协会，最被引用的制造商的恐惧设备。他们的新视频冻结软件是高度可靠的自动冷冻研究。这是唯一的系统，是开发与验证的专家在恐惧条件反射（博士斯蒂芬Anagnostaras，加州大学圣地亚哥分校）。申请的资金包括12个恐惧条件设置（盒子），控制软件和计算机。研究恐惧消退的关键是使用两种以上的背景来理解恐惧如何在消退后更新，恢复和自发恢复。这些盒子具有可互换的部件，允许形成多种背景并对大鼠和小鼠进行测试。此外，我们计划在小鼠饲养室套件中使用6个此类箱子，以缩短非现场饲养动物的检疫时间（通常为6- 8周）（例如，来自合作者的敲除小鼠）。这将使PI能够进行时间敏感的实验（例如，年龄和时间依赖性基因表达研究）。这种方法也将使PI的削减成本的动物每日从延长检疫期。这个计划是与校园兽医马塞洛·库托博士和加州大学洛杉矶分校实验动物和医学部共同制定的。 公共卫生相关性：恐惧条件反射是大鼠和小鼠中恐惧和焦虑的一个强大模型。使用这样的模型将允许更明确地理解人类焦虑症的神经，遗传，行为成分。这些知识将有助于开发更好的治疗方法。