MR MICROSCOPY OF A RAT PRENATAL COCAINE EXPOSURE MODEL

这个子项目是利用资源的许多研究子项目之一。 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。对子项目的主要支持 子项目的首席调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括美国国立卫生研究院的其他来源。为子项目列出的总成本可能 表示该子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 不是由NCRR赠款提供给次级项目或次级项目工作人员的直接资金。 我们正在探索孕期接触可卡因对大鼠发育的影响。实际上，关于可卡因在发育过程中的影响的数据很少，因此对这类研究的需求很大。在北卡罗来纳大学，我们正在进行高分辨率的DTI扫描，但这里的设备没有设备来进行超高分辨率的MR显微镜检查。因此，我们与阿尔·约翰逊讨论了在杜克大学探索这一目标的潜力。我们的DTI研究目前是在产后第5天服用可卡因的大鼠母亲身上进行的，以及这些母亲的雄性和雌性后代在出生后第5天和第14天进行的，大约是在人类发育的第三个三个月末和大约一周大的时候。如果在这些时间点发现大脑结构的差异，我们有兴趣探索更晚的时间点，以确定产前接触可卡因对长期发育的影响。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. We are explorng the developmental effects of prenatal cocaine exposure in a rat model. Little data actually exist regarding the effects of cocaine during development, thus the need for such studies are great. Here at UNC, we are doing high-resolution DTI scans, but the facilities here are not equipped to do ultra-high resolution MR microscopy. Thus, we have discussed with Al Johnson the potential to explore this aim at Duke. Our DTI studies are currently performed in rat mothers treated with cocaine on postpartum day 5, and in the male and female offspring of these mothers on postnatal days 5 and 14, roughly trnaslational to the end of the third trimester and approximately 1 week old in human development. If differences in brain structure are found at these time points, we are interested in exploring later time points to determine the long term developmental effects of prenatal cocaine exposure.