Equipment to investigate social brain development in adolescence in rats.

众所周知，产前和新生儿生活的经历可以深刻地影响大脑的发育。在过去的15年里，我的研究项目的长期目标是了解青少年时期的发展可塑性——更具体地说，是青少年时期的生活经历在多大程度上塑造了大脑进入成年期的持续发展。这项研究是在老鼠身上进行的，这使我能够在青春期操纵它们的社会环境，然后研究相对于对照组的老鼠，这些经历是如何影响大脑和行为发展的。其中涉及的主要操作是社会不稳定压力，这涉及将青春期中期的老鼠每天与不同的笼子伴侣配对16天。为了使我们能够可视化大脑中的特定蛋白质，并对大脑结构进行特定的形态学测量，我们依赖于对使用低温恒温器获得的脑组织薄片的分析。低温恒温器用于脑切片，用于免疫组织化学、原位杂交、放射自显影和高尔基染色，并用于定位植入脑内插管的位置。我们目前的低温恒温器（14年）不再工作，我们需要一个新的。为了获得大脑切片的图像并对其进行分析，我们使用了我们现有的显微镜（尼康Eclipse 80i）及其相关的软件和硬件。我正在寻求升级系统（也是14岁），以便更有效地分析大脑部分，并增加对神经元结构的新分析能力。每年，有8-10名HQP在我的实验室接受培训，所要求的设备是基础的，因为这些设备允许其他技术的培训，只有使用所要求的设备才有可能。我实验室中HQP数量的增长对显微镜提出了很大的要求，学生经常发现很难安排时间使用它；显微镜系统的主要升级包括自动化、更好的图像采集和升级的图像分析软件。这些功能将丰富我们的研究成果，使图像采集和分析更有效，允许HQP更多地访问设备。低温恒温器和显微镜对于我的研究计划和HQP项目的及时完成是必不可少的。***项目要求：Cryostat NX50， NIKON Eclipse 80i显微镜系统升级。

It is well known that experiences in prenatal and neonatal life can profoundly influence how the brain develops. For about the last 15 years, the long-term objective of my research program is to understand the developmental plasticity of the adolescent period of life – more specifically, the extent to which life experiences in adolescence shape the ongoing development of the brain into adulthood. This research is conducted in rats, which allows me to manipulate their social environment in adolescence to then investigate how these experiences influenced brain and behavioural development relative to control groups of rats. The main manipulation involved is social instability stress, which involves pairing rats with a different cage partner daily for 16 days in mid-adolescence. To allow us to visualize specific proteins in the brain and to make specific morphological measurements of brain structures, we rely on analysis of thin sections of brain tissue, which are obtained with the use of a cryostat. The cryostat is used for brain sections for immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, autoradiography, and Golgi staining, and to localize the placement of cannula implanted in the brains. Our current cryostat (14 years old) is no longer operational, and we require a new one. To obtain images of, and to analyze, the brain sections, we have relied on our current microscope (Nikon Eclipse 80i) and its associated software and hardware. I am are seeking to upgrade the system (also 14 years old) to allow more efficient analysis of brain sections and to add the capability for new analyses of neuronal structure. Each year, 8-10 HQP are receiving training in my lab, and the equipment requested is foundational, as this equipment permits the training of other techniques that are only possible with the equipment requested.The growth in the number of HQP in my lab has placed great demands on the microscope, and students often find that it is difficult to schedule time to use it; the main upgrade to the microscope system involves automation, better image acquisition and upgraded software for image analysis. These features will enrich our research findings and make image acquisition and analysis more efficient, allowing for greater access to the equipment by HQP. The cryostat and microscope are essential for my research program and for the timely completion of HQP projects.***ITEMS REQUESTED: a Cryostat NX50, NIKON Eclipse 80i microscope system upgrades.