Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Psychiatric disorders such as substance abuse and schizophrenia involve dramatic changes in brain functioning, some of which occur at cellular or synaptic levels. Our research group measures these subtle changes and how they relate to behavioural symptoms in different disorders by combining expertise in animal models with sophisticated measures of microscopic changes in brain functioning. Currently, we are well equipped to measure rodent behaviour in standard lab tests of addiction and schizophrenia, but ability to produce precise measures of changes in brain cells function is restricted because the available equipment is utilized at full capacity and overtaxed by the large number of students using the equipment. Therefore, we request funding to improve our facility to measure brain cell function in rodents displaying symptoms and behaviours reminiscent of human schizophrenia and addiction. This new equipment would allow us to dramatically improve our productivity, and make substantial advances in the understanding of the neural basis of these disorders (as well as others). Furthermore, our students could learn to combine different methodological approaches, an important asset for their future scientific careers.