Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The Behavioural Neuroscience research group in the Dept. Psychology at Queen's includes Richard Beninger, Hans Dringenberg, Janet Menard and Mary Olmstead. Each has an active and productive animal research lab and is funded by an independent NSERC Discovery grant. Each supervises a number of undergrad and graduate student trainees. We are seeking to upgrade our current neurohistochemistry processing and imaging suite. The upgrade will include an autoclave (for sterilization), water purification system, refrigerated incubator, 64-bit compatible camera for image capture, upgrade to 64-bit computers equipped with the latest versions of our existing software along with an additional module for doing densitometric analyses. We are also seeking funds to renew our licensing agreement with the software supplier. This suite will support studies of brain systems and molecules that mediate behavioral phenomena such as reward-related learning, learning that accompanies exposure to acoustic stimuli, changes in emotional behavior following adolescent exposure to stress, and drug addiction. Results will provide a better understanding of how different types of experience change the brain. By understanding the mechanisms of brain plasticity that underlie the effects of experience on behavior, scientists and policy makers will be better able to make choices of environments and social systems that maximize learning and effective coping. The work carried out by the applicants contributes to a larger field of brain research that seeks to understand the workings of the brain and mind and how it is influenced by experience. This work will benefit all Canadians by creating reliable knowledge that can be used to maximize effective work, coping and cooperation.