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

Behaviours vary both among species and individuals. In recent years, significant advances have been made in understanding species and individual differences in behaviour from a neurological perspective. For example, there is a large amount of evidence supporting the relationship between the size of a brain region and the complexity of the behaviour that the brain region controls, both within and among species. Similarly, species and individual differences in behaviour can also be correlated with changes in the density of neurochemical receptors in the brain. These details are, however, only known for a select number of behaviours. Progress towards understanding these behavioural differences depends on our ability to analyze the properties of the brain and to discover species differences in brain structure. The equipment described in this proposal will enable NSERC-funded scientists and their trainees at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge to conduct research that specifically examines the relationship between the brain and behaviour through both experimentation and studies across species. The results of this research are critical for understanding how the brain works, how variation in the brain reflects behavioural differences and ultimately how to diagnose the neural basis of behavioural disorders.