Federal Cooperative Agreement Award Summary

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a Cooperative Agreement totaling $209,496 to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with an award date of June 15, 2026, and completion date of May 31, 2028, under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279). This award supports the development and implementation of novel in vivo methodologies to investigate mu-opioid receptor (MOR) actions within the infralimbic cortex of the prefrontal cortex. The research will employ two primary approaches: (1) developing microdialysis-based methods coupled with mass spectrometry peptidomic analyses to study behaviorally-linked intra-cortical peptide release, and (2) establishing techniques to characterize activity profiles of MOR-expressing projection neurons. These methods are designed to advance mechanistic understanding of how opioid peptide signaling in specific cortical regions modulates food-motivated behaviors and related consummatory and anticipatory responses.

The research builds upon prior discoveries demonstrating that mu-opioid receptor stimulation in the infralimbic cortex generates robust food-seeking behaviors comparable to effects observed in subcortical structures. By developing these advanced analytical and neurophysiological techniques, the award seeks to provide deeper mechanistic insights into cortical opioid peptide signaling relevant to understanding addiction neurobiology, reward processing, and substance use disorders—core priority areas within NIDA's research portfolio supporting basic and translational investigations of drug use and addiction.