Project Grant F32DA060664

This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $210,776 to the Regents of the University of Minnesota to conduct research on input-specific synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens evoked by inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE).

The key objectives of this 1.5-year project are to determine which specific excitatory and inhibitory presynaptic inputs to medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens express ACE inhibitor-induced long-term depression, in order to reveal the circuit-specific synaptic plasticity mechanisms that could inform the development of new treatments for substance use disorders. The research will leverage techniques such as optogenetics and whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology to elucidate the role of ACE inhibition and opioid receptor signaling in modulating specific excitatory and inhibitory inputs to these reward-related neurons. This work builds on prior studies suggesting ACE inhibition as a potential therapeutic target for opioid use disorder.