Project Grant R01DA059293
- Federal Grant Award Summary The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under its Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), awarded $877,500 to the University of California, San Diego for a two-year project (July 15, 2025 through June 30, 2027) investigating neurobiological mechanisms underlying cocaine use disorder (CUD) susceptibility. The project employs a novel polygenic prediction methodology called RATTACA to identify pre-existing cellular differences in gabaergic and...
- Grant Award Summary Duke University received a $1.74 million Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), awarded September 30, 2025, with completion targeted for May 31, 2030. The research initiative, titled "Dissecting and Modulating Cell Type and Circuit-Specific Epigenetic Mechanisms of Cocaine Addiction," will investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cocaine addiction through...
- This $1.59 million Project Grant, awarded September 1, 2025, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), supports research to discover and develop GPR52 ligand probes as novel therapeutic candidates for cocaine use disorder (CUD). The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will conduct basic and translational research to identify selective small molecule G protein-biased agonists targeting GPR52, a novel orphan G...
- The University of Pennsylvania received a $527,837 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, to study altered midbrain GABAergic circuitry and its role in driving greater cocaine self-administration. Specifically, the researchers will characterize the functional state of midbrain GABAergic circuitry and the disposition of the KCC2 potassium-chloride cotransporter during cocaine self-administration, extinction, and...
- This five-year, $573,638 project grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, supports research into the neural mechanisms of individual differences in cocaine avoidance. Funded under the Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), the grant to the Medical University of South Carolina will examine cellular mechanisms by which serotonin and glutamate receptors in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus drive aversive conditioning...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded $800,131 to Boston Children's Hospital under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to conduct basic neuroscience research examining the functions and mechanisms of a molecularly defined prefrontal cortex (PFC) neuron subtype in drug addiction. The award, initiated May 1, 2026, with completion anticipated February 28, 2031, supports a five-year investigation into how POU3F1-expressing...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a Project Grant of $181,092 to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with an award date of May 1, 2026 and completion date of April 30, 2028, under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279). This grant supports basic neuroscience research investigating the mechanisms by which dopamine receptor type 2 (D2)-expressing cells in the ventral hippocampus (VHPC) control relapse behavior in...
- The University of Washington was awarded a $149,284 Project Grant by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to investigate the role of specific subpopulations of prefrontal cortex pyramidal neurons in regulating drug-seeking behavior. The research aims to elucidate the factors that predispose individuals to addiction and confer vulnerability to relapse, with the goal of advancing understanding of the functional roles of...
- Federal Project Grant Award Summary Wake Forest University Health Sciences received a $1,406,298 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), effective September 1, 2025, through May 31, 2030. The award funds research examining nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide (NOP) receptors as therapeutic targets for cocaine use disorder (CUD) treatment, addressing a significant public health gap where no FDA-approved medications...
- Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary The University of Chicago received a $1,010,328 Cooperative Agreement from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), awarded April 15, 2026, with completion targeted for January 31, 2031. This research award funds an investigation into how social isolation during adolescence disrupts neurodevelopmental mechanisms that regulate addiction susceptibility. The research integrates behavioral...
THE ROLE OF NEURONAL ENSEMBLE RAC1 ACTIVITY IN COCAINE SEEKING BEHAVIOR - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT COCAINE ADDICTION IS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER WITH PATHOPHYSIOLOGY THAT SEEMS TO INVOLVE ABNORMALLY STRONG LEARNED ASSOCIATIONS. THESE TYPES OF LEARNED ASSOCIATIONS ARE THOUGHT TO BE ENCODING WITHIN PATTERNS OF SPARSELY DISTRIBUTED NEURONS, CALLED NEURONAL ENSEMBLES. RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW NEURONAL ENSEMBLES CONTROLLING COCAINE-SEEKING DIFFER FROM THOSE UNDERLYING NATURAL REWARD SEEKING. WE HAVE RECENTLY FOUND THAT A SMALL MOLECULE, RAC1, IS DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED IN COCAINE-PAIRED NEURONAL ENSEMBLES COMPARED TO FOOD-PAIRED ENSEMBLES. THIS MOLECULE MAY REPRESENT A UNIQUE MOLECULAR ADAPTATION THAT DEFINES THE COCAINE-SEEKING ENSEMBLE. THERE IS, THEREFORE, A CRITICAL NEED TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OR RAC1 IN COCAINE- SEEKING ENSEMBLES. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DETERMINE THE NEURAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING DRUG MEMORIES TO ENABLE DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICALLY USEFUL THERAPIES TO ALLEVIATE CRAVING AND RELAPSE OF COCAINE USE DISORDER. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IN THIS APPLICATION IS TO THE ROLE OF RAC1 IN THE BEHAVIORAL, STRUCTURAL, AND ACTIVITY OF COCAINE- ENSEMBLE NEURONS. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT RAC1 SIGNALING IS INTEGRAL TO COCAINE-INDUCED NEUROADAPTATIONS, DRIVING NEUROADAPTATIONS THAT INCREASE THE CUE-REACTIVITY OF COCAINE ENSEMBLE NEURONS AND DRIVE COCAINE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. THE RATIONALE FOR THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS THAT UNDERSTANDING HOW RAC1 EXPRESSION EFFECTS THE NEURONAL ENSEMBLES GOVERNING COCAINE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR WILL PROVIDE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPING EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS TO TREATING COCAINE USE DISORDER. TO ATTAIN THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES, THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS WILL BE PURSUED: 1) DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF IL ENSEMBLE RAC1 ACTIVITY ON COCAINE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR; 2) IDENTIFY CHANGES IN CELLULAR STRUCTURE WITHIN COCAINE-ASSOCIATED NEURONAL ENSEMBLES; AND 3) DETERMINE THE ROLE OF RAC1 ACTIVITY ON CUE REACTIVITY OF COCAINE ENSEMBLE NEURONS. THE RESEARCH PROPOSED IN THIS APPLICATION IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT DISSECTS THE ROLE OF RAC1 WITHIN NEURONAL ENSEMBLES IN COCAINE SELF- ADMINISTRATION COMPARED TO FOOD-SEEKING ENSEMBLES USING SEVERAL CUTTING-EDGE METHODS. THESE CONTRIBUTIONS WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT BECAUSE THEY ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE DETERMINED HOW RAC1 DRIVES ADAPTATIONS WITHIN THE NEURONAL ENSEMBLES MEDIATING COCAINE-SEEKING.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | ($215k) | 9/4/25 | ||
| Not listed | $0 | 5/23/25 | ||
| Not listed | $0 | 5/23/25 | ||
| Not listed | $563.7k | 7/11/24 | ||
| Not listed | $563.7k | 7/11/24 |