The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $613,107 project grant (CFDA 93.279 - Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs) to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct research on analyzing brain-wide neuroplastic changes using new neuroimaging tools. The key objectives of this 5-year project are to: 1) measure relationships between neural activity and plasticity gene induction, 2) evaluate the contribution of neurogenesis and astrocytic remodeling to neuroanatomical changes related to voluntary exercise, and 3) improve the characteristics of the BLUSH bioluminescent neuroimaging system to enable applications in non-transgenic animal models. This research aims to provide new insights into the molecular, cellular, and systems-level dynamics underlying brain plasticity and its relationship to behavior. The project will leverage MIT's expertise in advanced neuroimaging techniques and apply them to animal models of opioid use disorder and voluntary exercise.
Generated 3/4/25, 3:57 AM