Multi-Scale Imaging Core

Addictive substances trigger plasticity at the molecular, cellular and circuit levels that manifest as persistent behavioral changes that may cause substance use disorders. Targeting these changes may lead to novel strategies for preventing or treating substance use disorders. However, our knowledge of the molecular changes, the cellular processes and the abnormal circuit activity patterns that underlie various aspects of substance use disorders including compulsion, loss of intake control, withdrawal, and relapse is rather limited. To facilitate a better understanding of the molecular to circuit level plasticity accompanying drug abuse, the C3A Multi-Scale Imaging Core supports center investigators, affiliates from the Midwest and beyond, and trainees at different career stages to acquire the conceptual and technical know-how, and to access state-of-the-art equipment for nanoscale molecular measurements, for microscale anatomical analysis of subcellular and cellular profiles and for mesoscale physiological imaging of brain circuits. The Multi-Scale Imaging Core provides unprecedented imaging opportunities to examine models of substance use disorders at multiple levels, including: (1) molecular and cellular level imaging with internationally unique cell-type- and subcellular compartment-specific correlated STORM super-resolution imaging, and its recently developed PharmacoSTORM extension for nanoscale pharmacology; (2) circuit level 2P imaging to examine selective neural circuits and cell-type-specific dynamic physiological changes among large cell populations.