Addiction Connectome Core

PROJECT SUMMARY: Addiction Connectome Core The pattern of connections between brain regions (the brain’s wiring diagram) determines how they communicate and ultimately, how they contribute to behavior. Understanding how connectivity changes with drugs is essential for determining the mechanisms of addiction. Recent innovations in neuroimaging have allowed scientists to study neural connectivity across the whole brain. This work has taken place mostly in humans. At the same time, invasive methods in animal models have led to a wealth of information on cellular changes. However, these two approaches remain largely disconnected. The Addiction Connectome Core (ACC) will bridge this translational gap by supporting the development of a whole-brain, multimodal connectome in mice and monkeys. The connectome will shed light of the predictors and consequences of addiction. In addition to developing the infrastructure and collecting core data for the connectome, we will develop a web-based searchable database that also facilitates integration of data in mice and monkeys from multiple methodological sources before and after exposure to two types of drugs. The ACC will integrate and make publicly available data bearing on its mission from three sources: (1) data specifically collected for the Core, (2) data collected by the other Cores (Structural Circuits Core and Imaging Cells during Behavior Core), and (3) data collected by extramural scientists. As such, the core will lead to the generation and curation of a searchable, discoverable, and organized integrated database of brain anatomy as it relates to addiction.