Animal Models of Adolescent Drug Abuse: Integrative Studies of Brain and Behavioral Development

The summary for the Animal Models of Adolescent Drug Abuse: Integrative Studies of Brain and Behavioral Development grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Institutes of Health, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Animal Models of Adolescent Drug Abuse: Integrative Studies of Brain and Behavioral Development: There is a growing concern that adolescence marks a period characterized by enhanced vulnerability to the effects of drugs of abuse and the emergence of substance abuse disorders. Recent studies in both animals and humans have demonstrated that a dramatic period in neural development coincides with the unique behavioral changes associated with adolescence. These studies have given us a framework for understanding how the adolescent brain develops and how these alterations affect changes in behavior. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is interested in determining: i) whether, and, if so, how change in the adolescent brain is associated with increased drug taking, and ii) how this dynamic substrate might be altered by drugs of abuse. NIDA seeks to stimulate research that uses an integration of neurobiological and behavioral approaches to study adolescent brain development. Thus applicants are expected to use animal models and an integrated approach to focus on the development of regions of the brain that are: i) involved in drug-taking behavior, and/or ii) altered by acute or chronic exposure to drugs of abuse. The goal of this RFA is to promote the advancement of innovative projects that incorporate multidisciplinary approaches to understand how physical transformations in the adolescent brain are related to the behavioral changes associated with drug abuse. Some of the physical changes that are of interest include structural and functional changes in neurons and glia, and alterations in brain circuitry. Some of the behavioral changes that are of interest include: learning, memory, risk taking, cognitive function, impulsivity, motivation and emotion. The results of these studies should provide novel insight into the causes and effects of adolescent drug use.