Neural Ensembles & Used Substances (NExUS) Collaboratory: Building a Multimodal Inventory of Cell Ensembles Encoding the Effects of Addictive Substances

<p>The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks to advance its mission by supporting the expansion of the Collaboratory on Neural Ensembles &amp; Used Substances (NExUS), an effort to build a knowledgebase of the neural cell populations and computations altered by substance-associated experiences, and underlying neurobehavioral states characteristic of addiction, or protective against it.

This notice is provided to allow prospective applicants to develop applications that achieve the following goals:</p><p>1) Collect and share granular datasets descriptive of neural cell populations tuned to tractable features of substance-related experiences</p><p>2) Integrate cell-resolved readouts of ensemble activity with other granular data modalities (e.g., molecular cell identity, epigenetic state, morphology, spatial localization or connectivity)</p><p>3) Develop tools for analysis and visualization of ensemble composition and geometry, and document their scalability</p><p>4) Inform and test models for the mechanisms whereby cells or motifs are recruited into coding ensembles</p><p>5) Enable synergies among NExUS-funded projects and with other cell atlasing efforts through coordination of outreach, data standards, analytics, common spatial frameworks, and reference taxonomies</p><p>Grant Authorities that allow NIDA to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Section 301 (42 U.S.C. § 241) and Section 405 (42 U.S.C. § 284).<br>&nbsp;</p>