Building in vivo Preclinical Assays of Circuit Engagement for Application in Therapeutic Development (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

This grant, titled "Building in vivo Preclinical Assays of Circuit Engagement for Application in Therapeutic Development (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is aimed to develop and optimize indicators or assays derived from animal studies. These indicators are expected to be utilized in the preliminary phase of creating treatment procedures. The focus of the assays is twofold: neurophysiological measures, which are related to the function and activity of the nervous system, and behavioral measurements.

The main aim here is to scrutinize these measures in order to discover any potential surrogate markers. Surrogate markers are substitute indicators, in this case, those might suggest underlying neurological processes that are clinically relevant, especially when considering the neurobiology of mental illnesses.

The expectation from this grant opportunity is to enrich the research value of preclinical animal studies in the field of systems neurobiology and clinical neuroscience. Thereby, this could aid in evaluating the effect of potential therapeutic targets and treatment plans on the neurobiological mechanisms related to mental illnesses. Therefore, the data collected from the animal studies will contribute significantly to the development of therapeutic procedures.