UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM
2010 NSSP Information
Dedicated to building research infrastructure at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) and to enhancing the methodological
sophistication of the psychiatric neuroscience research endeavors of UMC
faculty, the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (CPN) provides access to
psychiatrically characterized post-mortem brain specimens, state-of-the-art
equipment, cutting-edge technologies and the technical advice of highly trained
faculty members who serve as Core Directors. The CPN Research Resources Cores
are funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), UMC and the
CPN. The sophisticated imaging systems and biotechnologically advanced molecular
core resources are provided on a shared-use basis to CPN and UMC
researchers.
The CPN Research Resources Cores include the Human Brain
Collection Core, Animal Core, Imaging Core, Molecular Biology Core, and
Information Technologies Core.
- Human Brain Collection Core - provides post-mortem brain specimens from psychiatrically characterized subjects and matched normal control subjects for studies of human brain biology.
- Animal Core - provides tissue from an animal brain collection focused on behavioral studies related to depression and its treatment.
- Imaging Core - provides access to sophisticated imaging systems with the ability to estimate, in three-dimensional space, numbers of cells, terminals, or synapses and to analyze the density of receptor binding and the level of specific proteins, giving unprecedented insight into the cellular and molecular neuropathology of mental disorders.
- Molecular Biology Core - provides biotechnologically advanced amplification, visualization, detection and analysis systems to study the expression, structure, function, and localization of a variety of neural substrates, advancing current knowledge of the molecular basis of psychiatric illnesses.
In addition to these scientific resources, the CPN's Information Technology Core maintains the CPN website and a highly secure, centralized electronic database for the Human Brain Collection and provides basic computer support for CPN investigators.