This proposal requests funds to purchase an Olympus Fluoview (FV) 1000 Spectral Unit Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope to be utilized by an interactive group of NIH-funded investigators, primarily located in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at Wright State University. The unit will be also available for shared use with other investigators distributed throughout several other Departments of the Medical School and the College of Science and Mathematics. This new confocal system will serve two major purposes, 1) replacement of our six year-old Olympus FX and 2) upgrade our confocal instrumentation capabilities. Major advances provided by the new system include a) multiple fluorochrome labeling beyond our current two channel limitations; b) optimal controls of laser illumination; c) improved fluorochromes separation, even when emission curves are closely related and d) improved file handling, save and export for further quantitative analyses in 2D and 3D space. The instrument will be mostly used by a core group of five investigators that will form a collaborative unit with shared projects and common scientific interests on the modification of synapses and circuits during development, injury and recovery from injury. They have also accumulated a broad range of expertise with imaging equipment and quantitative methods, many of which require the improved capabilities of the Olympus FV 1000 system. The research topics from further users are varied and range from volume or pH control in neurons to cellular calcium transport mechanisms and chloride homeostasis in red blood cells and neurons to central nervous system control of respiratory function. The majority of investigators (major or minor users) are funded through NIH. To promote maintenance and equitable use, the instrument will be integrated within the microscopy and imaging facilities of the Center for Brain Research. This core facility was established in 2000 with the mission of providing imaging and histological needs (electron microscopy, image analysis, neuron tracing, confocal microscopy, microtomy and ultramicrotomy) to researchers located primarily (but not exclusively) in the School of Medicine and with an emphasis in Neuroscience research. As such, the acquisition of the Olympus FV 1000 systems will significantly enhance the research programs of the core investigators, but it will also have a beneficial impact on the broader research community at Wright State University. ? ? ?
