The purpose of the Animal Core is to insure a high quality experimental preparation. All items pertaining to animal acquisition, care, and disposal will be subsumed under this Core. An experienced Animal Technologist will oversee all aspects of this Proposal that involve animals: * Routine care/feeding and breeding * Choice and administration of anesthesia * Surgery * Injection of MRI contrast agents * Physiological monitoring of animal during experiments * Physiological monitoring post-experiment to ensure healthy recovery * Collaborate with MRI probe builders The services of this Core will leave the investigators free to conduct their experiments, while ensuring that the animals are cared for in a humane manner consistent with Caltech and NIH guidelines.
