Monday: I continued to help prepare the cages for the cocaine rats and was lucky enough to see the data collected so far on the rats. I was surprised to find a significant difference in the frequency of self-administration between male and female rats, with females consuming higher levels of cocaine. After looking at the data, I helped my mentor create a recording setup that will ensure that every video is structured the same. We spent most of the afternoon drilling clear plastic sheets to create a stable holder for the beaker, where mice will be placed for behavioral observation. I quite enjoyed this because it was work I never expected to be doing in a multi-million dollar lab and I didn’t think such advanced places of study would use DIY creations for their experiments.
Tuesday: Today was the final day of long access (6 hours with cocaine available) for the rats. They will be run the rest of the week, but with different structures such as varying doses and adverse consequences for pressing their lever. After setting the rats up, I continued my DIY project with my mentor, getting measurements and attaching cardboard and plastic sheets as markers to ensure the camera and beaker are placed in the same spot for every mouse recording. While it was a bit dull, it was still gratifying to know that we were saving over $1,000 just by doing it ourselves.
Wednesday: We performed the next stage of the cocaine experiment. Instead of an undisturbed 6-hour session like they’d been receiving previously, the rats were given hour-long consecutive sessions, each one with a different concentration of cocaine in the saline solution. The purpose of this procedure is to assess the level of addiction in the rats and confirm that it is cocaine that is motivating them to press the lever. This experimental design made for a long day with 30-45 minutes of work followed by an hour of downtime since there was nothing for us to do during the rats’ sessions. I took advantage of this to begin the presentation I will give to the lab at in two weeks reviewing what I did and learned. I have to admit that I am somewhat apprehensive about making and giving a presentation to this lab because if there are any inaccuracies in it they are sure to notice seeing as my presentation will be on the work they have been doing for years. The majority of the day was not very eventful but it was interesting to see the difference in behavior between the rats’ sober and intoxicated states. Many of the rats were much more resistant to being handled while under the influence and would try their best to wriggle out of our grips. This procedure is only done for one day for each cohort of mice, so the following days will be an electric shock response before the rats are harvested and dissected at the end of the week.
Thursday: Thursday was spent running through a nicotine vapor administration and perfusion procedure with mice, and in addition to extracting serum from the blood as I’ve always done, I was also needed to oversee the vapor administration to ensure everything worked properly and transported mice from the vapor chambers to the perfusion room. This procedure felt less humane to me simply because the drug is forced upon the mice, whereas with the rat experiment, they can choose to not take the drug. However, obtaining vapor data is extremely important because it is by far the most prevalent way nicotine is consumed by humans, and it could be inaccurate to study the way it affects the brain and body if the drug is not taken the same way in the experiment. It was a long day since we performed on 8 mice instead of the usual 5, but being given various tasks kept it engaging.
Friday: Since I have somehow nearly reached the end of my internship, (it feels like it’s been a week since I got here) the PI/founder of the lab was kind enough to organize a lunch for everyone in the lab as a goodbye. This was only my third time seeing Dr. Olivier George and it was great to get to know him somewhat and get his advice. I am considering studying in Europe and it was great to hear the perspective of a man who obtained his PhD in France and now runs a successful lab in California. One of my main concerns about studying abroad is networking, and it is reassuring to see someone like Dr. George who used foreign education for a prominent position in America.
Outside of work, I’ve continued to do a lot of surfing, bodysurfing, working out, biking, and cliff jumping. I also had a great time exploring the town of Del Mar with my friend. I can’t believe I’m already in my final week here and am sad to know it’s almost over but even sadder after realizing that school starts in less than a month. I am so grateful to The George Lab and Pinhead Insitute for providing me with such an incredible opportunity and want to thank everyone else, especially my wonderful host parents, for making this possible.
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