Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress (CNS)

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
What the facility does

Neurobiology research on stress, using various molecular, cellular and neurophysiological techniques.

Areas of expertise

The Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress (CNS) is a $10-million state-of-the-art facility. The centre tackles a series of critical areas: long-term memory and consolidation; the role of stress in natural population; maternal effects and maternal programming through epigenetic changes; neuroprotective roles of heat shock (stress) proteins; neurobiology and behaviour using fear, addiction, and other paradigms to understand brain functioning and organization; molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease; maternal adversity and early life stress-on-stress response systems in the brain and in the immune system; and host/pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular level. 

Research services
  • Fluorescence microscopy
  • Confocal microscopy
  • Spinning disk confocal microscopy
  • Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy
  • Multiphoton Microscopy
  • Structured illumination (Apotome)
  • Optical sectioning
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
  • Patch clamping for electrophysiology
  • Micro-injection
  • Flow cytometry
  • Cell sorter
  • Gel imaging
  • Image analysis
  • Cryostat
  • Microtome
  • Ultramicrotome
  • Centrifuge
  • Autoclave
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
  • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
Sectors of application
  • Education
  • Healthcare and social services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Equipment Function
BD FACSAria III Flow cytometry cell sorter
BD LSRFortessa Flow cytometry cell analyzer
Quorum Wave FX spinning disk microscope Live cell confocal imaging
Quorum TIRF microscope Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) imaging
Olympus Multiphoton Microscope Multiphoton Microscopy
Zeiss ApoTome microscope Optical sectioning
Volocity Image analysis software
Imaris Image analysis software
Neurolucida Neuroscience software
Hitachi H-7500 TEM Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM)
Hitachi S530 SEM Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
Bio-Rad PharosFX Fluorescence gel imaging
Bio-Rad ChemiDoc XRS+ Gel imaging
PTC-200 Thermal Cycler Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Waters HPLC High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)