Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101231
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,295.00
Summary
The effect of nutrition on male life history traits in humans. This project will provide answers to fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while identifying diet compositions that will benefit human health and well-being. Using a longitudinal public-health database, the Raine Study, and a theoretical framework from the field of Nutritional Ecology, the project will provide new knowledge on how nutrition affects key life-history traits in humans including immune function, reproductive heal ....The effect of nutrition on male life history traits in humans. This project will provide answers to fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while identifying diet compositions that will benefit human health and well-being. Using a longitudinal public-health database, the Raine Study, and a theoretical framework from the field of Nutritional Ecology, the project will provide new knowledge on how nutrition affects key life-history traits in humans including immune function, reproductive health, physical appearance, and healthy ageing. A systematic literature review on how diet impacts these life-history traits in animals generally, and an experimental study of the effect of diet on health and reproduction in the house mouse (a lab analog species for humans) will complement the Raine Study findings.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,154.00
Summary
Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build interna ....Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build international collaborations, and ecologically valid methods for measuring pain interpretation. This research forms a solid platform for further translational research, to build novel, scalable interventions to improve outcomes for the one in five Australians living with chronic pain.Read moreRead less
Neural circuit control of effort under stress . This Project aims to investigate how the ‘decision’ to persist in exerting effort to obtain a reward is encoded in the the brain and affected by stress. This work will generate new knowledge on the neural mechanisms through which stress modifies neural activity to control decision making processes underpinning adaptive behaviours essential for survival. The expected outcomes of this work include enhanced capacity at the interface of behavioural a ....Neural circuit control of effort under stress . This Project aims to investigate how the ‘decision’ to persist in exerting effort to obtain a reward is encoded in the the brain and affected by stress. This work will generate new knowledge on the neural mechanisms through which stress modifies neural activity to control decision making processes underpinning adaptive behaviours essential for survival. The expected outcomes of this work include enhanced capacity at the interface of behavioural and computational neuroscience, that will in turn provide significant benefits through greater insight into brain functions essential for survival, with long ranging implications for performance optimisation and brain-inspired computing. Read moreRead less
Body Worn Camera Evidence and Assessment of Witness Credibility. The aim of this project is to establish how the use of Body Worn Cameras to record statements in domestic and family violence cases affects assessment of a complainant’s credibility at trial. It will generate new knowledge about the influence of: (i) the physical environment in which recordings are made, (ii) the audio and visual quality of recordings, and (iii) fact-finders’ (judges and jurors) emotional responses to recordings.
....Body Worn Camera Evidence and Assessment of Witness Credibility. The aim of this project is to establish how the use of Body Worn Cameras to record statements in domestic and family violence cases affects assessment of a complainant’s credibility at trial. It will generate new knowledge about the influence of: (i) the physical environment in which recordings are made, (ii) the audio and visual quality of recordings, and (iii) fact-finders’ (judges and jurors) emotional responses to recordings.
Expected outcomes of the project include law reform and policy recommendations to improve the practice of recording victim/witness statements and management of the use of such evidence in criminal proceedings.
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Thwarted Identity: The Missing Link Between Psychopathology and Prejudice. Prejudice and the extremist violence that arises from it are typically explained either by the psychopathology of individual perpetrators, or by their membership of extremist groups. This project will seek to reconcile these competing explanations and resolve this impasse that has obstructed progress in combating prejudice. This project develops a new framework specifying causal and reciprocal links between the novel conc ....Thwarted Identity: The Missing Link Between Psychopathology and Prejudice. Prejudice and the extremist violence that arises from it are typically explained either by the psychopathology of individual perpetrators, or by their membership of extremist groups. This project will seek to reconcile these competing explanations and resolve this impasse that has obstructed progress in combating prejudice. This project develops a new framework specifying causal and reciprocal links between the novel concept of thwarted identity, psychopathology, ideology, and prejudice. Expected outcomes are new policy solutions and novel targets for interventions to reduce prejudice and extremist violence, which will deliver significant benefit by addressing these pernicious social problems.Read moreRead less
Can the Relational Account predict search in multiple-element displays? . This project provides evidence of a novel mechanism that guides visual attention. Our results confirm the existence of a mechanism that can rapidly and automatically assess the dominant feature(s) in a visual scene and radically change how attention is tuned to a target object. Moreover, this attention-guiding target template can change systematically as observers search through different items in visual search, possibly d ....Can the Relational Account predict search in multiple-element displays? . This project provides evidence of a novel mechanism that guides visual attention. Our results confirm the existence of a mechanism that can rapidly and automatically assess the dominant feature(s) in a visual scene and radically change how attention is tuned to a target object. Moreover, this attention-guiding target template can change systematically as observers search through different items in visual search, possibly due to a re-shaping and narrowing of the target template. These are both ground-breaking discoveries that have not been described before. Work on this project promises to lead to important theoretical breakthroughs, resolve current discrepancies in the literature and advance methods of Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100950
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$459,051.00
Summary
Identifying hypothalamic circuits that integrate stress and metabolism. This project aims to investigate how the brain integrates threat during hunger. Using cutting-edge technology to manipulate and record neural activity this project will elucidate the brain circuits that integrate threat and appetite to minimize stress exposure during foraging. This will expand our knowledge on how the brain perceives and responds to hunger and may provide relevant information for a large number of basic biol ....Identifying hypothalamic circuits that integrate stress and metabolism. This project aims to investigate how the brain integrates threat during hunger. Using cutting-edge technology to manipulate and record neural activity this project will elucidate the brain circuits that integrate threat and appetite to minimize stress exposure during foraging. This will expand our knowledge on how the brain perceives and responds to hunger and may provide relevant information for a large number of basic biological processes controlling the brain. Expected outcomes of this project will contribute to a better understanding of the circuitry controlling more complex decisions from food selection through to social interactions. This should provide significant benefits for Australia’s competitiveness within neuroscience research.Read moreRead less
Understanding the role of mental imagery in cognition and behaviour. This project aims to develop objective physiological methods to measure mental imagery, uncover its brain mechanisms using neuroimaging and show how it biases cognition. It has long been suspected that mental imagery biases cognition, visual working memory and perception. However, showing this has been difficult due to a lack of measurement techniques. Here this is overcome by developing novel assay technologies and applying th ....Understanding the role of mental imagery in cognition and behaviour. This project aims to develop objective physiological methods to measure mental imagery, uncover its brain mechanisms using neuroimaging and show how it biases cognition. It has long been suspected that mental imagery biases cognition, visual working memory and perception. However, showing this has been difficult due to a lack of measurement techniques. Here this is overcome by developing novel assay technologies and applying them to the extremes of imagery, Aphantasia (no imagery) and Hyperphantasia (strong and vivid imagery). Expected outcomes include new measurement tools for generations of scientists, understanding the brain mechanisms of imagery and showing how our cognition (memory, risk, investing) is biased by mental imagery. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100380
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,683.00
Summary
The dynamics of object representations in the human brain. The human brain's ability to effortlessly recognise and categorise objects enables effective behavioural responses in complex everyday environments. Despite the apparent efficiency of this process, it is still unknown how the brain solves object recognition. This project capitalises on cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence and neuroscience to resolve the spatiotemporal dynamics of object processing in the human brain. The outc ....The dynamics of object representations in the human brain. The human brain's ability to effortlessly recognise and categorise objects enables effective behavioural responses in complex everyday environments. Despite the apparent efficiency of this process, it is still unknown how the brain solves object recognition. This project capitalises on cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence and neuroscience to resolve the spatiotemporal dynamics of object processing in the human brain. The outcomes will be a step change in our understanding of the nature and development of the multi-dimensional space underpinning neural object processing. This will ultimately facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders across the lifespan and accelerate the development of intelligent machines.Read moreRead less
Identifying the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse. This project aims to identify the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse, the situation factors affecting goal formation, and the relative impact of different strategies. The project will develop a novel theoretical framework by applying emotion regulation theory a new area (worsening others' emotions), testing predictions through intensive longitudinal methods, experimental studies and a cross-national ....Identifying the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse. This project aims to identify the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse, the situation factors affecting goal formation, and the relative impact of different strategies. The project will develop a novel theoretical framework by applying emotion regulation theory a new area (worsening others' emotions), testing predictions through intensive longitudinal methods, experimental studies and a cross-national comparison of 15+ countries. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the universal psychological processes that underpin aversive interactions, enhanced capacity for international collaboration, and policy guidance. Benefits include the potential to improve programs to decrease workplace bullying and domestic violence.Read moreRead less