Neurological cell replacement therapies: improving outcomes by matching developmental profiles of transplanted cells with the damaged brain area. Stem cell transplantation offers a way to replace nerve cells lost due to acute CNS injury or chronic degenerative conditions such as Parkinson's Disease. However, to date, results have been disappointing because of poor differentiation, survival and integration of stem cells confounded by ethical issues associated with the use of embryos as the source ....Neurological cell replacement therapies: improving outcomes by matching developmental profiles of transplanted cells with the damaged brain area. Stem cell transplantation offers a way to replace nerve cells lost due to acute CNS injury or chronic degenerative conditions such as Parkinson's Disease. However, to date, results have been disappointing because of poor differentiation, survival and integration of stem cells confounded by ethical issues associated with the use of embryos as the source of stem cells. The experiments conducted in this study will provide strategies to improve the efficacy of stem cell transplantation into the damaged CNS as well as developing the use of autologous bone marrow stem cells for repair. Outcomes will be improved transplant methodologies and expertise for the bio-technology industry. Read moreRead less
Brain lateralization: its function, evolution, development and change with ageing. Brain research is undoubtedly one of the key research fields today. This project involves highly innovative research at the highest international level, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on brain lateralization, a very important field of brain research in humans and animals (co-founded by the applicant). This project 1) investigates dynamic changes of the developing, mature and ageing brain for vital ....Brain lateralization: its function, evolution, development and change with ageing. Brain research is undoubtedly one of the key research fields today. This project involves highly innovative research at the highest international level, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on brain lateralization, a very important field of brain research in humans and animals (co-founded by the applicant). This project 1) investigates dynamic changes of the developing, mature and ageing brain for vital functions using animal models, thus contributing importantly to our understanding of normal functions of the human brain, including some forms of mental dysfunction and also ageing; 2) trains postgraduate students at the highest standards and 3) maintains important collaboration with colleagues in Europe. Read moreRead less
Synaptic and network properties underlying neural coding in the mammalian visual cortex. This study will:
(1) Increase our basic understanding of visual function that can help to explain many clinical perceptual disturbances. (2) Help in providing a detailed picture of intracortical neuronal networks that can form the basis for a prosthesis for the blind. (3) Discover the principles of neural organization underlying functions such as figure-ground segregation and perceptual learning which can i ....Synaptic and network properties underlying neural coding in the mammalian visual cortex. This study will:
(1) Increase our basic understanding of visual function that can help to explain many clinical perceptual disturbances. (2) Help in providing a detailed picture of intracortical neuronal networks that can form the basis for a prosthesis for the blind. (3) Discover the principles of neural organization underlying functions such as figure-ground segregation and perceptual learning which can inspire practical algorithms for robotic vision. (4) Train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in state of the art techniques in a stimulating intellectual environment.Read moreRead less
Thalamo-cortical organisation in visual information processing. This study will: (1) Increase our basic understanding of visual function that can help to explain many clinical perceptual disturbances. (2) Help in providing a detailed picture of intracortical neuronal networks that can form the basis for a prosthesis for the blind. (3) Discover the principles of neural organization underlying functions such as figure-ground segregation and perceptual learning which can inspire practical algorithm ....Thalamo-cortical organisation in visual information processing. This study will: (1) Increase our basic understanding of visual function that can help to explain many clinical perceptual disturbances. (2) Help in providing a detailed picture of intracortical neuronal networks that can form the basis for a prosthesis for the blind. (3) Discover the principles of neural organization underlying functions such as figure-ground segregation and perceptual learning which can inspire practical algorithms for robotic vision. (4) Train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in state of the art techniques in a stimulating intellectual environmentRead moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL0992409
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,996,243.00
Summary
The neural bases of decision-making. This research focuses on the neural bases of decision making, a general capacity affected by normal ageing, disorders associated with neurodegeneration including dementia, major psychiatric conditions and drug addiction. Changes in the neural systems that result in the cognitive and emotional dissociation reflected in these disorders constitute the highest health, economic and social capital attrition burden to Australia of any disease group, a burden that is ....The neural bases of decision-making. This research focuses on the neural bases of decision making, a general capacity affected by normal ageing, disorders associated with neurodegeneration including dementia, major psychiatric conditions and drug addiction. Changes in the neural systems that result in the cognitive and emotional dissociation reflected in these disorders constitute the highest health, economic and social capital attrition burden to Australia of any disease group, a burden that is only predicted to increase as the population ages. Understanding these changes in neural systems and their specific behavioural effects is, therefore, of critical importance and will ultimately provide new targets for treatment and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Understanding how the brain uses sensory information to guide reaching and grasping movements. Reaching, grasping and manipulating objects are crucial aspects of our daily lives, which are performed so effortlessly that they tend to be taken for granted. We know however that these functions take a relatively long time to mature (think of a baby learning how to get an object), and that they can be impaired by brain lesions involving a region called the posterior parietal cortex. We also know that ....Understanding how the brain uses sensory information to guide reaching and grasping movements. Reaching, grasping and manipulating objects are crucial aspects of our daily lives, which are performed so effortlessly that they tend to be taken for granted. We know however that these functions take a relatively long time to mature (think of a baby learning how to get an object), and that they can be impaired by brain lesions involving a region called the posterior parietal cortex. We also know that this region has multiple subdivisions, but how exactly these interact in allowing the sensory information to guide arm and hand muscles is unknown. Discovering how this happens in terms of cellular interaction can have profound implications for the creation of new technologies such as artificial limbs and autonomous robots, and result in health benefits.Read moreRead less
Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's re ....Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's research and development capacity in this new area of medical diagnostics. Our machine will be made available to other Australian laboratories and will improve the national capacity for making further scientific discoveries about how the visual system works.Read moreRead less