Enhancing our understanding of metallochemistry in neurobiology with modern electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Many neurological diseases involve protein accumulation that appears causally linked to abnormal levels of metal ions in the brain. This project will use a special technique called electron paramagnetic resonance to uncover how these metals interact with specific proteins at the molecular level and how drug treatments can modify these interactions.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882701
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Establishment of a confocal/multiphoton microscope for imaging of living systems. This facility will allow us to study the dynamic changes in living systems, from the smallest unicellular organisms in the ocean through to the sophisticated neural networks of the living brain. Not only will this imaging facility allow us to understand how living systems work, we will also be able to explore the dynamic changes that underlie human disease and injury.
Understanding How The Brain Senses And Encodes Hunger And Satiety
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$473,477.00
Summary
Obesity is the most important health concern in the world today. Despite all the epidemiology evidence and despite the intervention approaches, obesity and type-2 diabetes continues to rise in Australia and worldwide. Clearly, a greater biological understanding of the mechanisms driving increased calorie intake and decreased calorie expenditure. This fellowship explores the different neural circuits in the brain and how they regulate motivation for food and food consumption
The Role Of BMP Signalling During Chronic Demyelination And Myelin Repair
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$67,381.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurodegenerative disease affecting young adults. It is a disease that kills myelin cells, which are important support cells for neurons and critical for neuronal function. This research investigates the role of a specific signaling pathway with respect to myelin cell production and repair with the ultimate aim of identifying regenerative therapeutics for MS.
Volitional And Non-volitional Control Of Human Balance: Normal Physiology And Changes With Ageing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$383,066.00
Summary
How does the brain control balance when we stand? Our research shows that two very distinct processes operate to produce distinct postural, perceptual and cardiovascular outcomes. These experiments investigate the neurophysiology that coordinates these systems and what happens with age. The results will fundamentally change views on balance control. Balance problems are common in neurological disorders and old age. Knowing how balance works will improve diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL BASIS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,875.00
Summary
Stress plays a major role in the development and progression of many different mental health disorders. However, as we all know, the effects of stress on one person can be very different from its effects upon another. This is at least partly explained by differences in individual coping styles. When faced with a stressful situation without a ready solution, people tend to divide into two broad camps: those with an innate tendency to adopt passive coping strategies, such as avoidance, and those t ....Stress plays a major role in the development and progression of many different mental health disorders. However, as we all know, the effects of stress on one person can be very different from its effects upon another. This is at least partly explained by differences in individual coping styles. When faced with a stressful situation without a ready solution, people tend to divide into two broad camps: those with an innate tendency to adopt passive coping strategies, such as avoidance, and those that tend towards active coping strategies, such as attempting to take control of the situation. Previous studies have provided findings that suggest that passive coping is more common amongst sufferers of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain syndrome than is active coping. But is this cause, or effect? And what are the intervening brain mechanisms? We attempt to address such questions in the present project using an animal model in which social conflict has been shown to trigger depression-like symptoms. In particular we wish to: (i) determine whether the patterns of brain activity triggered by social conflict are different for active vs. passive copers; (ii) determine whether the depression-like consequences of social conflict are more severe in passive than in active copers; (iii) determine whether differences in coping style and vulnerability to social conflict stress are due to the actions of a particular neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the prefrontal cortex of the brain; (iv) determine whether the actions of antidepressants might be attributable changes in prefrontal cortex dopamine function which in turn promote active coping in preference to passive coping. These studies will provide exciting new information about the neurobiological basis of individual differences in vulnerability to the harmful effects of stress, and thus will offer the hope of developing new ways of preventing devastating illnesses such as depression.Read moreRead less
How satiation control reward value and cue-induced appetitive behaviours. This proposal aims to identify mechanisms that control environment-driven food-seeking behaviours. It seeks to do so by using modern virally-mediated and basic behavioural as well as histological techniques in a transgenic rat to characterise novel hindbrain circuits that control these feeding behaviours. This is significant as environment-driven overeating is problematic yet underlying mechanisms are unclear. This project ....How satiation control reward value and cue-induced appetitive behaviours. This proposal aims to identify mechanisms that control environment-driven food-seeking behaviours. It seeks to do so by using modern virally-mediated and basic behavioural as well as histological techniques in a transgenic rat to characterise novel hindbrain circuits that control these feeding behaviours. This is significant as environment-driven overeating is problematic yet underlying mechanisms are unclear. This project expects to provide new knowledge on when, where and how hindbrain neurons control environment-driven food-seeking behaviours. This should provide benefits to the advancement of knowledge on the neural mechanisms of food-seeking and provide a basic science platform for future research on the study of feeding behaviours.
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Identifying Malingered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Biological Markers for Legal Assessment. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychiatric disorder that is claimed in compensation claims in Australia. There are currently no reliable means to distinguish malingered from genuine PTSD. This project aims to develop the most accurate means of identifying malingered PTSD by using the most recent technology to index biological responses, including fMRI, in participants with PT ....Identifying Malingered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Biological Markers for Legal Assessment. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychiatric disorder that is claimed in compensation claims in Australia. There are currently no reliable means to distinguish malingered from genuine PTSD. This project aims to develop the most accurate means of identifying malingered PTSD by using the most recent technology to index biological responses, including fMRI, in participants with PTSD, without PTSD, and malingered PTSD. This study will lead to a biological assessment that can objectively index PTSD and be resistant to intentional feigning. These data will significantly enhance legal assessments of PTSD and facilitate compensation resolution.Read moreRead less
Quantification of whole brain structural connectivity and fibre densities. The project is intended to develop and improve accuracy in tools used to measure brain connections. Its overall aim is to produce definitive evidence of the biological accuracy of quantitative measures of brain structural connectivity as derived from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Discovery in the quantitative field of MRI research is important to worldwide efforts to identify the human ‘connectome’. The proj ....Quantification of whole brain structural connectivity and fibre densities. The project is intended to develop and improve accuracy in tools used to measure brain connections. Its overall aim is to produce definitive evidence of the biological accuracy of quantitative measures of brain structural connectivity as derived from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Discovery in the quantitative field of MRI research is important to worldwide efforts to identify the human ‘connectome’. The project plans to bring together novel diffusion MRI post-processing methods and state-of-the-art 3-D glass-brain histology techniques using mice. Investment in MRI research that specifically addresses methods to accurately measure structural brain connectivity may ultimately contribute to improving non-invasive imaging methods.Read moreRead less