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Visual guidance of flight in birds. Birds flying rapidly amidst the branches of trees engage continually in a three-dimensional slalom. This project will study birds flying through tunnels and gaps, to understand how they use their eyes and wings to achieve this agility. The results could suggest better designs for unmanned aerial vehicles operating in dense urban environments.
Dopaminergic mechanisms of visual selective attention in the fly. What we pay attention to guides our behaviour. There is increasing evidence that even the smallest animals, such as insects, have a selective attention. Neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA) regulate general arousal states in flies as well as humans, but it is not well understood how DA modulates selective attention. This project will genetically manipulate DA in the fly Drosophila in order to study its role in visual selective at ....Dopaminergic mechanisms of visual selective attention in the fly. What we pay attention to guides our behaviour. There is increasing evidence that even the smallest animals, such as insects, have a selective attention. Neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA) regulate general arousal states in flies as well as humans, but it is not well understood how DA modulates selective attention. This project will genetically manipulate DA in the fly Drosophila in order to study its role in visual selective attention, by: examining neural circuits; attention behaviour; and, brain recordings. Our work will reveal whether DA mainly controls general responsiveness levels, or whether DA is also involved in coordinating attention dynamics. This study has important implications for understanding attention disorders.Read moreRead less
Understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying inherited epilepsies. Epilepsy is a serious disease that impacts severely on individuals and the community as a whole. Conservative estimates suggest a financial cost of more than $2 billion per annum. Drug treatment for this disease is often not adequate. Recent advances have allowed scientists to determine mutation in human genes that cause epilepsy. New models of epilepsy based on this knowledge will allow us to better understand what causes e ....Understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying inherited epilepsies. Epilepsy is a serious disease that impacts severely on individuals and the community as a whole. Conservative estimates suggest a financial cost of more than $2 billion per annum. Drug treatment for this disease is often not adequate. Recent advances have allowed scientists to determine mutation in human genes that cause epilepsy. New models of epilepsy based on this knowledge will allow us to better understand what causes epilepsy enabling us to devise new and potent therapeutic strategies to treat the disease.Read moreRead less
Computational neuroanatomy: analysis of neural connections in the primate brain. This project will map the full network of connections between brain cells, using a computer graphics database that will consolidate data from hundreds of experiments. This will allow the first realistic simulations of neural activity, and will provide new insights about the structure and function of the nervous system.
Understanding complex networks of connections in the primate cerebral cortex. The most fundamental characteristic of brain cells is that they can interchange information through electrical pulses, which run along cable-like membrane specialisations. This creates a hugely complex network of cell-to-cell connections. Understanding this network is necessary to allow new insights on how the brain works as an integrated system, and on how information processing in the brain changes as result of disea ....Understanding complex networks of connections in the primate cerebral cortex. The most fundamental characteristic of brain cells is that they can interchange information through electrical pulses, which run along cable-like membrane specialisations. This creates a hugely complex network of cell-to-cell connections. Understanding this network is necessary to allow new insights on how the brain works as an integrated system, and on how information processing in the brain changes as result of diseases and normal ageing. This project will produce the first comprehensive digital map of the connections in a primate brain. This project will use advanced statistical techniques to determine how to best subdivide the brain into processing nodes, and the logic behind the network of connections that integrates these nodes. Read moreRead less
Understanding the mechanisms of GABA type-A receptor activation and drug modulation. There is currently little understanding of how sedative and anxiolytic drugs, including valium, interact with their receptors in the brain. This project will dramatically increase our understanding of how these receptors work and how drugs affect their activity. This will provide new insights into drug discovery and design.
Physiological significance of transient receptor potential (TRPC3) ion channels in the cochlea. The project seeks to discover the function of transient receptor potential (TRPC3) ion channels in the cochlea. Recent studies have suggested that these proteins, which are expressed by the sensory and neural cells, are key elements regulating sound transduction and neurotransmission. The new knowledge about the physiological processes underlying hearing that this work will provide, will significantl ....Physiological significance of transient receptor potential (TRPC3) ion channels in the cochlea. The project seeks to discover the function of transient receptor potential (TRPC3) ion channels in the cochlea. Recent studies have suggested that these proteins, which are expressed by the sensory and neural cells, are key elements regulating sound transduction and neurotransmission. The new knowledge about the physiological processes underlying hearing that this work will provide, will significantly benefit national and international translational research that seeks to develop systems for controlling the sensitivity of our senses, developing biosensors, interacting with neural networks and developing neural prostheses. International collaborators in this project have enabled development of new models, technology and research training opportunities.Read moreRead less
Suction pipette measurements of mammalian rod photoreceptor recovery following intense bleaching exposures. The aim of this project is to discover the events and processes that prevent retinal photoreceptors from recovering instantaneously following the cessation of exposure to extremely bright illumination. Recordings will be made from single rod photoreceptors cells isolated from the mammalian retina. The work will uncover the relative roles of the 'photoproducts' created when rhodopsin abso ....Suction pipette measurements of mammalian rod photoreceptor recovery following intense bleaching exposures. The aim of this project is to discover the events and processes that prevent retinal photoreceptors from recovering instantaneously following the cessation of exposure to extremely bright illumination. Recordings will be made from single rod photoreceptors cells isolated from the mammalian retina. The work will uncover the relative roles of the 'photoproducts' created when rhodopsin absorbs light: e.g. intermediates such as metarhodopsin and opsin. The molecular knowledge obtained will help us to understand why it is that the visual system recovers so slowly after the eye has experienced very intense light.Read moreRead less
The first stage of vision: transduction and adaptation in retinal photoreceptors. The project aims to provide a detailed understanding of the molecular steps involved in the first stage of vision - the conversion of light into a neural signal in the rod and cone photoreceptors of the retina. The significance of this is that it will explain the initial events that enable us to see, and will help explain the deficits that occur when the process fails. The outcome will be a comprehensive understand ....The first stage of vision: transduction and adaptation in retinal photoreceptors. The project aims to provide a detailed understanding of the molecular steps involved in the first stage of vision - the conversion of light into a neural signal in the rod and cone photoreceptors of the retina. The significance of this is that it will explain the initial events that enable us to see, and will help explain the deficits that occur when the process fails. The outcome will be a comprehensive understanding of how our photoreceptors respond with extreme sensitivity, yet great rapidity, and over an enormous range of light intensities, thus endowing us with our remarkable sense of vision.Read moreRead less
A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechani ....A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechanical adaptation in the vertebrate hearing organ. The aim of the proposed project is to examine this hypothesis in more detail.
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