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Examining the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control and its application to clinical syndromes featuring dyscontrol. This project will examine the cognitive control and its underlying neural mechanisms. Understanding this relationship is of major scientific interest because cognitive control dysfunction is related to a number of Australia's major social and economic problems, including drug dependence.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101743
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Estrogens and schizophrenia: animal studies. The female hormone, estrogen, plays a role on the reproductive system but is also involved in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Estrogen has been shown to be protective against schizophrenia, but the mechanism underlying this effect is unknown. This project aims to elucidate the brain mechanisms by which estrogens exert their action.
How brains become lateralised. This project aims to understand how the left and right sides of the brain become specialised for different cognitive functions, a phenomenon called lateralisation. Lateralisation is one of the least understood organisational principles of the brain, yet is crucial to the way we think and behave. Manifested most clearly as handedness, the brain is lateralised for many cognitive tasks such as language, reasoning, memory and emotion. However, the developmental origin ....How brains become lateralised. This project aims to understand how the left and right sides of the brain become specialised for different cognitive functions, a phenomenon called lateralisation. Lateralisation is one of the least understood organisational principles of the brain, yet is crucial to the way we think and behave. Manifested most clearly as handedness, the brain is lateralised for many cognitive tasks such as language, reasoning, memory and emotion. However, the developmental origin and anatomical substrate of most cognitive asymmetries are unknown. This project will use a chick model of brain lateralisation to quantify and localise to specific brain circuits the patterns of differential gene expression that give rise to anatomical and functional asymmetries.Read moreRead less
Learning from errors: examining the neural mechanisms underlying performance monitoring and adaptive behaviour. This project aims to contribute to current scientific thinking on how the brain mechanisms underlying error processing influence adaptive behaviour. Self-recognition of errors deteriorates in many clinical conditions and is a predictor of poor prognostic outcome. However, it remains unclear how such dysfunction leads to the failure to adapt behaviour.
Determining the role of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits in the development of addictive behaviours. The economic and health burden of substance abuse in Australia exceeds $31.5 billion and there are currently few treatment options. Nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) are a common target for the interaction of alcohol and nicotine in the brain. This project aims to determine the role of nAChRs in the development of addiction to alcohol and nicotine.
The sociopath amongst us: the neural basis of empathy disorders. Empathy is fundamental to human relations. Despite this, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. This project tests whether empathy relies upon us simulating the emotion of others in ourselves, and if so, at which stage this occurs. It is significant because it tests several competing theories to advance a coherent model of empathy that can be used to understand human social behaviour. It is innovative because it focuses o ....The sociopath amongst us: the neural basis of empathy disorders. Empathy is fundamental to human relations. Despite this, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. This project tests whether empathy relies upon us simulating the emotion of others in ourselves, and if so, at which stage this occurs. It is significant because it tests several competing theories to advance a coherent model of empathy that can be used to understand human social behaviour. It is innovative because it focuses on adults with brain lesions. This is a powerful means to examine brain mechanisms underpinning empathy, yielding insights not available from observation of healthy adults. It is expected to provide a leap forward in understanding the neuroscience of social behaviour.Read moreRead less
Noradrenaline in learning produced by negative prediction error. This project aims to examine the role of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in error-driven learning. While dopamine may be involved in initial learning about events, updating this learning, notably when reward is omitted, involves noradrenaline. Predictive learning is adaptive; it allows animals to use information in the environment to anticipate and prepare for events. Animals can also update learned associations when confronted ....Noradrenaline in learning produced by negative prediction error. This project aims to examine the role of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in error-driven learning. While dopamine may be involved in initial learning about events, updating this learning, notably when reward is omitted, involves noradrenaline. Predictive learning is adaptive; it allows animals to use information in the environment to anticipate and prepare for events. Animals can also update learned associations when confronted with new information and environmental contingencies. This project expects to provide information about how noradrenaline signals reward prediction errors and how predictive information is detected, encoded and modified using cutting edge behavioural and neuroscience tools.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101102
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,536.00
Summary
Memory Engram Storage and Retrieval. This project aims to probe how long-term memory is stored in the brain. Recently, memory engram-labelling technology has revolutionised the way memory can be experimentally studied. It is now known that sparse populations of neurons that were active during a defined training window are both sufficient and necessary for retrieval of specific memories, and that activation of hippocampal engram causes further downstream activity in connected engram cells of othe ....Memory Engram Storage and Retrieval. This project aims to probe how long-term memory is stored in the brain. Recently, memory engram-labelling technology has revolutionised the way memory can be experimentally studied. It is now known that sparse populations of neurons that were active during a defined training window are both sufficient and necessary for retrieval of specific memories, and that activation of hippocampal engram causes further downstream activity in connected engram cells of other brain regions. However, it is unknown whether engram cell connectivity is important for memory function. The project aims to test this question. Understanding more about memory function in normal conditions may help us to understand and treat disorders of memory.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100164
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,551.00
Summary
How do neural circuits coordinate to produce adaptive changes in behaviour? This project aims to discover how neurons alter their function in coordinated ways to produce adaptive changes in behaviour. Behavioural outputs result from the activity of multiple cells in a functional network, but current methods are limited to studying signalling effects on single neurons. To address this, I will develop new methods to visualise every cell in the brain of the living nematode worm to provide a unique ....How do neural circuits coordinate to produce adaptive changes in behaviour? This project aims to discover how neurons alter their function in coordinated ways to produce adaptive changes in behaviour. Behavioural outputs result from the activity of multiple cells in a functional network, but current methods are limited to studying signalling effects on single neurons. To address this, I will develop new methods to visualise every cell in the brain of the living nematode worm to provide a unique systems-level understanding of a model brain. Through collaboration with engineers and psychologists, I will describe molecular switches that trigger reorganisation of entire neural networks. Expected outcomes include new insights on neural circuit plasticity, which will advance discovery in neuroscience and robotics.Read moreRead less
Mapping and manipulating fear prediction errors. This project plans to use Pavlovian conditioning to map and then manipulate the brain architecture of fear prediction errors. It asks fundamental questions about how Pavlovian conditioning and associative learning enable us to learn to fear, to reduce fear, and to respond appropriately to danger. It aims to answer these questions with behavioural sophistication and previously unobtainable cell-type, temporal, and circuit-level precision. It aims t ....Mapping and manipulating fear prediction errors. This project plans to use Pavlovian conditioning to map and then manipulate the brain architecture of fear prediction errors. It asks fundamental questions about how Pavlovian conditioning and associative learning enable us to learn to fear, to reduce fear, and to respond appropriately to danger. It aims to answer these questions with behavioural sophistication and previously unobtainable cell-type, temporal, and circuit-level precision. It aims to provide new insights into the mechanisms of Pavlovian conditioning, associative learning, and emotion: insights that are necessary to shape the next generation of theoretical accounts and practical applications.Read moreRead less