The Outcomes Of Adolescents And Young Adults Who Experience Hallucinations: A Birth Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$624,842.00
Summary
A national survey reported that 1 in every 12 Australian adolescents experiences hallucinations. Although hallucinations are relatively common experiences, it remains unclear if hallucinations in adolescence are associated with mental illness, and impairment in social and occupational functioning in later adulthood. This study aims to examine the outcomes at 30 years of age in subjects from an Australian birth cohort study who experienced hallucinations during adolescence and young adulthood.
Gene-environment Interactions Modulating Cortical And Cognitive Dysfunction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$618,300.00
Summary
A feature of many major brain disorders, including schizophrenia and dementia, is disruption of cognition. A key brain area impacted in such cognitive disorders is the prefrontal cortex. This project will use clinically translatable touchscreen to understand how this aspect of brain dysfunction causes abnormal cognition. We will investigate the mechanisms involved, using highly innovative approaches, which will contribute to the development of new treatments for such cognitive disorders.
Complete Genomics For Mechanistic Insight And Precision Treatments Of Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,149,207.00
Summary
This research project will utilise recent developments in genomic technology to make detailed high-resolution genetic maps of individuals with psychotic illness. Where conventional gene discovery approaches focus on differences at the population level, this project will integrate the variation within individuals to determine the network architecture. This will be used to generate genetic profiles for personalised medicine and provide the basis for treatments that are tailored to individuals.
Neural Correlates Of Fear Conditioning And Extinction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$901,899.00
Summary
The amygdala is a part of the brain that processes emotional information. Disorders of amygdala function lead to a host of anxiety-related disorders such as phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this grant we will study how the amygdala processes sensory information from the environment and forms memories of salient events. These findings will tell us how memories are formed, stored and retrieved. In the long term it will provide targets for the development of new anxiolytic agents
The Efficacy Of N-acetyl Cysteine As An Adjunctive Treatment For First Episode Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,143,069.00
Summary
First episode psychosis may foreshadow devastating, chronic illness. Psychosis follows a staged, progressive pathway. There is evidence to suggest illness progression can be diminished and perhaps even averted if appropriate treatments are given at the early stages of illness. This project will test if N-acetycysteine (NAC) administered to young people who have experienced a first episode of psychosis can help prevent this early psychotic experience from developing into a chronic disorder.
Schizophrenia Under The Genomic Lens: Next Generation Sequencing Of Western Australian Families With Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$991,659.00
Summary
We will perform whole genome sequencing of 376 members of 88 Western Australian families, including 113 individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. We will use the sequence data to conduct a gene-cenric analysis of rare genomic variants likely to contribute to schizophrenia risk in these families.
Voltage Gated Calcium Channels And Vitamin D: Exploring The Convergent Links Between Risk Factors For Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$754,288.00
Summary
Occasionally, the evidence from different scientific approaches aligns and new clues are revealed. This application outlines evidence from (a) risk factor epidemiology (linking low neonatal vitamin D and risk of schizophrenia, (b) clues from genetics that implicate neuronal electrical channels, and (c) and new discoveries that show that vitamin D activates these same neuronal channels. This study will use animal experiments to explore these clues in an integrated research program.
Does Adult Vitamin D Deficiency Increase Vulnerability To Social Stress Resulting In Altered Brain Function?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,802.00
Summary
We propose that first generation migrants exposed to both psychosocial stress and hypovitaminosis D may be less able to buffer stress-related adverse brain outcomes. Our hypothesis is that combined effects of both adult hypovitaminosis D, with the lack of its neuroprotective properties, and the neurochemical effects of social stress will result in an increase in schizophrenia-related behaviours. There is an urgent need for novel animal models based on the epidemiology of schizophrenia.
Unravelling The Genetic Causes Of Bipolar Disorder: Lessons From Rare But Highly Penetrant Variants In Very Heritable Forms Of Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$705,834.00
Summary
Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder affecting over 350,000 Australians, for which the causes remain largely unknown. This project will apply a powerful new technology, exome sequencing, to rare families with highly heritable forms of bipolar disorder to identify specific genetic factors which increase disease risk. A greater understanding of the genetic causes of this illness may eventually lead to improvements in diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of people suffering with this debi ....Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder affecting over 350,000 Australians, for which the causes remain largely unknown. This project will apply a powerful new technology, exome sequencing, to rare families with highly heritable forms of bipolar disorder to identify specific genetic factors which increase disease risk. A greater understanding of the genetic causes of this illness may eventually lead to improvements in diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of people suffering with this debilitating mental illness.Read moreRead less
Prediction, Verification, And Clinical Significance Of Splicing Aberrations Associated With BRCA1 And BRCA2 Variants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,995.00
Summary
There are many families with sequence changes in the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 for which the consequences cannot be easily predicted. It is not possible to offer informative genetic counselling to these women or their at-risk family members. This study aims to refine computer prediction models that are used to predict if sequence changes disrupt the way the gene product is collated in the cell, and what amount of disruption will lead to cancer. This will improve patient management.