Does word similarity across languages help or hinder bilingual speakers? This project aims to understand in more detail how bilinguals can accurately speak in both their languages. Speaking is a complex skill, particularly if you have two languages to choose from, which will be true for over half of Australia’s population by 2025. This project aims to investigate the factors that influence speech production in both monolinguals and bilinguals including those with language impairment, and develop ....Does word similarity across languages help or hinder bilingual speakers? This project aims to understand in more detail how bilinguals can accurately speak in both their languages. Speaking is a complex skill, particularly if you have two languages to choose from, which will be true for over half of Australia’s population by 2025. This project aims to investigate the factors that influence speech production in both monolinguals and bilinguals including those with language impairment, and develop a better bilingual theory. The benefit of this new theory will be to provide a clear basis for diagnosis and treatment for children in bilingual households who have problems learning to speak, and for bilingual people with language problems after a stroke or dementia.Read moreRead less
Beyond Speech: Towards better communication for children with hearing loss. Despite the benefits of early newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs for children with hearing loss, most still experience academic and social challenges at school. This is partly due to ongoing listening effort, leading to communicative breakdown. This project aims to identify the locus of the communicative challenges these children face during daily discourse interactions. The outcomes will identify ....Beyond Speech: Towards better communication for children with hearing loss. Despite the benefits of early newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs for children with hearing loss, most still experience academic and social challenges at school. This is partly due to ongoing listening effort, leading to communicative breakdown. This project aims to identify the locus of the communicative challenges these children face during daily discourse interactions. The outcomes will identify which levels of language are most compromised and will inform future interventions to reduce children’s listening effort. This will be undertaken by bringing together researchers in basic science with hearing service providers, parents and industry, providing an innovative model for solving multidisciplinary challenges.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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The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinemen ....The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinement of the brain's innate ability to generate predictions about the sensory environment. The resulting insights could improve understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.Read moreRead less
A comprehensive framework for modelling the human connectome. The human brain is an extraordinarily complex network of interconnected cells. This project aims to use mathematical modelling and brain imaging to uncover key principles of network wiring in the human brain. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of neuroscience, genetics, physics, and psychology, the project will result in a new, rigorous framework for testing competing theories of brain development, the identifi ....A comprehensive framework for modelling the human connectome. The human brain is an extraordinarily complex network of interconnected cells. This project aims to use mathematical modelling and brain imaging to uncover key principles of network wiring in the human brain. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of neuroscience, genetics, physics, and psychology, the project will result in a new, rigorous framework for testing competing theories of brain development, the identification of key wiring principles for developing brains, and an understanding of how these principles shape behaviour. This work will shed new light on the developmental processes that underlie human behaviour and disease.Read moreRead less
Hippocampal regulation of goal-directed decision-making. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that is central to learning and memory yet little is known about its role in decision-making. It is the aim of this application to provide the first detailed, causal evidence of hippocampal regulation of decision-making. This is significant because many mental health disorders and dementias that involve decision-making deficits are characterised by hippocampal dysfunction, but any direct link between ....Hippocampal regulation of goal-directed decision-making. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that is central to learning and memory yet little is known about its role in decision-making. It is the aim of this application to provide the first detailed, causal evidence of hippocampal regulation of decision-making. This is significant because many mental health disorders and dementias that involve decision-making deficits are characterised by hippocampal dysfunction, but any direct link between these factors is unknown. The outcomes of the current grant will provide the first evidence of that link, thus providing deeper understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms of these disorders, which could eventuate in the creation of more beneficial treatments. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100850
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$402,252.00
Summary
Learning to read and understand complex words. This project aims to study the development of morphological reading skills from kindergarten through to high school, providing insights into the full spectrum of abilities required to move from novice to expert reader. Over 80 per cent of English words comprise multiple morphemes, but how children learn to read such complex words is not well understood. Understanding this key reading process will have the potential to inform reading instruction prac ....Learning to read and understand complex words. This project aims to study the development of morphological reading skills from kindergarten through to high school, providing insights into the full spectrum of abilities required to move from novice to expert reader. Over 80 per cent of English words comprise multiple morphemes, but how children learn to read such complex words is not well understood. Understanding this key reading process will have the potential to inform reading instruction practices from primary school through to high school. Expected outcomes are a richer understanding of the predictors, developmental time-course, and mechanisms involved in the acquisition of morphological processes in reading. This project has the potential to inform the effectiveness of explicit morphological teaching and intervention, to the benefit of Australia’s children.Read moreRead less
Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness b ....Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness between people who believe misinformation and those who do not. It is anticipated that our novel approach will build knowledge about misinformation effects and will reduce associated harms by expanding our understanding of how to communicate effectively with people who are persuaded by misinformation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100783
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,781.00
Summary
Music and speech as a window into the predictive brain . Prediction is fundamental to daily life, and yet we know little about how this central process works in the brain. This research program aims to provide in-depth insight into predictive processing by investigating the precise, culturally relevant, and communicative domains of music and speech. The research expects to reveal cognitive and neural correlates of “what” will occur and “when” it will occur, while exploiting the musician brain as ....Music and speech as a window into the predictive brain . Prediction is fundamental to daily life, and yet we know little about how this central process works in the brain. This research program aims to provide in-depth insight into predictive processing by investigating the precise, culturally relevant, and communicative domains of music and speech. The research expects to reveal cognitive and neural correlates of “what” will occur and “when” it will occur, while exploiting the musician brain as a model for plasticity. Expected outcomes include a multi-dimensional model of prediction and its neural markers that will lay the foundation to investigate impaired predictive processing. This should substantially benefit health and education by providing perspectives for training and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100108
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,409,738.00
Summary
How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. Spatial hearing is necessary for locating the source of a sound, and critical for communication in noisy listening conditions. The object of this project is to determine how the mammalian brain, including in human listeners, represents sensitivity to interaural time differences, one of the two binaural cues, and how this representation is transformed from the brainstem to the cortex. Anticipated out ....How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. Spatial hearing is necessary for locating the source of a sound, and critical for communication in noisy listening conditions. The object of this project is to determine how the mammalian brain, including in human listeners, represents sensitivity to interaural time differences, one of the two binaural cues, and how this representation is transformed from the brainstem to the cortex. Anticipated outcomes include a coherent model of binaural hearing that links cellular, systems and perceptual investigations, and an understanding of the human auditory brain that should facilitate novel technologies and interventions to improve hearing function.Read moreRead less