The ability to monitor one's cognitive performance deteriorates with normal ageing, and is particularly affected in a range of clinical conditions of older age, such as Parkinson's Disease, where it is a predictor of a poor prognostic outcome. This project aims to clarify the effects of age on cognitive and neural processes underlying performance monitoring, as an important first step to improving interventions for age-related impairments, including those accompanying neurodegenerative diseases.
Genetic And Physiological Mechanisms Of Executive Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$577,226.00
Summary
The question of how genetic variation contributes to individual differences in cognitive ability has fascinated scientists for decades. Arguably, executive control processes mediated by the frontal cortex are critical to our uniquely human ability for voluntary action, decision and will. Using a variety of novel innovations, this project will provide fundamental knowledge by developing a unique link between genetic, behavioural and neural indices of executive control.
Development Of Executive Functions In Children With Frontal Lobe Lesions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,379.00
Summary
Executive functions (EF), refer to the ability to problem solve, think flexibly and in abstract terms and pay attention. EFs are essential for managing daily life activities. The frontal lobes of the brain are believed be important in coordinating EFs. In childhood, frontal areas are developing rapidly and damage may affect ongoing development due to impairments in a child's capacity to function normally within their environment, interfering with adaptive functions such as new learning and reaso ....Executive functions (EF), refer to the ability to problem solve, think flexibly and in abstract terms and pay attention. EFs are essential for managing daily life activities. The frontal lobes of the brain are believed be important in coordinating EFs. In childhood, frontal areas are developing rapidly and damage may affect ongoing development due to impairments in a child's capacity to function normally within their environment, interfering with adaptive functions such as new learning and reasoning. Executive dysfunction in children manifests as disorganisation, impulsivity, inattention and inappropriate behaviour. Such problems are often masked in early chilhood, due to highly structured environments and support of parents and care-givers in day-to-day activities. However, as children mature, expectations of indepence increase and executive deficits become more apparent (ie. child 'grows into' these problems). Appropriate treatment and management is dependent on (i) improvement in early identification of patients at risk for such sequelae; (ii) establishing long-term consequences of executive deficits to ongoing development. This research aims to advance our understanding of EFs and their development through childhood, both in healthy children and children with cerebral lesions to regions believed to subsume EFs(ie the frontal lobes). While anecdotal case data is available, to our knowledge, no other study has attempted to do this using a longitudinal group design. Specific predictions include; (i) Children with frontal lobe damage will perform more poorly on EF measures, in comparison to children with damage to other cerebral areas and healthy children; (ii) Children with frontal lobe damage will show increasing deficits on EF tasks over time, reflecting an inability to acquire executive skills in the expected time frame, when compared with children with localised damage to cerebral areas excluding the frontal lobes, and healthy children.Read moreRead less
Schizophrenia affects, on average, 1% of the population over a lifetime and accounts for 2.6% of the global burden of disease and disability, according to a joint study by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. It is a complex disorder involving both genetic and environmental risk factors, but the specific causation remains poorly understood. People with schizophrenia experience symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, distorted perception of reality, and progressive loss of mot ....Schizophrenia affects, on average, 1% of the population over a lifetime and accounts for 2.6% of the global burden of disease and disability, according to a joint study by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. It is a complex disorder involving both genetic and environmental risk factors, but the specific causation remains poorly understood. People with schizophrenia experience symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, distorted perception of reality, and progressive loss of motivation, which disrupt personal development. Recent research demonstrates that underlying cognitive impairments, affecting reasoning, memory, planning ability and information processing, are at the core of the disorder and account for a high proportion of these handicaps. In a study involving 112 families with members suffering from schizophrenia, Western Australian researchers carried out detailed investigations of brain cognitive functioning, coupled with a complete genome scan. They identified, in about 50% of these families, a variety of schizophrenia characterized by multiple cognitive deficits, which turned out to be linked to a particular segment of chromosome 6. It was exactly in the chromosomal region where US investigators had previously found genetic linkage with the symptoms of schizophrenia in a large series of Irish families. In this project, the Western Australian and US teams, together with a group of Dutch researchers, will embark on a joint search for the gene (or genes) on chromosome 6, contributing to cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. They will assess a further large series of patients and controls, and conduct molecular genetic studies aiming to pinpoint the specific gene defect or variant. If successful, the project will have far-reaching implications for defining novel drug targets and treatment strategies for this disabling disorder.Read moreRead less
Alcohol, Angry Rumination, And Aggression: The Role Of Acute Impairment Of Executive Functioning
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$341,780.00
Summary
In Australia, alcohol-induced aggression imposes substantial psychological, public health, social, and economic burdens on victims, perpetrators, and society. When people drink and brood over interpersonal transgresssions, they are at increased risk of violence, even toward the innocent. The goal of the proposed research is to identify neuropsychological mechanisms that account for this increased aggression.
Action-reward Integration In The Amygdalocortical-striatal Network.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$757,495.00
Summary
This research focuses on the neural bases of decision making, a general capacity affected by normal ageing, disorders associated with neurodegeneration, major psychiatric conditions, obesity and drug addiction. This program will contribute critical new knowledge on the brain systems through which cognitive and emotional processes are integrated to control choice and decision-making and the influence of neuropathology on this integrative process.
Physiological And Neurochemical Mechanisms Of Executive Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$285,500.00
Summary
This study will examine how manipulating brain chemistry influences our ability to inhibit behaviour and monitor our own performance errors. We will determine the response of the brain using the physiological techniques of event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The first technique allows us to determine how drugs influence the timing of neural events, while the second technique allows us to determine where in the brain these drugs act.
Understanding The Human Hand In Grasping And How This Changes After Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$227,855.00
Summary
The hand allows remarkable feats of dexterity. But, paralysis of the hand severely limits daily activities and is common after stroke. We will determine key mechanisms that control the hand at the level of the brain and spinal cord. We will assess some limits that develop in the muscle itself. Stroke patients will be tested so that we can better understand the brain�s control of the hand and use this to enhance recovery of hand performance in those with impaired function.