Adaptation of respiratory chemoreception: role of inhibitory neuropeptides. The project aims to investigate how the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is involved in respiratory adaptation to hypercapnia. Chemoreceptor neurons in the RTN are crucial for life however, the mechanisms that underlie their basal and stimulated activity, to control breathing, remain to be clarified. This project will investigate the role of galanin in RTN-mediated regulation of breathing. The project looks to determine inst ....Adaptation of respiratory chemoreception: role of inhibitory neuropeptides. The project aims to investigate how the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is involved in respiratory adaptation to hypercapnia. Chemoreceptor neurons in the RTN are crucial for life however, the mechanisms that underlie their basal and stimulated activity, to control breathing, remain to be clarified. This project will investigate the role of galanin in RTN-mediated regulation of breathing. The project looks to determine instructive and multifunctional roles of peptidergic chemosensory neurons and their contribution to local inhibitory control of the respiratory network. New knowledge from the project may in the future assist translational research into respiratory disorders and lead to technological advances.Read moreRead less
Propagating Neural Waves: Combined Experimental and Modelling Study. The project is designed to measure propagating neural waves in visual areas of the brain to discover why and how they are created, how they interact with sensory inputs, and whether they can support brain plasticity and learning. Recent analysis of the brain’s electrical signals has showed that nerve cell activity is often organised into propagating waves, but how these waves are created, and what role they play in brain inform ....Propagating Neural Waves: Combined Experimental and Modelling Study. The project is designed to measure propagating neural waves in visual areas of the brain to discover why and how they are created, how they interact with sensory inputs, and whether they can support brain plasticity and learning. Recent analysis of the brain’s electrical signals has showed that nerve cell activity is often organised into propagating waves, but how these waves are created, and what role they play in brain information processing, remains unknown. The project plans to develop new methods for processing large-scale neural data, and to apply these methods to learn about propagating neural waves. These results may improve our understanding of how neural circuits function, eventually leading to clinical and technological advances.Read moreRead less
The Australian Parkinson's Project - Uncovering Genetic Risk Factors For Sporadic PD
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$768,546.00
Summary
Parkinson s disease (PD) is a progressively disabling movement disorder afflicting many elderly Australians. It is caused by the degeneration of specific nerve cells in the brain that produce certain chemicals and patients suffer from an inability to move fluently (or ultimately at all). At present we do not know what triggers this neurodegeneration, but it is believed that complex interactions between inherited (genetic) and environmental factors contribute significantly to the phenomenon. This ....Parkinson s disease (PD) is a progressively disabling movement disorder afflicting many elderly Australians. It is caused by the degeneration of specific nerve cells in the brain that produce certain chemicals and patients suffer from an inability to move fluently (or ultimately at all). At present we do not know what triggers this neurodegeneration, but it is believed that complex interactions between inherited (genetic) and environmental factors contribute significantly to the phenomenon. This project aims to learn more about these complex interactions and their association with PD. People with PD and unaffected individuals will be recruited from throughout Australia and we will look for specific combinations of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that either increase or decrease an individual's risk for PD. This research will identify the most common dominant genetic and environmental influences for PD in Australia, enabling scientists to focus on the most relevant biological pathways to target therapeutically.Read moreRead less
The implications of resistance training for the control of movement. Resistance training (or weight lifting) is an essential element of comprehensive rehabilitation programs in a wide range of clinical settings. However, because we know little about how the organization of the nervous system is affected by training with high loads, the consequences of resistance training for our ability to control functional movements are unclear. The ultimate goal of this research is to generate basic knowledge ....The implications of resistance training for the control of movement. Resistance training (or weight lifting) is an essential element of comprehensive rehabilitation programs in a wide range of clinical settings. However, because we know little about how the organization of the nervous system is affected by training with high loads, the consequences of resistance training for our ability to control functional movements are unclear. The ultimate goal of this research is to generate basic knowledge about the impact of resistance training on nervous system function. The research will lead to the design of injury prevention and rehabilitation programs that are maximally effective, and provide a genuine benefit to the community.Read moreRead less
Insulin transport into the central nervous system. This project aims to understand transportation of peripheral insulin into the central nervous system and how it maintains energy balance. Insulin is essential for normal physiological functioning in the periphery and central nervous system, but some circumstances, including high-fat diets, reduce insulin signalling in the brain. This project examines the mechanisms of insulin transport into the central nervous system, and may improve our underst ....Insulin transport into the central nervous system. This project aims to understand transportation of peripheral insulin into the central nervous system and how it maintains energy balance. Insulin is essential for normal physiological functioning in the periphery and central nervous system, but some circumstances, including high-fat diets, reduce insulin signalling in the brain. This project examines the mechanisms of insulin transport into the central nervous system, and may improve our understanding of blood brain barrier insulin transport and dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Learning about threats: the neural and behavioural response to predator-related cues in rodents. This project will investigate the anxiety displayed by rats when confronted with the odours of predators such as cats. This anxiety may be very similar to that experienced by humans who suffer from anxiety disorders such as phobias. By investigating the nature of this anxiety, the nature of the stimuli that produce it, and the learning and neural processes that underlie it we may better understand h ....Learning about threats: the neural and behavioural response to predator-related cues in rodents. This project will investigate the anxiety displayed by rats when confronted with the odours of predators such as cats. This anxiety may be very similar to that experienced by humans who suffer from anxiety disorders such as phobias. By investigating the nature of this anxiety, the nature of the stimuli that produce it, and the learning and neural processes that underlie it we may better understand human anxiety. The project also aims to identify novel chemicals in the fur of cats that have rodent repellent properties. Such chemicals may be of great use in domestic and agricultural contexts where rodents are pests.Read moreRead less
Central Muscarinic Receptors as Novel Drug Targets for Parkinson's Disease and Schizophrenia. Psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease are linked to alterations in the activity of neurons in the brain containing the chemical dopamine. Other types of brain neurons containing the chemical acetylcholine regulate dopamine neuron activity by acting on acetylcholine receptors located on dopamine neurons. We aim to determine how these important recepto ....Central Muscarinic Receptors as Novel Drug Targets for Parkinson's Disease and Schizophrenia. Psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease are linked to alterations in the activity of neurons in the brain containing the chemical dopamine. Other types of brain neurons containing the chemical acetylcholine regulate dopamine neuron activity by acting on acetylcholine receptors located on dopamine neurons. We aim to determine how these important receptors regulate dopamine neuron activity using genetically modified mice deficient in acetylcholine receptors, together with newly developed physiological methods and new acetylcholine receptor drugs. These studies will foster the design of novel acetylcholine receptor drugs as effective pharmaceutical treatments of neurological and psychiatric disorders related to brain dopamine dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Muscarinic Receptor Regulation of Dopamine Reward Pathways in the Brain. Human disorders such as schizophrenia and drug addiction are linked to alterations in the activity of neurons in the brain containing the chemical dopamine. Other types of brain neurons containing the chemical acetylcholine regulate the activity of dopamine neurons by acting on acetylcholine receptors located on dopamine neurons. We aim to examine how dopamine neuron activity is regulated by these receptors using newly de ....Muscarinic Receptor Regulation of Dopamine Reward Pathways in the Brain. Human disorders such as schizophrenia and drug addiction are linked to alterations in the activity of neurons in the brain containing the chemical dopamine. Other types of brain neurons containing the chemical acetylcholine regulate the activity of dopamine neurons by acting on acetylcholine receptors located on dopamine neurons. We aim to examine how dopamine neuron activity is regulated by these receptors using newly developed physiological methods together with a new acetylcholine receptor drug. We also aim to assess the suitability of mice genetically modified to be deficient in acetylcholine receptors as animal models of dopamine dysfunction related to schizophrenia and drug addiction.Read moreRead less
Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's re ....Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's research and development capacity in this new area of medical diagnostics. Our machine will be made available to other Australian laboratories and will improve the national capacity for making further scientific discoveries about how the visual system works.Read moreRead less
Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to ....Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to investigate a broad range of cognitive and communication functions. Benefits will include potential technologies and algorithms to assist listening (in devices such as hearing aids), language development and reading.Read moreRead less