Disorders Of Action Control And Learning-related Plasticity In The Basal Ganglia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,874.00
Summary
Disorders of the basal ganglia have long been known to produce severe cognitive symptoms including a deficit in the control of voluntary action. This project will assess the learning processes through which humans and other animals acquire such actions. We will systematically investigate changes in cellular plasticity associated with the acquisition of new actions to establish the role that it plays in action control under normal and pathological conditions.
Strategies To Restore Bladder Control After Peripheral Nerve Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$519,967.00
Summary
A major complication of pelvic surgery is loss of bladder control, mainly due to nerve injury at the time of removing cancerous tissue. This has a big effect on quality of life. Very little research has been conducted on injured bladder nerves. In this project we will investigate what happens to bladder nerves after injury and how we can make them regrow. We will also investigate if undamaged bladder nerves can be made to compensate for the lost function.
Pathologies Of Action Control: Amygdala-striatal Interactions And The Development Of Habits.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,867.00
Summary
Changes in basal ganglia function, whether produced by neurodegenerative disorders, stroke, injury or disease, can produce pathological changes in action control. This proposal will assess the role of amygdala afferents on basal ganglia structures, most notably the dorsal striatum, in this process. Using an animal model we will compare the role of central and basolateral amygdala inputs to striatum in decision-making, choice and the transition of actions to reflexive, habitual responses.