Accelerated Longterm Forgetting In Children With Genetic Generalised Epilepsy: An Investigation Of The Temporal Trajectory And Contribution Of Executive Skills.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$107,204.00
Summary
The aim of this study is to determine which factors influence forgetting in typically developing children and in children with epilepsy. Specifically, we want to establish how forgetting occurs over time and whether it is influenced by other cognitive/thinking skills, such as strategies used to remember information, attention or resistance to interference. Moreover, we are interested in whether retention rates are affected by different types of learning materials (i.e. visual versus verbal).
How well people perform in everyday situations is often determined by memory function. When required to perform under stress memory performance is often affected. The effect of a psychological stress test on memory function in healthy volunteers and the ability of a dietary supplement, tyrosine, to prevent the effects will be studied. The data may suggest that depletion amino acids is responsible for the decrements in performance that are evident after an acute stressor.
How are memories stored in the brain? We know much about the brain regions involved in memory storage but we know little or nothing about how individual memories are represented and stored within those brain areas. The purpose of this project is to label and manipulate the specific subsets of brain cells that store individual memories. We will label memory-bearing cells in multiple brain regions and then ask how the connections between those cells encode learned information in the brain.
Evaluation Of Rehabilitation Strategies For Prospective Memory In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$213,950.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from motor vehicle accidents and other mishaps is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Memory problems is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms reported by people with TBI. Traditionally, the treatment of memory problems has focussed on retrospective memory or the ability to recall or recognise previously learned information (e.g., remembering the name of a person, recalling the content of yesterday's news stories). Little res ....Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from motor vehicle accidents and other mishaps is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Memory problems is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms reported by people with TBI. Traditionally, the treatment of memory problems has focussed on retrospective memory or the ability to recall or recognise previously learned information (e.g., remembering the name of a person, recalling the content of yesterday's news stories). Little research has been conducted on problems with another type of memory called prospective memory or the ability to remember to do something in the future (e.g., remembering to attend an appointment, remembering to pay a bill before its due date). The treatment of prospective memory problems in people with TBI is, however, very important for assisting them to return to work and successful integration into the community. This is because the ability to remember to do things at the right time is essential for work and for independent living. In addition, failure to treat this type of problems can be risky or even life threatening (e.g., forgetting to take medication, forgetting to turn off an electrical appliance). This project aims to evaluate the independent and combined effectiveness of two rehabilitation strategies, namely, promoting awareness of memory problems and adopting compensatory strategies. In addition, this project aims to gauge whether a better management of prospective memory problem will lead to better functioning in the community.Read moreRead less
Can Music Mend Minds? Investigating The Mechanisms Underlying The Beneficial Effects Of Music On Persons With Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,108.00
Summary
Music can have positive effects on persons with dementia. It be a powerful trigger of memories and emotions and provide a link to one's personal past and a form of communication with carers. Familiar songs can be recognised even in the late stages of dementia when verbal communication and memory for other things may be lost. There has been little scientific investigation of how and why music can help people with dementia and their carers. This research will address this issue.
The Extinction Of Conditioned Fear And Its Implications For Cue Exposure Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,430.00
Summary
This project studies extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear reactions in rats. Extinction of these reactions is an animal model for exposure therapy used in the treatment of anxiety disorders in people. In exposure therapy, the patient, aided by the clinician, confronts trauma-related cues in the absence of any overt danger. The intention of this therapy is to reduce the ability of the trauma-related cues to provoke the fear reactions that are undermining the patient's quality of life. In Pavl ....This project studies extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear reactions in rats. Extinction of these reactions is an animal model for exposure therapy used in the treatment of anxiety disorders in people. In exposure therapy, the patient, aided by the clinician, confronts trauma-related cues in the absence of any overt danger. The intention of this therapy is to reduce the ability of the trauma-related cues to provoke the fear reactions that are undermining the patient's quality of life. In Pavlovian conditioning, subjects (typically rats) are exposed to a signaling relation between an initially neutral stimulus (e.g., a noise) and a feared outcome (e.g., foot shock). When later repeatedly exposed to the initially neutral but now feared stimulus (the noise) in the absence of the feared outcome, the fear reactions it acquired progressively decline until eventually it fails to elicit any such reactions. The fear reactions are said to have been extinguished. There has been significant progress in understanding the psychological processes and neural mechanisms underlying the acquisition of fear reactions, but much less is known about the processes and mechanisms underlying the extinction of these reactions. The project has two general objectives. The first is to determine the conditions of extinction training that promote long-term loss of fear reactions. The second objective is to determine how the brain controls this extinction of learned fear. Achieving these aims will be significant for two reasons. First, it will contribute to understanding the mechanisms by which animals (including people) learn to adjust their behaviour to bring it into line with the current relations that exist between events in the world. Second, it will provide important information about how such adjustment is facilitated or impaired across extinction training and, thereby, contribute towards understanding both the successes and failures of cue exposure therapy for fear-related disorders.Read moreRead less
The Missing Link: MGluR5 As A Therapeutic Target For Cognitive Decline In Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,622.00
Summary
Cognitive decline is a core feature of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), yet there is no cure or treatment. Recent evidence suggests that a protein called mGluR5 could cause brain cells to lose function, leading to memory loss. This project will investigate whether disrupting mGluR5 function can improve cognition in mice with genetic AD. Memory will be assessed in mice using innovative touchscreen tests that closely mimic the tests used in humans.
IRAP inhibitors are currently being developed as a new class of drugs for treating dementia and other forms of memory deficits. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge about how these drugs act to improve memory. The experiments outlined in this proposal will provide important insights into the drug action in different mouse models of memory deficit.