ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function. The Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function will address one of the greatest scientific challenges of the 21st century to understand how the brain works. We will investigate complex functions such as attention, prediction and decision-making, which require the coordination of information processing by many areas of the brain. This will require a highly collaborative approach involving neurobiologists, cognitive scientists, eng ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function. The Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function will address one of the greatest scientific challenges of the 21st century to understand how the brain works. We will investigate complex functions such as attention, prediction and decision-making, which require the coordination of information processing by many areas of the brain. This will require a highly collaborative approach involving neurobiologists, cognitive scientists, engineers and physicists, allowing us to translate our discoveries into novel technologies for the social and economic benefit of all Australians. We will also train a new generation of multidisciplinary researchers, and contribute our expertise to a range of public education and awareness programs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100319
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Fast three-dimensional imaging of neural signal propagation using light-field microscopy. This project aims to use a light-field microscope to reveal the dynamics of sustained neural activity in the brain. The brain’s neurons are highly interconnected, so neural signals can be sustained in a repeating cycle. While this may underlie tasks such as working memory, its role in information processing is unclear. Understanding information processing is vital for finding treatments for neurodegenerativ ....Fast three-dimensional imaging of neural signal propagation using light-field microscopy. This project aims to use a light-field microscope to reveal the dynamics of sustained neural activity in the brain. The brain’s neurons are highly interconnected, so neural signals can be sustained in a repeating cycle. While this may underlie tasks such as working memory, its role in information processing is unclear. Understanding information processing is vital for finding treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. To characterise this large-scale aspect of neural computation, this project measures neural activity at high speed across large numbers of neurons. This is expected to provide evidence of the nature of sustained activity which may in the future lead to treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Neurobiological mechanisms of decision under uncertainty. The purpose of this project is to understand the behavioural and brain mechanisms underlying decision under uncertainty. This research will uncover the effect that normal variation in brain networks has on choice and contribute to a better understanding of disorders linked to intolerance of uncertainty.
Dopaminergic mechanisms of visual selective attention in the fly. What we pay attention to guides our behaviour. There is increasing evidence that even the smallest animals, such as insects, have a selective attention. Neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA) regulate general arousal states in flies as well as humans, but it is not well understood how DA modulates selective attention. This project will genetically manipulate DA in the fly Drosophila in order to study its role in visual selective at ....Dopaminergic mechanisms of visual selective attention in the fly. What we pay attention to guides our behaviour. There is increasing evidence that even the smallest animals, such as insects, have a selective attention. Neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA) regulate general arousal states in flies as well as humans, but it is not well understood how DA modulates selective attention. This project will genetically manipulate DA in the fly Drosophila in order to study its role in visual selective attention, by: examining neural circuits; attention behaviour; and, brain recordings. Our work will reveal whether DA mainly controls general responsiveness levels, or whether DA is also involved in coordinating attention dynamics. This study has important implications for understanding attention disorders.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100197
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,970,898.00
Summary
Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. This project aims to reveal how the visual systems of marine creatures from the Great Barrier Reef receive and interpret colour and polarisation information, much of which is invisible to the human eye. It aims to utilise this data to tackle fundamental questions in neuroscience and inform bio-inspired camera design and machine-vision solutions. The re ....Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. This project aims to reveal how the visual systems of marine creatures from the Great Barrier Reef receive and interpret colour and polarisation information, much of which is invisible to the human eye. It aims to utilise this data to tackle fundamental questions in neuroscience and inform bio-inspired camera design and machine-vision solutions. The resulting new generation of polarisation cameras will be used to characterise the environments, animals and brains that inspired them in the first place. This will help the understanding of how nervous systems convey information and may improve our ability to detect dysfunction in neurons and other cells.Read moreRead less
Stomatopods v Cephalopods: discovery from an information coding arms-race. This proposal aims to unlock the power of a 400 million year old evolutionary arms race between two of earth's most successful predators, cephalopods (e.g. octopus) and mantis shrimp (stomatopods). New knowledge in vision (sensor design), neural coding (circuits and information flow) and behavioural (decisions and actions) innovations from these two groups will have fundamental and applied outcomes. The interdisciplinary ....Stomatopods v Cephalopods: discovery from an information coding arms-race. This proposal aims to unlock the power of a 400 million year old evolutionary arms race between two of earth's most successful predators, cephalopods (e.g. octopus) and mantis shrimp (stomatopods). New knowledge in vision (sensor design), neural coding (circuits and information flow) and behavioural (decisions and actions) innovations from these two groups will have fundamental and applied outcomes. The interdisciplinary and comparative nature of the project aims to amplify outcomes in questions of efficient neural coding, optical design and bio-inspired solutions. Benefits from the study include GPS-free navigation in marine engineering and rapid exposure of research results to millions of people through existing communication programs. Read moreRead less
New dimensions in colour and polarisation vision on The Great Barrier Reef. Many animals possess colour vision that outperforms humans and some also have a type of vision we lack altogether, polarisation vision. By comparing design and discovering strategies from the sensory systems of animals on The Great Barrier Reef, the project will enhance our knowledge of their sensory world, their ecosystem and broader visual neuroscience.
Network activity and the role of NMDA receptors in associative learning. The brain is the most complex machine we know, and its activity shapes every aspect our lives. Studies over decades using tools from molecular and cellular neuroscience and behavioural experiments have discovered the parts of the brain involved in learning and memory formation. Much is understood about the neural circuits that mediate learning but how memories are formed and stored are not understood. The aim of this proj ....Network activity and the role of NMDA receptors in associative learning. The brain is the most complex machine we know, and its activity shapes every aspect our lives. Studies over decades using tools from molecular and cellular neuroscience and behavioural experiments have discovered the parts of the brain involved in learning and memory formation. Much is understood about the neural circuits that mediate learning but how memories are formed and stored are not understood. The aim of this project is to understand learning and memory formation using a simple Pavlovian learning paradigm, fear conditioning. Using cutting-edge molecular tools we will label the circuits in the amygdala that mediate this learning and the nature of the memory trace. In the long term, these results may drive novel storage devices.Read moreRead less
Decoding the brain network of memory formation. This project aims to uncover how the brain network supports the formation of long-lasting memory using cutting-edge imaging, intervention and computational modelling. The project is anticipated to generate new knowledge of the neural activity and circuitry that facilitate memory formation, and targets for modulating network activity and behaviour. This will have significant benefits for neuroscience, engineering and imaging, as well as future appli ....Decoding the brain network of memory formation. This project aims to uncover how the brain network supports the formation of long-lasting memory using cutting-edge imaging, intervention and computational modelling. The project is anticipated to generate new knowledge of the neural activity and circuitry that facilitate memory formation, and targets for modulating network activity and behaviour. This will have significant benefits for neuroscience, engineering and imaging, as well as future applications in humans with technology for detecting, predicting and modulating cognitive performance.Read moreRead less
Statistical methods for analysing maps in the visual brain. This project aims to apply Gaussian process methods, a Bayesian approach for data analysis, to analyse data from brain imaging experiments. Discovering the principles of functional brain architecture requires analysing data from functional imaging technologies. However, these technologies produce very noisy data which is difficult to interpret. This project will apply Gaussian process methods to study data from optical imaging and funct ....Statistical methods for analysing maps in the visual brain. This project aims to apply Gaussian process methods, a Bayesian approach for data analysis, to analyse data from brain imaging experiments. Discovering the principles of functional brain architecture requires analysing data from functional imaging technologies. However, these technologies produce very noisy data which is difficult to interpret. This project will apply Gaussian process methods to study data from optical imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging of the visual brain. This is expected to reveal critical information about how normal brain structure changes with development and sensory experience. The statistical methods developed should be applicable within and beyond neuroscience, and may ultimately help improve the diagnosis of human health disorders.Read moreRead less