Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100082
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
An Australasian facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components. A facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components: The project will create a new coordinated facility for composites research including modern automated infrastructure. The facility will bring Australia in line with leading international research centres and promote fundamental and applied research into a range of fields including underwater renewable energy systems, space ....An Australasian facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components. A facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components: The project will create a new coordinated facility for composites research including modern automated infrastructure. The facility will bring Australia in line with leading international research centres and promote fundamental and applied research into a range of fields including underwater renewable energy systems, space vehicle structures, multifunctional and smart materials and infrastructure capacity extension. The facility will position Australian research for significant international collaboration through endorsement of next-generation manufacturing technology and enable leading outcomes for Australasian science and engineering in aerospace, marine, civil, automotive, renewable energy and primary resources.Read moreRead less
Perceiving and tracking moving objects. Processing and tracking moving objects poses challenges for human perception. To succeed, visual processing must accumulate analyses of the object from its different positions. Perceptual experiments will reveal human limits and yield insights into the underlying mechanisms, providing a basis for understanding object tracking in tasks like driving.
How feedback can impair recognition judgments and undermine border security, criminal investigations, educational testing, and medical screening. If a customs officer learns that they have missed an explosive device while screening luggage, will this affect their judgment? In many scenarios, a person receives feedback about their recognition memory performance and has to try again without having another chance to study the material. Almost no research has examined the effects of feedback on reco ....How feedback can impair recognition judgments and undermine border security, criminal investigations, educational testing, and medical screening. If a customs officer learns that they have missed an explosive device while screening luggage, will this affect their judgment? In many scenarios, a person receives feedback about their recognition memory performance and has to try again without having another chance to study the material. Almost no research has examined the effects of feedback on recognition in the absence of opportunity for further study. This is problematic because many vitally important recognition decisions lack such opportunity. Using various scenarios (face recognition, security screening, multiple-choice testing, and medical screening) this project will demonstrate that feedback affects recognition performance differently depending on the nature of the recognition decision.Read moreRead less
Rapid decisions: from neuroscience to complex cognitions. A succession of rapid decisions supports our daily life - run or walk? Fish or steak? This project will integrate three different approaches to understanding these decisions, from neuroscience, mathematical psychology and experimental psychology. This research will provide insights about normal human functioning, and problems such as occur in healthy ageing.
Rapid motor responses in young and older adults. This proposal aims to contribute to our understanding of basic neural mechanisms mediating rapid motor actions across our lifespan. One in four Australians will be over the age of 65 by the year 2056. The project plans to investigate how changes in brain structure and function, as well as alterations in cognitive processing abilities that occur in older age, affect rapid choices between various alternative motor actions as well as our ability to s ....Rapid motor responses in young and older adults. This proposal aims to contribute to our understanding of basic neural mechanisms mediating rapid motor actions across our lifespan. One in four Australians will be over the age of 65 by the year 2056. The project plans to investigate how changes in brain structure and function, as well as alterations in cognitive processing abilities that occur in older age, affect rapid choices between various alternative motor actions as well as our ability to stop motor responses once they are planned. It plans to combine noninvasive brain stimulation with novel behavioural experiments and computational modelling techniques to develop fundamental new knowledge of the natural processes that characterise age-related changes in rapid motor actions.Read moreRead less
How do we cancel or modify movements? This collaborative project aims to improve our understanding of how movements are rapidly cancelled, or reprogrammed, based on visual cues. Using innovative computational models, non-invasive brain stimulation and recordings of muscle activity, the project aims to elucidate how our brains anticipate the possibility of having to cancel planned actions, and how this changes as a function of healthy ageing. The outcomes are expected to assist in the design of n ....How do we cancel or modify movements? This collaborative project aims to improve our understanding of how movements are rapidly cancelled, or reprogrammed, based on visual cues. Using innovative computational models, non-invasive brain stimulation and recordings of muscle activity, the project aims to elucidate how our brains anticipate the possibility of having to cancel planned actions, and how this changes as a function of healthy ageing. The outcomes are expected to assist in the design of neuromorphic technologies that mimic human brain function. The generated knowledge may also inform future research aimed at maintaining cognitive and motor function in the ageing workforce and treating conditions in which inhibitory control is compromised. Read moreRead less
Intracortical inhibition evaluated by paired-pulse TMS during choice and simple reaction time tasks. The research will investigate the neurophysiological processes responsible for the selection and initiation of movement in response to an external stimulus. Slowness in the initiation and execution of movement is a common feature of 'neurological aging', neurodegenerative disease, and brain injury. Understanding the brain mechanisms involved in response selection and movement initiation will pro ....Intracortical inhibition evaluated by paired-pulse TMS during choice and simple reaction time tasks. The research will investigate the neurophysiological processes responsible for the selection and initiation of movement in response to an external stimulus. Slowness in the initiation and execution of movement is a common feature of 'neurological aging', neurodegenerative disease, and brain injury. Understanding the brain mechanisms involved in response selection and movement initiation will provide information for the development of specific intervention techniques to improve motor function in these groups.Read moreRead less
The role of the Supplementary Motor Area in time processing. The neural bases of timing mechanisms (0.1-100s range) are the subject of much debate. We hypothesise that the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), a major cortical structure involving important dopaminergic pathways, subtends duration encoding, in the way depicted by the 'accumulator model'. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the SMA, we will test healthy subjects in motor and perceptual timing tasks, compared to Parkinson' ....The role of the Supplementary Motor Area in time processing. The neural bases of timing mechanisms (0.1-100s range) are the subject of much debate. We hypothesise that the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), a major cortical structure involving important dopaminergic pathways, subtends duration encoding, in the way depicted by the 'accumulator model'. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the SMA, we will test healthy subjects in motor and perceptual timing tasks, compared to Parkinson's disease patients whose timing performance is impaired due to dopaminergic dysfunction. We expect TMS inhibitory effects to induce predictable performance trends, providing support for the accumulator model and the key role of the SMA in timing.Read moreRead less
Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a re ....Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a result of aging, degenerative disease, or brain damage. This research will provide a foundation upon which rehabilitation strategies can be developed for the movement impaired.Read moreRead less