Empathy, Attention and Reasoning: The role of automatic and controlled processing in emotion recognition following traumatic brain injury. Traumatically brain injured adults have difficulty identifying emotional facial expressions but little is known regarding their psychophysiological reactions to emotional expression, the efficacy of their visual search patterns of facial features or the extent to which they engage conscious processing and problem solving to assist interpretation. Nor is anyth ....Empathy, Attention and Reasoning: The role of automatic and controlled processing in emotion recognition following traumatic brain injury. Traumatically brain injured adults have difficulty identifying emotional facial expressions but little is known regarding their psychophysiological reactions to emotional expression, the efficacy of their visual search patterns of facial features or the extent to which they engage conscious processing and problem solving to assist interpretation. Nor is anything known about their ability to recognise dynamic emotional displays compared to photographs. This project examines each of these facets using static and dynamic portrayals. The project will inform neuropsychological theories of facial processing, test the ecological validity of previous research and improve understanding of psychosocial deficits after TBI and their treatment.Read moreRead less
Hemispheric asymmetry of motor and language representation: Effects of hand preference and mirror movements. The neuroscience community has recently exploited advances in brain imaging to understand cerebral representation of many cognitive functions. The proposed study will expand our knowledge of brain-behaviour relationships, another key area of cognitive neuroscience research. Its successful funding and completion will increase Australia's standing as a major contributor to world research ou ....Hemispheric asymmetry of motor and language representation: Effects of hand preference and mirror movements. The neuroscience community has recently exploited advances in brain imaging to understand cerebral representation of many cognitive functions. The proposed study will expand our knowledge of brain-behaviour relationships, another key area of cognitive neuroscience research. Its successful funding and completion will increase Australia's standing as a major contributor to world research outcomes in this innovative and important field, and place Australia at its forefront. The investigator's access to advanced brain imaging and to the unique population of individuals with mirror movements, combined with expertise and experience in neuropsychology and brain imaging, places the research in an internationally competitive position.Read moreRead less
Predicting the evolution of psychosocial and cognitive difficulties in epilepsy: A preventive approach. Chronic epilepsy is associated with significant psychosocial and cognitive difficulties. Research has neglected to examine how these problems evolve from the time of a first seizure, limiting our ability to predict ?at risk? patients and apply evidence-based preventive strategies. We will follow a cohort of 90 first seizure patients over two years in a prospective longitudinal investigation, m ....Predicting the evolution of psychosocial and cognitive difficulties in epilepsy: A preventive approach. Chronic epilepsy is associated with significant psychosocial and cognitive difficulties. Research has neglected to examine how these problems evolve from the time of a first seizure, limiting our ability to predict ?at risk? patients and apply evidence-based preventive strategies. We will follow a cohort of 90 first seizure patients over two years in a prospective longitudinal investigation, mapping psychosocial and cognitive change. This study entails a multidisciplinary collaboration with industry, applying innovative psychosocial and cognitive measures that will ultimately improve the detection of adverse pharmaceutical side-effects. The project is an international first, and will provide an important foundation for implementing preventive healthcare.Read moreRead less