INVESTIGATION OF A BRAIN RHYTHM. Elucidation of brain function remains a frontier for human discovery. To date, research has largely focussed on brain connectivity with major advances in knowledge of input/output function of brain regions. Yet, there remains little understanding of higher order processes that underlie functions such as mood states and consciousness. Investigation of brain rhythms represent a step to unravelling such processes, as rhythms both act as autonomous clocks and generat ....INVESTIGATION OF A BRAIN RHYTHM. Elucidation of brain function remains a frontier for human discovery. To date, research has largely focussed on brain connectivity with major advances in knowledge of input/output function of brain regions. Yet, there remains little understanding of higher order processes that underlie functions such as mood states and consciousness. Investigation of brain rhythms represent a step to unravelling such processes, as rhythms both act as autonomous clocks and generate synchronised neuronal activity. This project aims to investigate mechanisms underlying a specific class of brain rhythm implicated in control of mood states. Positive outcomes from this basic research may lead to better drug therapies for controlling specific mental disorders.Read moreRead less
Physiology of tau protein: a novel role in scaffolding and intracellular distribution. Understanding brain function remains a challenge. This project will study the normal role of the Alzheimer's disease-related protein tau in brain function during ageing. This will significantly enhance current understanding of brain function.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100074
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
Facilities for automated high-throughput slide scanning and stereology. The equipment requested will facilitate the work of the Australian Mouse Brain Mapping Consortium, a consortium of Australian research groups collaborating to provide the only mouse model brain mapping capability in the country. The consortium brings together laboratory, neuroimaging and computational expertise in a comprehensive framework for imaging the mouse brain. This will help researchers to study mouse models of genet ....Facilities for automated high-throughput slide scanning and stereology. The equipment requested will facilitate the work of the Australian Mouse Brain Mapping Consortium, a consortium of Australian research groups collaborating to provide the only mouse model brain mapping capability in the country. The consortium brings together laboratory, neuroimaging and computational expertise in a comprehensive framework for imaging the mouse brain. This will help researchers to study mouse models of genetic and acquired disorders across the life-span. Remote viewing and analysis capabilities will help overcome the 'tyranny of distance', increasing national access to the facility. Repositories of digitised images will increase the availability of valuable research material to other Australian and international researchers.Read moreRead less
Cellular and Neurochemical Basis of Drug Addiction. Addiction to the major drugs of abuse, including heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol damage the lives and cause premature death of more than 20% of Australians. Addiction produces long-term disruption of brain processes that lead to loss of control over urges to consume drugs and persistent cycles of relapse to drug taking. This research will apply new neurochemical approaches to discover mechanisms of disrupted brain function t ....Cellular and Neurochemical Basis of Drug Addiction. Addiction to the major drugs of abuse, including heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol damage the lives and cause premature death of more than 20% of Australians. Addiction produces long-term disruption of brain processes that lead to loss of control over urges to consume drugs and persistent cycles of relapse to drug taking. This research will apply new neurochemical approaches to discover mechanisms of disrupted brain function that occur during development of addiction and relapse that are critical for development of better strategies to treat the disorder. Read moreRead less
Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to ....Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to investigate a broad range of cognitive and communication functions. Benefits will include potential technologies and algorithms to assist listening (in devices such as hearing aids), language development and reading.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL0992409
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,996,243.00
Summary
The neural bases of decision-making. This research focuses on the neural bases of decision making, a general capacity affected by normal ageing, disorders associated with neurodegeneration including dementia, major psychiatric conditions and drug addiction. Changes in the neural systems that result in the cognitive and emotional dissociation reflected in these disorders constitute the highest health, economic and social capital attrition burden to Australia of any disease group, a burden that is ....The neural bases of decision-making. This research focuses on the neural bases of decision making, a general capacity affected by normal ageing, disorders associated with neurodegeneration including dementia, major psychiatric conditions and drug addiction. Changes in the neural systems that result in the cognitive and emotional dissociation reflected in these disorders constitute the highest health, economic and social capital attrition burden to Australia of any disease group, a burden that is only predicted to increase as the population ages. Understanding these changes in neural systems and their specific behavioural effects is, therefore, of critical importance and will ultimately provide new targets for treatment and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS rese ....Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS research including epidemiology, immunology and neurobiology. Collaboration of 8 major Australian institutions is also important for this project and future studies. The team will have access to a new national MS GeneBank (platform) with samples from 2240 patients that should generate findings important to world-wide MS genetic knowledge.Read moreRead less
Sensory Coding Mechanisms in Rat Somatosensory System; A Combined Behavioural and Electrophysiological Approach. This inter-disciplinary project spans behavioural sciences, neurophysiology and computational neuroscience. It investigates fundamental questions such as how different aspects of stimuli are presented in sensory areas of the brain and how the animal interprets the neuronal activity in such areas to generate the relevant behaviour. A major problem with making prosthetic sensory devices ....Sensory Coding Mechanisms in Rat Somatosensory System; A Combined Behavioural and Electrophysiological Approach. This inter-disciplinary project spans behavioural sciences, neurophysiology and computational neuroscience. It investigates fundamental questions such as how different aspects of stimuli are presented in sensory areas of the brain and how the animal interprets the neuronal activity in such areas to generate the relevant behaviour. A major problem with making prosthetic sensory devices is the way by which these devices can communicate with the brain. Research into the coding of different features of simple stimuli will provide basic knowledge which can be implemented in prosthetic sensory devices. Read moreRead less
Rhombomeric Topography of Structures in the Adult Mouse: Evidence from Avian Homologies and Transgenic Mice. The brainstem of birds has been shown to be formed by a line of segments, like carriages of a train. The same arrangement exists in the embryos of mammals, but is hidden in the adult mammalian brain. We will transfer our detailed knowledge of bird brains to make a maps of the brainstem segments in adult mice. We will then test this map with special gene markers which will reveal the occul ....Rhombomeric Topography of Structures in the Adult Mouse: Evidence from Avian Homologies and Transgenic Mice. The brainstem of birds has been shown to be formed by a line of segments, like carriages of a train. The same arrangement exists in the embryos of mammals, but is hidden in the adult mammalian brain. We will transfer our detailed knowledge of bird brains to make a maps of the brainstem segments in adult mice. We will then test this map with special gene markers which will reveal the occult segmental pattern in adult mice. This work will give us a new way of understanding the organisation of brainstem centres that control breathing, cardiovascular functions and emotional states.Read moreRead less
Action-related learning and plasticity in the cortico-striatal network. This project focuses on the neural bases of adaptive behaviour, specifically on the neural processes through which new actions are acquired. This project aims to establish the neural networks involved as well as the locus of the critical cellular plasticity mediating this learning process in the brain.