Central pathways regulating visceral pain. This project aims to investigate the neural pathways within the spinal cord and brain processing colorectal pain perception. The project aims to identify the spinal cord neurons relaying colorectal signalling into the brain and the influence of descending modulation from the brainstem upon these pathways. The outcomes will greatly benefit fundamental understanding of the central pathways processing visceral pain.
The jugular vagal sensory connectome regulating visceral function. Internal body organs have a rich supply of sensory nerve fibres that serve important roles in monitoring the local environment for normal and abnormal sensory stimuli. These nerve fibres have different origins and wire into brain circuits that regulate widely diverse physiological responses. In this study we aim to study the neural circuits and responses mediated by a group of these sensory nerves which has not been investigated ....The jugular vagal sensory connectome regulating visceral function. Internal body organs have a rich supply of sensory nerve fibres that serve important roles in monitoring the local environment for normal and abnormal sensory stimuli. These nerve fibres have different origins and wire into brain circuits that regulate widely diverse physiological responses. In this study we aim to study the neural circuits and responses mediated by a group of these sensory nerves which has not been investigated appreciably in the past. We believe that these sensory neural circuits will reveal important new insights into how internal organs perform their diverse and essential functions to sustain life.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101079
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,528.00
Summary
New insights into how the brain interprets visceral and somatic sensations. Sensory nerve fibres monitor normal and abnormal stimuli in our body tissues, sending this information to the brain. I study the sensory pathways of the respiratory system which protect the lungs from harmful stimuli, such as inhaled pollutants or smoke. I discovered that respiratory sensory pathways interact with sensory circuits in the brain arising from other body tissues. The goal of this project is to investigate on ....New insights into how the brain interprets visceral and somatic sensations. Sensory nerve fibres monitor normal and abnormal stimuli in our body tissues, sending this information to the brain. I study the sensory pathways of the respiratory system which protect the lungs from harmful stimuli, such as inhaled pollutants or smoke. I discovered that respiratory sensory pathways interact with sensory circuits in the brain arising from other body tissues. The goal of this project is to investigate one example of this interaction; the convergence of visceral and somatic sensory pathways onto a brain circuit that regulates the intensity of the sensations that are experienced. This project addresses the fundamental question of how the brain processes two competing noxious sensations.Read moreRead less
Use of an animal model to understand mechanisms underlying reductions in body weight associated with use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. At least one in ten Australians is classified as morbidly obese and as such are eligible for bariatric surgery. Those undergoing the surgery will achieve an average excess weight loss of up to 60 per cent, they will have reduced or eliminated diabetes and will appreciably improve their prospects of survival. These experiments aimed at understandin ....Use of an animal model to understand mechanisms underlying reductions in body weight associated with use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. At least one in ten Australians is classified as morbidly obese and as such are eligible for bariatric surgery. Those undergoing the surgery will achieve an average excess weight loss of up to 60 per cent, they will have reduced or eliminated diabetes and will appreciably improve their prospects of survival. These experiments aimed at understanding the mechanisms underpinning this success have the potential to further improve surgical approaches and outcomes and provide insights that will better enable weight loss therapies for all overweight and obese Australians.Read moreRead less
"Smart Food" - The fulcrum in the energy balance equation. The overall aim of the project is to establish how nutrients best promote an increase in energy expenditure and therefore weight loss. The experiments will be performed in rats using sophisticated technologies to introduce specific combinations of fats, carbohydrates or proteins directly into the stomach and then measure energy expenditure in a specialised type of energy burning rather than energy storing fat called brown adipose tissue. ...."Smart Food" - The fulcrum in the energy balance equation. The overall aim of the project is to establish how nutrients best promote an increase in energy expenditure and therefore weight loss. The experiments will be performed in rats using sophisticated technologies to introduce specific combinations of fats, carbohydrates or proteins directly into the stomach and then measure energy expenditure in a specialised type of energy burning rather than energy storing fat called brown adipose tissue. These experiments will uncover the mechanisms that relate nutrients in the stomach and activation of brown adipose tissue. They will provide a framework on which this project can build a knowledge of smart diets that will allow the effective control of body weight through modulation of energy expenditure. Read moreRead less
New Conus-derived alpha-conotoxin analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain: structure, mode of action, delivery and disposition. Current product deficiencies in the area of pain management are forcing the pharmaceutical industry to develop new strategies for achieving analgesia and reduce their dependence on traditional, addictive opiate-based products. Structural modification of cone snail derived peptides will provide exciting new leads for achieving effective analgesia.
Psychiatric disorders in epilepsy. Psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and cognitive disorders, are frequently observed in patients with epilepsy. Although standard dogma suggests that psychiatric disorders are a consequence of living with epilepsy, recent evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between these disorders, such that depression and other psychiatric illnesses act as risk factors for epilepsy development. This project will utilise basic science approaches to und ....Psychiatric disorders in epilepsy. Psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and cognitive disorders, are frequently observed in patients with epilepsy. Although standard dogma suggests that psychiatric disorders are a consequence of living with epilepsy, recent evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between these disorders, such that depression and other psychiatric illnesses act as risk factors for epilepsy development. This project will utilise basic science approaches to understand the causal relationships between epilepsy and psychiatric disorders, and determine how and why psychiatric disorders and epilepsy co-exist. It is hoped that research conducted in this project will develop novel avenues to treatment of both epilepsy and psychiatric disorders.Read moreRead less
UNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF COMPLEX BEHAVIOUR. This project is anchored in the fundamental understanding of complex vertebrate behaviours, namely cognition. Little is known about the molecular and neural substrates underpinning complex higher order information processing. This project aims to dissect the functional role of synaptic genes that are essential for organising neuronal connections, in distinct cognitive processes and how these functions may be regulated by other genes, drugs or environ ....UNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF COMPLEX BEHAVIOUR. This project is anchored in the fundamental understanding of complex vertebrate behaviours, namely cognition. Little is known about the molecular and neural substrates underpinning complex higher order information processing. This project aims to dissect the functional role of synaptic genes that are essential for organising neuronal connections, in distinct cognitive processes and how these functions may be regulated by other genes, drugs or environmental factors. This project aims to employ state-of-the-art technologies to address the evolutionary biology of complex cognitive behaviours, towards further understandings how brain function evolved and the mechanisms that have enabled humans to perform highly complex and intricate tasks.Read moreRead less
Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also mi ....Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also migratory cell populations that must populate the areas through which they migrate, and thus some cells get left behind while others advance. The planned data are likely to be relevant to other cell populations that also populate the areas through which they migrate, including neural crest-derived melanocytes and Schwann cell precursors.Read moreRead less
How the brain regulates blood pressure. This project will test whether a group of nerve cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla generate sympathetic activity in blood vessels. The brain regulates blood pressure through several pathways, including nerves in the sympathetic nervous system that constrict blood vessels and increase the heart rate. Activity of these sympathetic nerves regulates blood pressure, but it is unknown which nerve cells in the brain cause this activity. This information i ....How the brain regulates blood pressure. This project will test whether a group of nerve cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla generate sympathetic activity in blood vessels. The brain regulates blood pressure through several pathways, including nerves in the sympathetic nervous system that constrict blood vessels and increase the heart rate. Activity of these sympathetic nerves regulates blood pressure, but it is unknown which nerve cells in the brain cause this activity. This information is essential to understand how blood pressure is controlled under healthy conditions.Read moreRead less