The neuroscience of group membership and its effects on action perception and empathy. People belong to different groups and sometimes group membership can lead to discrimination of people outside the group. This project will use brain imaging techniques to understand better how our brains make group distinctions and how this can sometimes lead to discrimination of other people.
Killing which averts suffering: the role of norms and empathy. Abattoir workers and butchers kill animals to prepare food, farmers to cull stock, and veterinarians to alleviate suffering. Soldiers kill other humans in war, police or security guards to protect the public, and doctors to enact legal euthanasia. Research shows that these tasks can be confronting, and even traumatic. This project aims to test the processes through which people learn socially supported palliative killing to avert suf ....Killing which averts suffering: the role of norms and empathy. Abattoir workers and butchers kill animals to prepare food, farmers to cull stock, and veterinarians to alleviate suffering. Soldiers kill other humans in war, police or security guards to protect the public, and doctors to enact legal euthanasia. Research shows that these tasks can be confronting, and even traumatic. This project aims to test the processes through which people learn socially supported palliative killing to avert suffering and their neural underpinnings, with a focus on norms and empathic distress. It will focus on two core samples: veterinarians, who must euthanize animals, and health practitioners in Victoria, where legal changes will introduce ‘voluntary assisted dying’ in mid-2019. It will investigate how practitioners learn palliative killing, and what the impact is on psychological variables such as empathy and identity. It will generate new understandings of social influence around life and death decisions, provide an evidence basis to inform policy makers, and help institutions and practitioners seeking to manage distress and respond to fast-moving, controversial policy changes.Read moreRead less
Cognitive neuroscience of spatial asymmetry: behaviour, genes and brain imaging. When humans distribute their attention in space, biases or asymmetries of spatial attention exist. Healthy individuals exhibit a processing advantage favouring left space but this advantage is lost in disorders such as unilateral spatial neglect, ADHD and dyslexia. This project will develop novel electrophysiological methods to dissociate the sensory, attentional, decision-making and motoric contributions to spatial ....Cognitive neuroscience of spatial asymmetry: behaviour, genes and brain imaging. When humans distribute their attention in space, biases or asymmetries of spatial attention exist. Healthy individuals exhibit a processing advantage favouring left space but this advantage is lost in disorders such as unilateral spatial neglect, ADHD and dyslexia. This project will develop novel electrophysiological methods to dissociate the sensory, attentional, decision-making and motoric contributions to spatial asymmetries. By interfacing electrophysiology with genetic, neurochemical and brain imaging methods, this project will comprehensively map the biology of spatial asymmetry. This knowledge is vital to developing effective treatments for disorders where atypical patterns of spatial asymmetry index neurological vulnerability.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100120
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,973.00
Summary
How do we become aware of stimuli in our spatial environment? The brain constantly creates an awareness of the stimuli in our spatial environment but at the moment it is unclear how different brain regions integrate spatial and stimulus information. The aim of this project is to better understand this integration by using a combination of brain imaging and brain stimulation techniques.
Mechanisms and contexts driving impulsivity. The project aims to develop insights into the cognitive mechanisms of impulsivity (the tendency to act without planning) and the impact of context on impulsive behaviours. The project aims to test a novel framework that views impulsivity as the product of three cognitive mechanisms: i) attention, ii) information gathering and iii) monitoring, which oscillate in response to day-to-day contexts. Knowledge of the mechanisms and contexts driving impulsivi ....Mechanisms and contexts driving impulsivity. The project aims to develop insights into the cognitive mechanisms of impulsivity (the tendency to act without planning) and the impact of context on impulsive behaviours. The project aims to test a novel framework that views impulsivity as the product of three cognitive mechanisms: i) attention, ii) information gathering and iii) monitoring, which oscillate in response to day-to-day contexts. Knowledge of the mechanisms and contexts driving impulsivity will enable prediction of the emergence of impulsive behaviours in real-life and real-time. The expected outcomes can enable better moderation of impulsivity and improve health.Read moreRead less
How inhibition shapes human brain oscillations and working memory capacity. This project aims to investigate the link between inhibitory mechanisms, gamma oscillations and working memory in humans. Retaining information in short-term ‘working’ memory is crucial for cognition, influencing our personality and intelligence. However, the brain mechanisms underlying this process are unclear. Evidence from animal/computational research indicates that brain oscillations in high frequency ‘gamma’ bands, ....How inhibition shapes human brain oscillations and working memory capacity. This project aims to investigate the link between inhibitory mechanisms, gamma oscillations and working memory in humans. Retaining information in short-term ‘working’ memory is crucial for cognition, influencing our personality and intelligence. However, the brain mechanisms underlying this process are unclear. Evidence from animal/computational research indicates that brain oscillations in high frequency ‘gamma’ bands, which depend on neural inhibition, are critical for working memory. Mapping a path from molecules to cognition will detail how neural mechanisms shape human behavioural performance and guide efforts to enhance memory and cognitive function.Read moreRead less
The influence of attentional selection on perceptual decision making. This project aims to test the causal role of attentional selection in human decision-making. This aim will be achieved by interfacing multi-modal techniques from cognitive neuroscience including MRI, EEG, and simultaneous TMS-EEG, while participants perform a decision-making task. The outcome will be a mechanistic understanding of the neural processes by which attention influences decision-making. The outcomes are expected ....The influence of attentional selection on perceptual decision making. This project aims to test the causal role of attentional selection in human decision-making. This aim will be achieved by interfacing multi-modal techniques from cognitive neuroscience including MRI, EEG, and simultaneous TMS-EEG, while participants perform a decision-making task. The outcome will be a mechanistic understanding of the neural processes by which attention influences decision-making. The outcomes are expected to provide significant benefits, such as the identification of strategies that can enhance attention and mitigate the negative effects of poor decision making.Read moreRead less
Dissecting the neural substrates of spatial attention. Effectively distributing attention in space is critical to human learning and performance. Although it is recognised that spatial attention is influenced by arousal states, we lack an understanding of the associated brain mechanisms and dynamics. This project aims to monitor changes in arousal levels (pupillometry) and discrete stages of information processing (EEG) at the millisecond level during a spatial attention task. Establishing the s ....Dissecting the neural substrates of spatial attention. Effectively distributing attention in space is critical to human learning and performance. Although it is recognised that spatial attention is influenced by arousal states, we lack an understanding of the associated brain mechanisms and dynamics. This project aims to monitor changes in arousal levels (pupillometry) and discrete stages of information processing (EEG) at the millisecond level during a spatial attention task. Establishing the sensitivity of these methods to spontaneous and externally driven fluctuations of arousal is expected to yield a mechanistic account of the neural substrates of spatial attention with implications for human learning and performance, and diagnosis and treatment of attention disorders.Read moreRead less
Modelling trajectories of cognitive control in adolescents and young adults. This project aims to develop an innovative framework that models behaviour, brain function and brain structure to characterise developmental trajectories of cognitive control in typically-developing young people, and to test the model’s ability to predict psychosocial outcomes. Cognitive control processes are supported by complex frontal brain networks that develop well into adulthood. Poor cognitive control is linked t ....Modelling trajectories of cognitive control in adolescents and young adults. This project aims to develop an innovative framework that models behaviour, brain function and brain structure to characterise developmental trajectories of cognitive control in typically-developing young people, and to test the model’s ability to predict psychosocial outcomes. Cognitive control processes are supported by complex frontal brain networks that develop well into adulthood. Poor cognitive control is linked to negative psychosocial outcomes (e.g. substance use, high-risk behaviours). This work is expected to inform evidence-based programmes that identify young people at risk and develop targeted training strategies to improve psychosocial outcomes.Read moreRead less
Early puberty and brain development: exploring the neurobiology of adolescent mental health. Pubertal-onset mental disorders are the largest contributor to later adult mental disorders. However, compared to other phases of development, puberty and its disorders remain poorly understood. This study, by examining the neurobiological consequences of early exposure to puberty, will enhance our understanding of these pubertal risk processes.