Information Encoding By Temporal Structure Of Afferent Spike Trains
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$231,175.00
Summary
Our ability to sense, discriminate and interpret touch stimuli underpins some of the most crucial functions of the human hand that relate to object exploration and manipulation. The fundamental mechanism of how nerve impulses generated by tactile receptors are interpreted by the nervous system is not understood. Only by discovering the underlying neural encoding mechanisms can we appreciate the functional impairments in patients and learn to identify them before they become widespread and irreve ....Our ability to sense, discriminate and interpret touch stimuli underpins some of the most crucial functions of the human hand that relate to object exploration and manipulation. The fundamental mechanism of how nerve impulses generated by tactile receptors are interpreted by the nervous system is not understood. Only by discovering the underlying neural encoding mechanisms can we appreciate the functional impairments in patients and learn to identify them before they become widespread and irreversible.Read moreRead less
Cognition In Cerebellar Degeneration: Correlations With Lateral Neocerebellar Dysfunction And Atrophy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$205,500.00
Summary
Diseases of the main brain coordination centre (the cerebellum) were once thought to impair only movement skills. However, effects on thinking, and especially on mental flexibility and rational planning, are increasingly being reported. These cognitive difficulties may hinder rehabilitation. They also often cause tension within the sufferers' families if other family members are not aware that such difficulties are part of the disease and beyond the sufferers' control. We will test how common su ....Diseases of the main brain coordination centre (the cerebellum) were once thought to impair only movement skills. However, effects on thinking, and especially on mental flexibility and rational planning, are increasingly being reported. These cognitive difficulties may hinder rehabilitation. They also often cause tension within the sufferers' families if other family members are not aware that such difficulties are part of the disease and beyond the sufferers' control. We will test how common such thinking difficulties are in patients with different inherited forms of incoordination, and determine what aspects of thinking are particularly affected. We will see whether the severity of movement incoordination predicts the extent of thinking disruption, as different but neighbouring parts of the cerebellum seem to be involved in each. We will also use magnetic brain scans (MRI's) to check that the thinking problems are not caused by shrinkage of other parts of the brain in these diseases.Read moreRead less
Cognition In First Episode Psychosis: Mapping Relationships Between Task Performance, Brain Changes And Symptoms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$79,734.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a devastating illness. Medication can successfully treat the 'positive' symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. However, cognitive impairments have been identified as a greater burden. This project aims to better understand the brain basis of these cognitive impairments, by looking at the relationships between participants’ responses to cognitive tests, their brain activity during the testing, and their symptoms and general functioning over time.
Development And Population-based Validation Of Hierarchical Adaptive Mental Health Screeners
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$391,710.00
Summary
Although 45% of all Australians will experience a lifetime mental disorder, methods to identify mental health problems are inadequate. This project will develop and validate new mental health screening tools, building on a new generation of screeners developed in the US. These screeners will be tailored to the individual, resulting in highly precise and flexible assessment tools. The screeners will be tested in a large community survey, forming the basis for future tailored mental health service ....Although 45% of all Australians will experience a lifetime mental disorder, methods to identify mental health problems are inadequate. This project will develop and validate new mental health screening tools, building on a new generation of screeners developed in the US. These screeners will be tailored to the individual, resulting in highly precise and flexible assessment tools. The screeners will be tested in a large community survey, forming the basis for future tailored mental health services.Read moreRead less
Use Of Analgesics To Reduce Agitation And Agression In Older Persons With Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$552,556.00
Summary
Understanding the causes of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) provides a potentially remedial target for interventions. The current study will undertake the first ever trial of analgesics to reduce the frequency of agitation/aggression and other BPSD. By completion we will have new insights into the relationship between pain and various sub-types of BPSD and robust evidence on the best class of analgesics to treat BPSD
New Methods Of Pain Assessment In Demented Older Persons
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$306,000.00
Summary
There are substantial risks of inadequate pain assessment and management in persons with cognitive impairment and particularly in those with communication problems. Undetected or under-treated pain can have serious adverse effects on frail older adults including poorer cognitive performance, increased levels of depression, anxiety and disruptive behaviours, a reduced quality of life and higher levels of functional disability. These adverse effects contribute to greater demands for daily nursing ....There are substantial risks of inadequate pain assessment and management in persons with cognitive impairment and particularly in those with communication problems. Undetected or under-treated pain can have serious adverse effects on frail older adults including poorer cognitive performance, increased levels of depression, anxiety and disruptive behaviours, a reduced quality of life and higher levels of functional disability. These adverse effects contribute to greater demands for daily nursing care and a corresponding increase in health care costs. The present proposal aims to develop more sensitive, reliable and valid questionnaire and non-verbal measures of pain in older adults with cognitive impairment and particularly in those with verbal communication problems. By completion, the present studies should provide much needed information on the reliability and validity of several different types of verbal and non-verbal indicators of possible pain. This research should lead to improved pain assessment and management for the growing segment of the population who suffer from pain and impaired cognitive function.Read moreRead less
Sleep Disordered Breathing And Neurocognitive Function In Children Post-adenotonsillectomy: Three Year Follow-up
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$266,536.00
Summary
Snoring is very common and affects at least 10% of children, or an estimated 0.25 million children in Australia. It is associated with deficits in a wide range of neurocognitive areas including intelligence, memory, reasoning, learning and behaviour. We have recently studied a group of 53 snoring children both before and six months after removal of their tonsils and adenoids, to treat suspected upper airway obstruction associated with their snoring. We found that prior to surgery, intelligence, ....Snoring is very common and affects at least 10% of children, or an estimated 0.25 million children in Australia. It is associated with deficits in a wide range of neurocognitive areas including intelligence, memory, reasoning, learning and behaviour. We have recently studied a group of 53 snoring children both before and six months after removal of their tonsils and adenoids, to treat suspected upper airway obstruction associated with their snoring. We found that prior to surgery, intelligence, memory, reasoning, language and behaviour were significantly reduced, by up to 10% compared to 53 non-snoring control children matched by age, gender, social class and area of residence. To our great surprise, at six months after surgery we found that although sleep and behaviour improves, intelligence, memory, reasoning and language development do not. We now wish to study these same children at 3 years after tonsils and adenoids removal, as we believe that if the deficits that we described at 6 months are still present, they are likely now to be permanent. Given the degree of deficit that we have found in snoring compared to non-snoring children, even 6 months after the snoring group of children have been treated, if still present at 3 years post-surgery then it is likely that these deficits will affect the children's future learning potential and academic success. In turn, this would suggest that early identification and treatment of sleep-related upper airway obstruction is critical in preventing long-term deficits in children's daytime functioning and behaviour.Read moreRead less
GEM Study: General And Emotional Cognition In First Onset Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,659.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness that disrupts cognitive and emotional function. We assessed which cognitive and emotional impairments characterize the first onset of schizophrenia and identified their brain basis in neural circuits. We also assessed whether these impairments predict outcomes over time.
Developing A Standard Dyspnea Challenge To Explore Mechanisms And Therapies In Clinical Populations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,383.00
Summary
COPD is Australia's most burdensome respiratory disease with over 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Shortness of breath is a cardinal feature of this disease.This project will examine the mechanisms of this symptom in patients with chronic lung disease. Four studies will be completed in total, each exploring different factors that may contribute to shortness of breath observed in patients. This research is likely to lead to improved management of this distressing condition into the future.