The Role Of Anhedonia In Recovery From Opiate Addiction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$541,022.00
Summary
There is growing evidence that changes occur within the addicted brain reducing a drug user's ability to experience everyday pleasures. In this study, we will examine how a drug user's ability to experience pleasure relates to relapse and recovery. We will conduct a series of tests on a large sample of recently abstinent heroin addicts and follow them for 12 months. This project will provide unique insights that will be of direct relevance to clinical treatment.
Developing A Just-In-Time-Adaptive-Intervention For Problem Anger
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$690,124.00
Summary
Problems controlling anger and aggression are very common and highly destructive in individuals who have experienced trauma. Current treatment approaches are limited. This project will first use technology to measure and predict when problem anger is occurring, and then develop a smart-phone delivered intervention designed to reduce problem anger in individuals who have experienced trauma, by providing support when and where an individual needs it most.
Mechanisms Of Memory And Mood Impairment Associated With Sleep Disturbance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,613.00
Summary
Sleep loss is integral and pervasive in society today. There is a link between sleep disturbance, memory impairment and depressed mood, however, the mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear. We examine whether sleep disturbed populations have preferential memory for negative information and higher levels of negative affect and mood. These findings will help to explain higher rates of depression in sleep disturbed patients, and promote the benefits of healthy sleep on mood.
Establishing The Neural Basis Of Auditory-verbal Hallucinations In Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,020.00
Summary
Auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVH) - or hearing voices when no one is talking - are characteristic and debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia. AVH have been hypothesized to reflect inner speech being misperceived as external speech. Our research team has developed an objective brain marker of inner speech. We will use this marker to determine whether AVH are caused by abnormal inner speech in people with schizophrenia. Findings will inform treatments for this incapacitating disorder.
Psychophysiological Indices Of Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$302,123.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury, the most common form of brain injury in young Australian adults, is a devastating problem causing social isolation, poor employment outcomes and reliance on government services. This project will contribute to the development of improved rehabilitation programs through a better understanding of the cognitive and emotion perception deficits following traumatic brain injury.
Acquisition And Extinction Of Headache-eliciting Properties Of Trigger Factors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$91,082.00
Summary
Standard advice in the clinical management of headaches is to counsel headache sufferers to avoid any factors that could trigger a headache. There is a compelling logic to this approach but is there a danger that it amounts to being over-protective in the sense that it encourages headache sufferers to 'cocoon' themselves from situations that could give rise to headaches, ultimately resulting in them losing their ability to cope with such situations. Certainly, avoiding situations that elicit anx ....Standard advice in the clinical management of headaches is to counsel headache sufferers to avoid any factors that could trigger a headache. There is a compelling logic to this approach but is there a danger that it amounts to being over-protective in the sense that it encourages headache sufferers to 'cocoon' themselves from situations that could give rise to headaches, ultimately resulting in them losing their ability to cope with such situations. Certainly, avoiding situations that elicit anxiety leads to a sensitisation process whereby the situations elicit greater anxiety. And the converse is true, exposure to anxiety-eliciting situations results in a desensitisation process whereby the situations elicit less anxiety. Whether avoidance or exposure is more appropriate in the management of headache disorders depends on the processes by which sensitivity to trigger factors is gained and lost. Two studies will be completed that test different models of these processes. The expected outcome of these studies is that they will support the theory that stimuli acquire the capacity to elicit headaches as a function of individuals trying to avoid or escape from any factor that they believe could trigger a headache. This sensitisation process can be reversed by prolonged exposure to headache trigger factors. Such results would suggest that the established practice of counselling headache sufferers to avoid triggers is counterproductive as it may lead to a reduction of headaches in the short-term but may also lead to an insidious sensitisation process that ultimately results in an increase in headaches. Given that headaches are so common and associated with such high direct and indirect costs, changes in clinical management arising from these findings could have major benefits to individuals, families and society.Read moreRead less
Understanding Autistic Spectrum Disorder Traits In Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting around 5% of children. It is highly variable in how it presents, and often symptoms from other disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, are present in ADHD. Improving diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, understanding its diversity and how it co-occurs with other disorders, requires that we re-think how we currently classify disorders, and instead move towards objective, data-driven identification of clusters of risk traits.