Representation Of Spatial Coordinate Systems Within Posterior Parietal Cortex And Hippocampus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$43,759.00
Summary
To accurately reach for an object or walk from one room to another, our brains need to be able to locate objects around us and detect obstacles in our path. Our amazing ability to make an accurate eye movement directly towards an object such as a cup of tea and move our hand smoothly and directly to the cup is something we all take for granted. However, this ability requires enormous computational complexity which our brains have evolved to handle with ease. We plan to determine the parts of the ....To accurately reach for an object or walk from one room to another, our brains need to be able to locate objects around us and detect obstacles in our path. Our amazing ability to make an accurate eye movement directly towards an object such as a cup of tea and move our hand smoothly and directly to the cup is something we all take for granted. However, this ability requires enormous computational complexity which our brains have evolved to handle with ease. We plan to determine the parts of the brain that perform these computations by using a relatively new technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI. This is a non-invasive technique that requires a person to lie in an MRI scanner and perform simple eye movement tasks while the scanner takes images of the brain. With this technology we are able to determine which regions of the brain are most active during the performance of each task, thereby giving us an insight into how the brain works. An area of the brain called the parietal lobe is thought to be involved in the localization of objects, such as reaching for a cup of tea. We will study this area using fMRI to determine how a map of space is represented within the parietal lobe. This region of the brain communicates with another region, the hippocampus which is thought to be involved in navigation, such as walking about the house or driving in the city. Functional MRI will be used to study the hippocampus of our subjects while they perform simple navigational tasks through a maze which is simulated on a computer screen. This will reveal the role hippocampus plays in navigation and the relationship between the parietal lobe and hippocampus. We hope that the greater understanding of hippocampus that will arise from this study will enable us to devise a robust method for imaging hippocampal function with fMRI. We expect that these techniques will aid in the diagnosis of hippocampal abnormalities in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.Read moreRead less
Accelerated Longterm Forgetting In Children With Genetic Generalised Epilepsy: An Investigation Of The Temporal Trajectory And Contribution Of Executive Skills.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$107,204.00
Summary
The aim of this study is to determine which factors influence forgetting in typically developing children and in children with epilepsy. Specifically, we want to establish how forgetting occurs over time and whether it is influenced by other cognitive/thinking skills, such as strategies used to remember information, attention or resistance to interference. Moreover, we are interested in whether retention rates are affected by different types of learning materials (i.e. visual versus verbal).
How well people perform in everyday situations is often determined by memory function. When required to perform under stress memory performance is often affected. The effect of a psychological stress test on memory function in healthy volunteers and the ability of a dietary supplement, tyrosine, to prevent the effects will be studied. The data may suggest that depletion amino acids is responsible for the decrements in performance that are evident after an acute stressor.
How are memories stored in the brain? We know much about the brain regions involved in memory storage but we know little or nothing about how individual memories are represented and stored within those brain areas. The purpose of this project is to label and manipulate the specific subsets of brain cells that store individual memories. We will label memory-bearing cells in multiple brain regions and then ask how the connections between those cells encode learned information in the brain.
Evaluation Of Rehabilitation Strategies For Prospective Memory In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$213,950.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from motor vehicle accidents and other mishaps is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Memory problems is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms reported by people with TBI. Traditionally, the treatment of memory problems has focussed on retrospective memory or the ability to recall or recognise previously learned information (e.g., remembering the name of a person, recalling the content of yesterday's news stories). Little res ....Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from motor vehicle accidents and other mishaps is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Memory problems is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms reported by people with TBI. Traditionally, the treatment of memory problems has focussed on retrospective memory or the ability to recall or recognise previously learned information (e.g., remembering the name of a person, recalling the content of yesterday's news stories). Little research has been conducted on problems with another type of memory called prospective memory or the ability to remember to do something in the future (e.g., remembering to attend an appointment, remembering to pay a bill before its due date). The treatment of prospective memory problems in people with TBI is, however, very important for assisting them to return to work and successful integration into the community. This is because the ability to remember to do things at the right time is essential for work and for independent living. In addition, failure to treat this type of problems can be risky or even life threatening (e.g., forgetting to take medication, forgetting to turn off an electrical appliance). This project aims to evaluate the independent and combined effectiveness of two rehabilitation strategies, namely, promoting awareness of memory problems and adopting compensatory strategies. In addition, this project aims to gauge whether a better management of prospective memory problem will lead to better functioning in the community.Read moreRead less
Can Music Mend Minds? Investigating The Mechanisms Underlying The Beneficial Effects Of Music On Persons With Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,108.00
Summary
Music can have positive effects on persons with dementia. It be a powerful trigger of memories and emotions and provide a link to one's personal past and a form of communication with carers. Familiar songs can be recognised even in the late stages of dementia when verbal communication and memory for other things may be lost. There has been little scientific investigation of how and why music can help people with dementia and their carers. This research will address this issue.
The Extinction Of Conditioned Fear And Its Implications For Cue Exposure Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,430.00
Summary
This project studies extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear reactions in rats. Extinction of these reactions is an animal model for exposure therapy used in the treatment of anxiety disorders in people. In exposure therapy, the patient, aided by the clinician, confronts trauma-related cues in the absence of any overt danger. The intention of this therapy is to reduce the ability of the trauma-related cues to provoke the fear reactions that are undermining the patient's quality of life. In Pavl ....This project studies extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear reactions in rats. Extinction of these reactions is an animal model for exposure therapy used in the treatment of anxiety disorders in people. In exposure therapy, the patient, aided by the clinician, confronts trauma-related cues in the absence of any overt danger. The intention of this therapy is to reduce the ability of the trauma-related cues to provoke the fear reactions that are undermining the patient's quality of life. In Pavlovian conditioning, subjects (typically rats) are exposed to a signaling relation between an initially neutral stimulus (e.g., a noise) and a feared outcome (e.g., foot shock). When later repeatedly exposed to the initially neutral but now feared stimulus (the noise) in the absence of the feared outcome, the fear reactions it acquired progressively decline until eventually it fails to elicit any such reactions. The fear reactions are said to have been extinguished. There has been significant progress in understanding the psychological processes and neural mechanisms underlying the acquisition of fear reactions, but much less is known about the processes and mechanisms underlying the extinction of these reactions. The project has two general objectives. The first is to determine the conditions of extinction training that promote long-term loss of fear reactions. The second objective is to determine how the brain controls this extinction of learned fear. Achieving these aims will be significant for two reasons. First, it will contribute to understanding the mechanisms by which animals (including people) learn to adjust their behaviour to bring it into line with the current relations that exist between events in the world. Second, it will provide important information about how such adjustment is facilitated or impaired across extinction training and, thereby, contribute towards understanding both the successes and failures of cue exposure therapy for fear-related disorders.Read moreRead less
The Missing Link: MGluR5 As A Therapeutic Target For Cognitive Decline In Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,622.00
Summary
Cognitive decline is a core feature of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), yet there is no cure or treatment. Recent evidence suggests that a protein called mGluR5 could cause brain cells to lose function, leading to memory loss. This project will investigate whether disrupting mGluR5 function can improve cognition in mice with genetic AD. Memory will be assessed in mice using innovative touchscreen tests that closely mimic the tests used in humans.