Congenital brain vascular malformations are a common cause of stroke and death in young patients. This project aims to develop a new treatment for these lesions that does not require surgery. We will use focussed radiation to change the cells lining the abnormal vessels so that they can be targeted with a new treatment that causes blockage of the vessels and prevents haemorrhage.
Vascular Cognitive Risk Score: Quantifying The Vascular Burden In Alzheimer's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$627,180.00
Summary
What causes dementia in a patient presenting to a clinic is often uncertain. While there are exciting potential treatments in the pipeline, we need to understand the cause of the disease in a specific patient to make correct treatment decisions. Stroke and other vascular diseases of the brain cause a significant proportion of dementia in the community. Using MRI scanning technology, this project will quantify this burden in a given patient by developing a ‘vascular cognitive risk' (VCR) score.
We are able to identify and discriminate objects in the world because of exquisitely detailed and rapid processing of sensory information by neurons in the cortex of the brain. In this project we will examine these operations in neurons in the cortex that receive input from the large face whiskers of the rat. These whiskers are used for fine-grain discrimination and for gauging distance. They are deflected by being actively moved, under muscle control, over objects (active touch) or by being pas ....We are able to identify and discriminate objects in the world because of exquisitely detailed and rapid processing of sensory information by neurons in the cortex of the brain. In this project we will examine these operations in neurons in the cortex that receive input from the large face whiskers of the rat. These whiskers are used for fine-grain discrimination and for gauging distance. They are deflected by being actively moved, under muscle control, over objects (active touch) or by being passively deflected by objects. Deflection results in inputs to the brain that are processed to form the neural basis for very finely detailed perceptual behaviour. In rats, with impoverished visual and auditory senses, the whiskers are the major sensory system for interacting with the world, and are used in navigating the environment and in finding and distinguishing foods. Thus they contribute strongly to the remarkable success of this species. This elegant sensory system has a number of advantages that make it a very good model for the study of brain mechanisms responsible for active fine-grain sensory function. We plan to take advantage of the unique features of this system to define the information processing that occurs in the cortex in this elegantly complex system. This will address an issue relevant to all sensory systems - namely the neural basis of complex fine grain perceptual behaviour. Understanding the mechanisms underlying active tactile perception also has relevance to clinical conditions involving deficits in active touch e.g., in diabetic polyneuropathy (which eventually affects ~50% of diabetics), in leprosy (in which an early sign is damage to active touch). Knowledge of the core brain processes in active touch gained in this study could eventually underpin the ameliorative technologies for such deficits.Read moreRead less
Which Neurons Maintain Sympathetic Vasomotor Tone?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$567,918.00
Summary
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a major burden of disease worldwide. High levels of nerve activity that cause the blood vessels to constrict elevating blood pressure are characteristic of hypertension. We do not know which brain cells set and maintain this nerve activity. We will identify these cells, determine how they function and what regulates them. Ultimately we could control these cells treating the cause of hypertension or when clinical need arises.
Is Stroke Neurodegenerative? A Longitudinal Study Of Changes In Brain Volume And Cognition Following Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,044,837.00
Summary
There is no direct evidence linking Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and stroke. It is unknown whether stroke can trigger progressive dementia in the same way as AD. In a group of stroke patients, we will measure MRI brain volume and cognition in the 5 years after stroke. These findings will be critical for identification of those patients most at risk of dementia after stroke. This will allow future early intervention for these patients, via promising AD disease-modifying therapies.
Neurodevelopmental Role Of Susceptibility Genes For Autism Spectrum Disorders: From Genes To Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$482,968.00
Summary
Autism is a developmental neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by impairments in three principal domains: social interaction, language and behavioural inflexibility. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of neurodevelopmental syndromes with the common feature of dysfunctional reciprocal social interaction. In this project we will investigate the role of genes that increase the risk of ASD in the development of behaviours using an animal model. This work will lead to a better unders ....Autism is a developmental neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by impairments in three principal domains: social interaction, language and behavioural inflexibility. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of neurodevelopmental syndromes with the common feature of dysfunctional reciprocal social interaction. In this project we will investigate the role of genes that increase the risk of ASD in the development of behaviours using an animal model. This work will lead to a better understanding of the genetic basis of ASD.Read moreRead less
Control Of Prosthetic Limbs From Decoded Brain Signals
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$895,832.00
Summary
This research will restore mobility to patients who suffer from paralysis. We aim to create a device, known as a brain-machine interface, which is an artificial communication path from the brain that bypasses an injury, such as a damaged spinal cord or stroke. The interface will decode a user’s intent and act upon it. Decoders will use physiological principals and state-of-the-art machine learning methods. We will test a user’s ability to control an artificial limb using decoded brain activity.
Retinal Microvascular Signs In Acute Stroke: Prognostic Significance And Relevance To Underlying Pathophysiology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,425.00
Summary
This project will describe abnormalities of the blood vessels of the retina in patients with stroke. Stroke is a common problem affecting some 48,000 Australians each year. Despite medical progress, stroke is commonly fatal (the third leading cause of death) and the leading cause of serious acquired disability in older people. This project will obtain detailed photographs of patients admitted to hospital with acute stroke. The acquired digital images will be analysed using new methods that asses ....This project will describe abnormalities of the blood vessels of the retina in patients with stroke. Stroke is a common problem affecting some 48,000 Australians each year. Despite medical progress, stroke is commonly fatal (the third leading cause of death) and the leading cause of serious acquired disability in older people. This project will obtain detailed photographs of patients admitted to hospital with acute stroke. The acquired digital images will be analysed using new methods that assess size of the small retinal arteries compared to veins (the arteriole-to-venule ratio) and will document other abnormalities, such as microaneurysms, haemorrhages, tortuosity and focal and generalised vessel narrowing and wall opacity. In normal populations these signs are associated with hypertension, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction and predict future stroke. These signs, and their significance have not been systematically studied in acute stroke. This may offer a window into the brain for important subgroups of stroke such as lacunar stroke. It is increasingly hard (and remains technically very difficult) to study the cause of lacunar stroke, affecting 10,000 Australians each year, as lacunar stroke has a lower fatality rate (and thus few opportunities for post mortem studies) but a high disability rate. Lacunar stroke is known to be due to small vessel disease but the exact nature of this disease is unknown. Echocardiography (to identify heart and major blood vessel abnormalities) and carotid duplex scanning (to identify critical stenosis of the major blood supply to the brain) are commonly normal in this type of stroke, and brain scanning with computerised tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) merely shows the outcome of the small vessel disease. The eye develops as part of the brain and thus retinal vascular abnormalities could add important knowledge to our understanding of stroke and add clinically useful data in the assessment of patients with stroke.Read moreRead less
Advancing The Evidence-base For Childhood Brain Insult: Diagnosis, Assessment And Intervention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,662.00
Summary
My research has 4 primary objectives, representing major gaps in current knowledge: 1. improve knowledge of recovery and determinants of post-concussive symptoms 2. establish the impact of child brain insult on socio-emotional function and identify contributing factors 3. develop an iPad based tool for socio-emotional function 4. evaluate and disseminate e-heath treatments for child brain insult