Rapid, Cost-effective, Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Multiple Sclerosis By Novel Multifocal Evoked Potential Methods
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$152,463.00
Summary
A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increas ....A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increasing disability of MS. MS only affects about 0.04% of Australians but the early onset of MS, the high cost of medication, and the prolonged period of disability, mean that the cost to Australia is about $2 billion pa. MRI quantifies the inflammatory phase well but is poorly correlated with the debilitating secondary progression. The common treatments for MS target the inflammatory phase but not the causes of secondary progression, which are unknown. Current diagnostic methods mean diagnosis can take years, meaning that patients can be denied treatment for some time. The applicants have published experiments on 50 MS patients and 27 normal subjects using a variant of the new method. Not only has it shown high diagnostic accuracy, but the new method seems to provide data on the progressive phase, suggesting strongly that it is complementary to MRI. The new method is also much cheaper to set up and run than MRI and so could provide cost-effective means for monitoring patient condition and testing new drugs that are effective against the progressive phase. The applicants have considerable experience commercialising diagnostic technologies, and are currently working with an Australian company developing new diagnostic hardware. That hardware has been adapted to perform the presently proposed experiments. Overall it is reasonable to assume that positive outcomes will be translated into economic and health benefits for Australians.Read moreRead less
Functional And Structural Imaging Of Auditory Infomation Processing Deficits In Recent-onset And Chronic Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$376,000.00
Summary
Abnormalities in the auditory system have long been suspected to be present among people who suffer from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, due in part to the high prevalence of auditory hallucinations amongst these patients. Over the last decade, a group of Australian researchers have identified an index of auditory information processing, recorded from scalp electrodes, that is abnormal in patients with schizophrenia, and their biological relatives. The present project will examine t ....Abnormalities in the auditory system have long been suspected to be present among people who suffer from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, due in part to the high prevalence of auditory hallucinations amongst these patients. Over the last decade, a group of Australian researchers have identified an index of auditory information processing, recorded from scalp electrodes, that is abnormal in patients with schizophrenia, and their biological relatives. The present project will examine the relationship between these electrophysiological findings, and a new non-invasive technique of functional brain imaging, looking at changes in blood flow, that can identify the specific brain regions that are active during auditory information processing, and link these to the sources of the scalp recorded measures. Both of these functional measures will be examined in relation to the volumes of brain tissue, measured from magnetic resonance imaging scans using new analysis tools, that enable the identification of subtle changes in brain anatomy. By examining patients who have recently developed schizophrenia, those who have suffered from the illness for longer periods of time, and their close relatives, this study will provide the opportunity to identify biological markers of increased vulnerability for the development of schizophrenia.Read moreRead less
Physiological And Neurochemical Mechanisms Of Executive Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$285,500.00
Summary
This study will examine how manipulating brain chemistry influences our ability to inhibit behaviour and monitor our own performance errors. We will determine the response of the brain using the physiological techniques of event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The first technique allows us to determine how drugs influence the timing of neural events, while the second technique allows us to determine where in the brain these drugs act.
Maternal Immune Activation And Adolescent Exposure To Cannabis In Rodents: Do Two Developmental “hits” Lead To Schizophrenia-like Changes In Brain And Behaviour?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,711.00
Summary
The cause of schizophrenia most likely lies in early brain development due to either genetics or adverse environments. We will examine two successive environmental ‘hits’ in a rat model: infection during pregnancy followed by early adolescent cannabis use. We will track changes in the brain that occur in late adolescence and in young adults. We will also assess behaviour and brain function in adulthood to see if the animals exhibit patterns that mimic those that we see in schizophrenia.