Understanding the mechanisms of GABA type-A receptor activation and drug modulation. There is currently little understanding of how sedative and anxiolytic drugs, including valium, interact with their receptors in the brain. This project will dramatically increase our understanding of how these receptors work and how drugs affect their activity. This will provide new insights into drug discovery and design.
Specialized glial cells within the hippocampus of the brain regulate important morphological events in embryonic development. Memories of past experiences, and our ability to learn new information, is processed in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. In order for this to occur, the cells that make up the hippocampus must form correctly during embryonic development. This proposal investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating hippocampal formation. The national benefit of ....Specialized glial cells within the hippocampus of the brain regulate important morphological events in embryonic development. Memories of past experiences, and our ability to learn new information, is processed in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. In order for this to occur, the cells that make up the hippocampus must form correctly during embryonic development. This proposal investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating hippocampal formation. The national benefit of this work is to provide basic knowledge about the processes that underlie correct brain formation and function, and to understand what processes are disrupted when the brain fails to function correctly. Such disruptions lead to mental retardation and learning difficulties, and in the aged, an inability to form and store new memories, as occurs in dementia.Read moreRead less
A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechani ....A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechanical adaptation in the vertebrate hearing organ. The aim of the proposed project is to examine this hypothesis in more detail.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101175
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Ultra-fast functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) mapping of layer-specific interhemispheric plasticity. The goal of this project is to apply a cutting edge functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) method to study the link between plasticity and its neural circuit substrates. This project will determine how plasticity between the two hemispheres of the brain is mediated via the connecting fibre tract known as the corpus callosum.
Mechanisms of fear learning and extinction in the mammalian brain. The brain is a remarkable machine that coordinates all aspects of our daily lives including the storage and retrieval of memories. Given that many age-related degenerative disorders are associated with marked changes in learning and memory it also has implications for Australia's National Research Priority 2 "Ageing well and ageing productively". This research aims to discover the basic mechanisms that underlie memory storage an ....Mechanisms of fear learning and extinction in the mammalian brain. The brain is a remarkable machine that coordinates all aspects of our daily lives including the storage and retrieval of memories. Given that many age-related degenerative disorders are associated with marked changes in learning and memory it also has implications for Australia's National Research Priority 2 "Ageing well and ageing productively". This research aims to discover the basic mechanisms that underlie memory storage and how these are modulated in an emotional context. It will also shed light on states such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, enhancing our ability to identify new therapeutic targets for such disorders.Read moreRead less
Neural circuits that mediate fear conditioning and extinction. Understanding of how the brain processes, stores and retrieves information and produces behavioural outcomes is in its infancy. This project will use electrophysiology and molecular techniques to understand the circuits that mediate one form of emotional learning.
Membrane excitability and cellular calcium regulation in the peripheral nervous system under different (patho)-physiological conditions and in inflammatory disease. Studies of cytokine action on neurons and muscle give new insights into functional responses of the nervous system to systemic inflammation and sepsis. In some countries, sepsis is the third most frequent cause of death following heart attack. Elucidating the pathomechanisms allows to develop therapeutic strategies. Electrophysiology ....Membrane excitability and cellular calcium regulation in the peripheral nervous system under different (patho)-physiological conditions and in inflammatory disease. Studies of cytokine action on neurons and muscle give new insights into functional responses of the nervous system to systemic inflammation and sepsis. In some countries, sepsis is the third most frequent cause of death following heart attack. Elucidating the pathomechanisms allows to develop therapeutic strategies. Electrophysiology, Ca2+ regulation and optical membrane potentiometry allow us to monitor early changes in disease on a (sub)cellular level. Experiments on Ca2+ regulation and ion channel function in muscle with different cholesterol membrane contents will help to understand pathomechanisms in high cholesterol diseases, e.g. obesity, on the membrane level long before cardiovascular effects become prominent.Read moreRead less