Vulnerability to cocaine use: discovering common mechanisms conserved across animal phyla. Drug abuse costs Australia an estimated $ 20 billion each year, and research is urgently needed to understand how drugs cause long-term behavioural dysfunction. Our research will identify the basal cellular mechanisms underlying drug abuse and addiction, which are likely to be the best targets for therapies to prevent and cure addiction. Our findings are also relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders r ....Vulnerability to cocaine use: discovering common mechanisms conserved across animal phyla. Drug abuse costs Australia an estimated $ 20 billion each year, and research is urgently needed to understand how drugs cause long-term behavioural dysfunction. Our research will identify the basal cellular mechanisms underlying drug abuse and addiction, which are likely to be the best targets for therapies to prevent and cure addiction. Our findings are also relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders related to drug abuse (e.g. depression, anxiety) that are on the increase in Australia. Our work will enhance Australia's reputation for neuroscience research, and will provide training for students in neuropharmacology and molecular neurobiology.Read moreRead less
Anandamide activated chloride channels in sensory neurons. We are seeking to understand how the nerve cells that sense our environment are regulated by signalling molecules produced by our body. Understanding how these cells function in normal conditions is essential as basis for understanding how they may function abnormally in physically stressful situations or in chronic pain conditions. The work may eventually lead to better treatments for a wide range of disorders that involve the sensory ....Anandamide activated chloride channels in sensory neurons. We are seeking to understand how the nerve cells that sense our environment are regulated by signalling molecules produced by our body. Understanding how these cells function in normal conditions is essential as basis for understanding how they may function abnormally in physically stressful situations or in chronic pain conditions. The work may eventually lead to better treatments for a wide range of disorders that involve the sensory nervous system. Read moreRead less
Evolution, learning, and the use of multiple cues in desert ant navigation. This research on desert ants benefits Australia by fostering an international collaboration with one of the best European scientists, training students, and increasing knowledge about Australia's unique fauna, helping us to appreciate and better manage our fragile desert environments. With this international link, students working on this and related projects benefit intellectually from mingling with an international com ....Evolution, learning, and the use of multiple cues in desert ant navigation. This research on desert ants benefits Australia by fostering an international collaboration with one of the best European scientists, training students, and increasing knowledge about Australia's unique fauna, helping us to appreciate and better manage our fragile desert environments. With this international link, students working on this and related projects benefit intellectually from mingling with an international community of scientists.Understanding insect behaviour also has benefits for robotics. Work on desert ants has already resulted in robotic applications, and our outcomes concerning the optimal integration of multiple spatial cues are especially relevant.Read moreRead less
Towards a behavioural ecology of navigational memories in desert ants. Navigational memories (path integration, systematic search, and landmark use) in a Central Australian desert ant (Melophorus bagoti) and a North African desert ant (Cataglyphis fortis) are studied at the ants? natural habitats. The project tests predictions about behavioural properties of memory (how quickly it can be acquired, how long it lasts, and how a conflicting event affects it), based on a cost-benefit analysis of the ....Towards a behavioural ecology of navigational memories in desert ants. Navigational memories (path integration, systematic search, and landmark use) in a Central Australian desert ant (Melophorus bagoti) and a North African desert ant (Cataglyphis fortis) are studied at the ants? natural habitats. The project tests predictions about behavioural properties of memory (how quickly it can be acquired, how long it lasts, and how a conflicting event affects it), based on a cost-benefit analysis of the functions of each memory system. The project launches the first systematic cost-benefit analysis of memory, to establish a behavioural ecology of memory. We hope that it inspires cost-benefit analyses of other functions of the brain.Read moreRead less
Resurgent Sodium Currents in Peripheral Nerve Axons and Sensory Neurones. This project seeks evidence that unusual gating of sodium channels contributes to the hyperexcitability that results in spontaneous impulse activity in sensory axons. It asks whether axons normally behave as if they have this gating mode, whether it can be induced, whether any such behaviour is more prominent with sensory axons than motor, and whether the current can be measured directly in sensory neurones. The project is ....Resurgent Sodium Currents in Peripheral Nerve Axons and Sensory Neurones. This project seeks evidence that unusual gating of sodium channels contributes to the hyperexcitability that results in spontaneous impulse activity in sensory axons. It asks whether axons normally behave as if they have this gating mode, whether it can be induced, whether any such behaviour is more prominent with sensory axons than motor, and whether the current can be measured directly in sensory neurones. The project is the first to involve correlation of patch-clamp recordings with the behaviour of intact axons. Its outcomes will affect thought about sodium channel behaviour and may alter approaches to disorders of axonal excitability.Read moreRead less
Neurotrophic factors for pelvic autonomic neurons: the role of neurturin. This project is about pelvic parasympathetic neurons, which are responsible for involuntary activities such as bladder voiding and penile erection. We are interested in the neurotrophic factors that determine survival of these neurons during early mammalian development and keep them healthy in adults. Little is known about ?parasympathetic neurotrophic factors? in general. However we have recently discovered that the prote ....Neurotrophic factors for pelvic autonomic neurons: the role of neurturin. This project is about pelvic parasympathetic neurons, which are responsible for involuntary activities such as bladder voiding and penile erection. We are interested in the neurotrophic factors that determine survival of these neurons during early mammalian development and keep them healthy in adults. Little is known about ?parasympathetic neurotrophic factors? in general. However we have recently discovered that the protein neurturin is very important in the pelvic parasympathetic system. We will determine exactly how neurturin affects pelvic neurons and how it interacts with other neurotrophic factors. Our results will fill a major gap in our knowledge of fundamental neurobiology.Read moreRead less
Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's re ....Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's research and development capacity in this new area of medical diagnostics. Our machine will be made available to other Australian laboratories and will improve the national capacity for making further scientific discoveries about how the visual system works.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354793
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
A Neural Network: Understanding Brain Function. This proposal focuses on the mechanisms that regulate brain function, particularly those underpinning the changes in circuitry (plasticity) caused by altered inputs. As such, its core goal is to create an interface between researchers in the neurosciences, computational modelling, robotics and cognitive sciences in order to facilitate optimum collaborative interactions, identify key research questions and promote training opportunities across a mul ....A Neural Network: Understanding Brain Function. This proposal focuses on the mechanisms that regulate brain function, particularly those underpinning the changes in circuitry (plasticity) caused by altered inputs. As such, its core goal is to create an interface between researchers in the neurosciences, computational modelling, robotics and cognitive sciences in order to facilitate optimum collaborative interactions, identify key research questions and promote training opportunities across a multidisciplinary spectrum. This will drive an integrated and accelerated program of discovery and technological development, enhancing Australia's leadership in this crucial field and helping to highlight new biotechnology opportunities and capture social and economic benefits for the nation. Read moreRead less
Brain lateralization: its function, evolution, development and change with ageing. Brain research is undoubtedly one of the key research fields today. This project involves highly innovative research at the highest international level, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on brain lateralization, a very important field of brain research in humans and animals (co-founded by the applicant). This project 1) investigates dynamic changes of the developing, mature and ageing brain for vital ....Brain lateralization: its function, evolution, development and change with ageing. Brain research is undoubtedly one of the key research fields today. This project involves highly innovative research at the highest international level, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on brain lateralization, a very important field of brain research in humans and animals (co-founded by the applicant). This project 1) investigates dynamic changes of the developing, mature and ageing brain for vital functions using animal models, thus contributing importantly to our understanding of normal functions of the human brain, including some forms of mental dysfunction and also ageing; 2) trains postgraduate students at the highest standards and 3) maintains important collaboration with colleagues in Europe. Read moreRead less