Cardiovascular and Respiratory Activity During Sleep Onset. Going to sleep requires that behavioural and physiological activities be modified. This is achieved by the integrated activity of sleep mechanisms and the circadian system. In this project we will investigate the nature of the regulatory control exerted by sleep mechanisms over respiration and cardiovascular activity at sleep onset, how sleep control interacts with circadian influence, and the nature of cardio-respiratory activity when ....Cardiovascular and Respiratory Activity During Sleep Onset. Going to sleep requires that behavioural and physiological activities be modified. This is achieved by the integrated activity of sleep mechanisms and the circadian system. In this project we will investigate the nature of the regulatory control exerted by sleep mechanisms over respiration and cardiovascular activity at sleep onset, how sleep control interacts with circadian influence, and the nature of cardio-respiratory activity when sleep control is removed at an arousal from sleep. It is anticipated that a better understanding of the regulatory control exerted by sleep over other systems will improve our understanding of sleep disorders.Read moreRead less
Respiratory and Cardiovascular Activation at Arousal from Sleep. An arousal from sleep, no matter how brief, is assciated with increased activity in the respiratory and cardiac systems. Under normal circumstances the response is considered adaptive. However, in disorders of sleep in which individuals arouse frequently and their sleep is fragmented, such as in Obstructive Sleep Apnea, the phenomenon has been linked to hypertension. While the clinical consequences of sleep fragmentation are now ap ....Respiratory and Cardiovascular Activation at Arousal from Sleep. An arousal from sleep, no matter how brief, is assciated with increased activity in the respiratory and cardiac systems. Under normal circumstances the response is considered adaptive. However, in disorders of sleep in which individuals arouse frequently and their sleep is fragmented, such as in Obstructive Sleep Apnea, the phenomenon has been linked to hypertension. While the clinical consequences of sleep fragmentation are now apparent, the mechanism that causes the increase in physiological activity at each arousal, is not known. The aim of this project will provide insight into the mechanism that produces the activation response and provide a basis for minimising the cardiac consequences of sleep disorders.Read moreRead less
Sleep and circadian influences on mood and Autonomic Nervous System control of the heart. Most biological and behavioural processes have a 24-hour oscillation in activity. A critical question is whether this oscillation is a consequence of the sleep-wake cycle or the circadian system (our internal biological clock). This project will investigate circadian influence over two biological systems that have important influences over behaviour, the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and the Behavioural Fa ....Sleep and circadian influences on mood and Autonomic Nervous System control of the heart. Most biological and behavioural processes have a 24-hour oscillation in activity. A critical question is whether this oscillation is a consequence of the sleep-wake cycle or the circadian system (our internal biological clock). This project will investigate circadian influence over two biological systems that have important influences over behaviour, the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and the Behavioural Facilitation System (BFS). Specifically, we will investigate the relationship between circadian control of the heart and the induction and quality of sleep, and the circadian influence on aspects of personality (neuroticism) and mood (Positive Affect) that are related to the BFS.Read moreRead less
Industry Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: IL230100154
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,582,419.00
Summary
Fixing the NDIS: cost, effectiveness and access for psychosocial disability. This project aims to address serious deficits in the operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme for one of its largest participant groups: people with psychosocial disability. This project expects to develop new data on scheme outcomes, cost-effectiveness and participant experiences to develop an appropriate and implementable program logic to improve supports for this group. Expected outcomes will be scheme r ....Fixing the NDIS: cost, effectiveness and access for psychosocial disability. This project aims to address serious deficits in the operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme for one of its largest participant groups: people with psychosocial disability. This project expects to develop new data on scheme outcomes, cost-effectiveness and participant experiences to develop an appropriate and implementable program logic to improve supports for this group. Expected outcomes will be scheme reform by implementing a new framework of supports for psychosocial disability and data to improve the operation of national policy for this group more broadly. This should provide significant benefits for the cost-effective operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and build research capacity in disability policy.Read moreRead less
The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinemen ....The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinement of the brain's innate ability to generate predictions about the sensory environment. The resulting insights could improve understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of word recognition: new insight from the reach-to-touch paradigm. This project will introduce a new behavioural reach-to-touch paradigm for studying basic cognitive processes such as word recognition. The advantage of this paradigm is that it is able to measure cognitive processes moment-by-moment as they unfold over time. This will provide new insights into the temporal dynamics of basic cognitive processing.
Mapping, recovery and remediation of arm coordination deficits after stroke. Coordination of arm movement is a significant problem after a stroke. This innovative project will underpin new treatments by focusing on what type of stroke causes difficulty in coordinating arm movement, describing the coordination difficulties in detail and investigating mechanisms of recovery and treatment.
Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in ....Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in one month. This project will use a combination of experiments and cognitive modelling to examine all three types of choice. The outcome will be a novel computational model that will elucidate the complex interaction between delay and risk, thereby answering an enduring question in the literature: are risk and delay psychologically equivalent?Read moreRead less
Truncating presenilin mutations and their effects on gamma-secretase activity, tau and beta-catenin - insights into Alzheimers disease and cancer. Cancer and dementia are primarily afflictions of the aged and are increasingly important in an aging Australian population. 95% of all Alzheimer's disease is spontaneous (not inherited) but we know little about the molecular mechanisms underlying it. Our discovery that truncated presenilin proteins potently inhibit normal protein function suggests tha ....Truncating presenilin mutations and their effects on gamma-secretase activity, tau and beta-catenin - insights into Alzheimers disease and cancer. Cancer and dementia are primarily afflictions of the aged and are increasingly important in an aging Australian population. 95% of all Alzheimer's disease is spontaneous (not inherited) but we know little about the molecular mechanisms underlying it. Our discovery that truncated presenilin proteins potently inhibit normal protein function suggests that changes in presenilin function in aged cells might be a common molecular link between spontaneous and inherited Alzheimer's disease and could contribute to frontotemporal dementia and cancer. Our research will show whether this phenomenon might provide a breakthrough in our understanding of these diseases and be a productive area for research into their amelioration and/or prevention.Read moreRead less
Hemispheric asymmetry of motor and language representation: Effects of hand preference and mirror movements. The neuroscience community has recently exploited advances in brain imaging to understand cerebral representation of many cognitive functions. The proposed study will expand our knowledge of brain-behaviour relationships, another key area of cognitive neuroscience research. Its successful funding and completion will increase Australia's standing as a major contributor to world research ou ....Hemispheric asymmetry of motor and language representation: Effects of hand preference and mirror movements. The neuroscience community has recently exploited advances in brain imaging to understand cerebral representation of many cognitive functions. The proposed study will expand our knowledge of brain-behaviour relationships, another key area of cognitive neuroscience research. Its successful funding and completion will increase Australia's standing as a major contributor to world research outcomes in this innovative and important field, and place Australia at its forefront. The investigator's access to advanced brain imaging and to the unique population of individuals with mirror movements, combined with expertise and experience in neuropsychology and brain imaging, places the research in an internationally competitive position.Read moreRead less