Vestibular Reflexes Evoked By Brief Lateral Head Acclerations: A New Measure Of Utricular Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$225,357.00
Summary
The vestibular (balance) organs are difficult to investigate as they lie deep within bone. Disease of these organs may cause severe vertigo, imbalance and difficulty with vision. This project attempts to build on earlier developments in my laboratory and thereby improve understanding and diagnosis of these disorders. This grant relates to a new form of stimulation which may allow simple assessment of an important part of the vestibular apapratus, the utricle.
Alzheimer's Disease And Dementia With Lewy Bodies: How Different Are They?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$565,500.00
Summary
Dementia is a devastating disorder, taking the individuals mind. As the population ages, a significant proportion become demented, impacting on these individuals, their families and the community as a whole (Federal and State budgets for this disorder are costed in the billions). There are many cellular causes of dementia, the most frequent being considered Alzheimer's disease. However, many people currently thought to have Alzheimer's disease have another dementia cause - dementia with Lewy bod ....Dementia is a devastating disorder, taking the individuals mind. As the population ages, a significant proportion become demented, impacting on these individuals, their families and the community as a whole (Federal and State budgets for this disorder are costed in the billions). There are many cellular causes of dementia, the most frequent being considered Alzheimer's disease. However, many people currently thought to have Alzheimer's disease have another dementia cause - dementia with Lewy bodies. This study aims to determine 1) how common these two types of dementias are (currently unknown) 2) how better to diagnose them and tell them apart 3) how badly the brain is affected by each disorder and 4) whether the same genes are involved in both disorders. The knowledge we will gain will allow better diagnosis of the cellular causes of dementia, knowledge necessary for rational treatment.Read moreRead less
The Use Of Soluble Antagonists Of EphA4 In Spinal Cord Injuries
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$622,361.00
Summary
Permanent and limited recovery of function following spinal cord injury is a direct result of the lack of nerve regrowth through the injury. Our preliminary data suggest that antagonising the effects of EphA4, a protein involved in brain development, leads to substantial functional recovery simultaneous with nerve regrowth. In addition to designing new, more effective blockers of EphA4, we will study the signalling pathways that EphA4 activates to inhibit nerve regrowth.
Representation Of Spatial Coordinate Systems Within Posterior Parietal Cortex And Hippocampus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$43,759.00
Summary
To accurately reach for an object or walk from one room to another, our brains need to be able to locate objects around us and detect obstacles in our path. Our amazing ability to make an accurate eye movement directly towards an object such as a cup of tea and move our hand smoothly and directly to the cup is something we all take for granted. However, this ability requires enormous computational complexity which our brains have evolved to handle with ease. We plan to determine the parts of the ....To accurately reach for an object or walk from one room to another, our brains need to be able to locate objects around us and detect obstacles in our path. Our amazing ability to make an accurate eye movement directly towards an object such as a cup of tea and move our hand smoothly and directly to the cup is something we all take for granted. However, this ability requires enormous computational complexity which our brains have evolved to handle with ease. We plan to determine the parts of the brain that perform these computations by using a relatively new technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI. This is a non-invasive technique that requires a person to lie in an MRI scanner and perform simple eye movement tasks while the scanner takes images of the brain. With this technology we are able to determine which regions of the brain are most active during the performance of each task, thereby giving us an insight into how the brain works. An area of the brain called the parietal lobe is thought to be involved in the localization of objects, such as reaching for a cup of tea. We will study this area using fMRI to determine how a map of space is represented within the parietal lobe. This region of the brain communicates with another region, the hippocampus which is thought to be involved in navigation, such as walking about the house or driving in the city. Functional MRI will be used to study the hippocampus of our subjects while they perform simple navigational tasks through a maze which is simulated on a computer screen. This will reveal the role hippocampus plays in navigation and the relationship between the parietal lobe and hippocampus. We hope that the greater understanding of hippocampus that will arise from this study will enable us to devise a robust method for imaging hippocampal function with fMRI. We expect that these techniques will aid in the diagnosis of hippocampal abnormalities in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.Read moreRead less
Visualisation Of Functionally Activated Circuitry In The Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$347,036.00
Summary
We are seeking to develop a method to precisely determine which parts of the brain are involved in the carrying out of different brain functions. The main advantage of our new method will be that we will be able to directly visualise the circuitry involved in a specified brain function. The brain is like a vast computer, with literally billions of connections between different parts, and it is these connections which are used to form functional circuits, which ultimately result in the brain cont ....We are seeking to develop a method to precisely determine which parts of the brain are involved in the carrying out of different brain functions. The main advantage of our new method will be that we will be able to directly visualise the circuitry involved in a specified brain function. The brain is like a vast computer, with literally billions of connections between different parts, and it is these connections which are used to form functional circuits, which ultimately result in the brain control of bodily function. Up until now, there has been no direct way of being able to directly visualise which of those billions of connections are involved in the formation of a circuit for any particular brain function. We plan to use a genetic approach to help to visualise functionally activated brain circuits. We know that some genes are turned on in the nerve cells which are activated during a brain function. We will use this knowledge to generate a new line of genetically engineered mice. In these mice, the genes which are turned on during brain activation will in turn be used to turn on special markers which will light up the activated circuits. This will be of great signficance in our understanding of brain function. It should also help us to understand what happens to these circuits in different diseases of the brain, such as following stroke, in senility, and Alzheimer's disease.Read moreRead less
Relaxin-3 Systems In Brain: Validation Of Neural Targets And Functional Roles
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$537,579.00
Summary
Our laboratory recently discovered the brain 'transmitter' called 'relaxin-3', and are researching how it affects brain activity and animal physiology and behaviour. Findings suggest that relaxin-3 can modulate memory, responses to stress and other complex behaviours. Identifying the various actions of relaxin-3 in the brain could provide potential new treatments for conditions such as anxiety-depression, cognitive deficits (dementia) and schizophrenia.