Teaching An Old Brain New Tricks: Optimising Cognitive Training Through Neuroplasticity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,562,250.00
Summary
People with early dementia have the most to gain from brain training programs aimed at delaying deterioration. Yet, its power is under-realised, with improvements not generalising to everyday living. This research program will harness the power of neuroplasticity to optimise brain training so that the effects transfer to everyday life. The knowledge gained will transform the way that we design and deliver brain training programs and revolutionise our understanding of why and how people respond.
Epilepsy is often poorly controlled by medication and dietary measures can be taken that reduce occurrence of epileptic seizures. Glucose control is impacted by diet and also mutations in the genes that move glucose around the body are known to cause epilepsy. Here we will be studying how the genetic and dietary control of glucose levels impacts brain function to increase seizures and to potentially reveal novel therapies.
Underlying Mechanims Of Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia In Chronic Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,817.00
Summary
Pain has a detrimental impact on ones quality of life and a significant financial impact on the community. It has recently been revealed that chronic pain is associated with altered electrical rhythms within the brain. Using human brain imaging, we aim to determine the underlying reason for this altered rhythm in humans with pain resulting from nervous system damage. Defining this mechanism will aid in the development of better treatment regimes.
NeuroGame: Can Neuromodulation Of Brain Rhythms Relieve Chronic Pain?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,568,407.00
Summary
The growing number of overdoses and deaths caused by opioids in the therapy of chronic pain shows the urgent need to develop and test novel chronic pain treatments. We will address this need by developing and testing a novel and safe intervention that can provide pain relief via the primary source of pain: the brain. We will use cutting-edge imaging technology to unravel brain mechanism responsible for the recovery of chronic pain, including efforts to prevent rather than relive chronic pain.
Predicting Clozapine Treatment Response In Psychotic Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$721,526.00
Summary
Not everyone with a psychotic illness gets better when treated with standard antipsychotic medication. We aim to better understand why some people need a different medicine (clozapine), and to develop methods that will let us identify those people early and monitor how effective the treatment is.
Neurophysiology Of Attention Deficits After Right Hemisphere Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,742.00
Summary
Stroke is a common and debilitating condition affecting thousands of Australians per year. Problems of attention are common after right hemisphere stroke and arise from lesions to multiple different brain regions. This project utilises a unique multi-modal approach to understand the neurophysiology of sensory, attentional, decision-making and motoric aspects of deficit after right hemisphere stroke and will map these objective signatures to discrete lesion locations.
Establishing The Neural Basis Of Auditory-verbal Hallucinations In Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,020.00
Summary
Auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVH) - or hearing voices when no one is talking - are characteristic and debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia. AVH have been hypothesized to reflect inner speech being misperceived as external speech. Our research team has developed an objective brain marker of inner speech. We will use this marker to determine whether AVH are caused by abnormal inner speech in people with schizophrenia. Findings will inform treatments for this incapacitating disorder.
Effects Of Electromagnetic Radiation On Visual Processing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$299,564.00
Summary
We are increasingly surrounded by devices such as mobile phones and wireless networks. The effect of this electromagnetic radiation on human physiology is still largely unknown. Recent research has shown increases in "alpha-wave" electrical activity in the human brain after exposure to mobile phone radiation, but no effect has yet been shown on human mental processes. We plan to explore the effects of the electromagnetic environment on human visual processing, using sensitive techniques that wil ....We are increasingly surrounded by devices such as mobile phones and wireless networks. The effect of this electromagnetic radiation on human physiology is still largely unknown. Recent research has shown increases in "alpha-wave" electrical activity in the human brain after exposure to mobile phone radiation, but no effect has yet been shown on human mental processes. We plan to explore the effects of the electromagnetic environment on human visual processing, using sensitive techniques that will help reveal the underlying brain processes.Read moreRead less
The LAPSE Study: Impact Of Local Sleep In The ADHD Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$621,113.00
Summary
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterised by inappropriate levels of inattention. ADHD patients also frequently experience sleep disturbances and abnormal daytime sleepiness. We will examine to what extent sleep disturbances can account for ADHD symptoms by examining if the attentional deficits associated with ADHD can be explained by a phenomenon called local sleep, whereby parts of the brain spontaneously fall asleep in the context of a globally awake brain.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea affects 800,000 Australians and cost the country billions of dollars per year. Immediate daytime consequences of OSA are neurocognitive impairments leading to 200-700% increase in accident risks and a low quality of life. Longer-term consequences include high risk for diabetes and heart disease. There are no simple tests for assessing neurocognitive impairment in OSA. The project develops an automated test to administer neurocognitive functions.