The role of prediction error in extinction. The project will provide information about the mechanisms by which organisms adjust their behaviour to bring it into line with new relations between events. It will also provide information regarding the mechanisms underlying cue exposure used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It will result in publications in peer reviewed journals, and in presentations at University colloquia and conferences in Australia and overseas that will add to the reputat ....The role of prediction error in extinction. The project will provide information about the mechanisms by which organisms adjust their behaviour to bring it into line with new relations between events. It will also provide information regarding the mechanisms underlying cue exposure used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It will result in publications in peer reviewed journals, and in presentations at University colloquia and conferences in Australia and overseas that will add to the reputation for science and its applications to the clinic. It will form part of the work in my laboratory where Honours and Doctoral students receive training in behavioural neuroscience.Read moreRead less
The neural substrates of attentional learning in Pavlovian conditioning. Current psychological theories use error correction mechanisms to explain the development of normal fear, exaggerated fear and the failure to develop fear. One class of theory proposes that these mechanisms produce such outcomes by determining the allocation of attention. Mechanisms for attentional learning have yet to be incorporated into neurobiological treatments of learned fear. This project will identify the neurobiolo ....The neural substrates of attentional learning in Pavlovian conditioning. Current psychological theories use error correction mechanisms to explain the development of normal fear, exaggerated fear and the failure to develop fear. One class of theory proposes that these mechanisms produce such outcomes by determining the allocation of attention. Mechanisms for attentional learning have yet to be incorporated into neurobiological treatments of learned fear. This project will identify the neurobiological substrate of attentional learning and thus further our understanding of the neurobiology of fear. This understanding is necessary for the development of more effective treatments of disorders of fear (e.g., Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).Read moreRead less
Latent inhibition: Behavioural characteristics and neural substrates. Latent inhibition is an animal model of schizophrenia. It refers to the impairment in learned performance when a pre-exposed stimulus signals something of importance. The initial learning interferes with the subsequent learning. This effect fails to occur in schizophrenics but occurs after their treatment with antipsychotic medication. The project will provide the basis for a comprehensive theory of the processes involved in t ....Latent inhibition: Behavioural characteristics and neural substrates. Latent inhibition is an animal model of schizophrenia. It refers to the impairment in learned performance when a pre-exposed stimulus signals something of importance. The initial learning interferes with the subsequent learning. This effect fails to occur in schizophrenics but occurs after their treatment with antipsychotic medication. The project will provide the basis for a comprehensive theory of the processes involved in the effect and their neural substrates. Such a theory will clarify the processes and neural substrates disrupted in schizophrenia. Students will receive training in behavioural neuroscience, and publication of results in journals and presentations at conferences will add to the reputation of Australian science.Read moreRead less
Mobile computation in human perception and feature binding. Perception is so complex that still we cannot give computers more than a fraction of the human ability to perceive things. Experiments with humans can unravel the computations that underlie human abilities. Here we focus on distinguishing between perceptual mechanisms that analyze information from only patches of the visual world and those that combine information from across the visual field as an object moves across it. Results should ....Mobile computation in human perception and feature binding. Perception is so complex that still we cannot give computers more than a fraction of the human ability to perceive things. Experiments with humans can unravel the computations that underlie human abilities. Here we focus on distinguishing between perceptual mechanisms that analyze information from only patches of the visual world and those that combine information from across the visual field as an object moves across it. Results should also help to understand the general issue of how the brain combines information from different groups of neurons. Australian understanding of brains should be advanced, benefiting neuroscience, medicine, and eventually computer science.Read moreRead less
Empathy, Attention and Reasoning: The role of automatic and controlled processing in emotion recognition following traumatic brain injury. Traumatically brain injured adults have difficulty identifying emotional facial expressions but little is known regarding their psychophysiological reactions to emotional expression, the efficacy of their visual search patterns of facial features or the extent to which they engage conscious processing and problem solving to assist interpretation. Nor is anyth ....Empathy, Attention and Reasoning: The role of automatic and controlled processing in emotion recognition following traumatic brain injury. Traumatically brain injured adults have difficulty identifying emotional facial expressions but little is known regarding their psychophysiological reactions to emotional expression, the efficacy of their visual search patterns of facial features or the extent to which they engage conscious processing and problem solving to assist interpretation. Nor is anything known about their ability to recognise dynamic emotional displays compared to photographs. This project examines each of these facets using static and dynamic portrayals. The project will inform neuropsychological theories of facial processing, test the ecological validity of previous research and improve understanding of psychosocial deficits after TBI and their treatment.Read moreRead less
Long-term memory systems and the human brain. Impairment of memory is a ubiquitous feature of human brain disease. A better understanding of memory processing in the brain is key to the development of better tests for the detection and monitoring of disease progression as well as the application of improved methods of rehabilitation for patients with acquired brain injury. This project will provide the catalyst for the development of a National Memory Disorders Research Centre that would be the ....Long-term memory systems and the human brain. Impairment of memory is a ubiquitous feature of human brain disease. A better understanding of memory processing in the brain is key to the development of better tests for the detection and monitoring of disease progression as well as the application of improved methods of rehabilitation for patients with acquired brain injury. This project will provide the catalyst for the development of a National Memory Disorders Research Centre that would be the focus for multidisciplinary cognitive neuroscience research. The ultimate aim would be the translation of basic neuroscience into effective tools that will impact the health outcome of the ageing population.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
Infrastructure for an integrated cognitive neurophysiological research facility: Mapping the neurobiology of memory and language. The Integrated Cognitive Neurophysiological Research Facility will enhance Australia's national research capacity in cognitive neuroscience by enabling large numbers of researchers and graduate students to investigate the neuroscience of memory and language in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research environment. The facility will deliver national benefits by unco ....Infrastructure for an integrated cognitive neurophysiological research facility: Mapping the neurobiology of memory and language. The Integrated Cognitive Neurophysiological Research Facility will enhance Australia's national research capacity in cognitive neuroscience by enabling large numbers of researchers and graduate students to investigate the neuroscience of memory and language in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research environment. The facility will deliver national benefits by uncovering the ways in which areas of the brain are used to remember events and process language. This information can then be used to understand how damage to the brain (such as in stroke or disease) can disrupt memory and language and subsequently lead to more effective neurorehabilitation techniques.Read moreRead less
Prefrontal and medial temporal lobe cortices' interactions to episodic long-term memory. Current models of episodic memory in humans are incomplete. They mostly consider only one of the two brain systems known to be critical to this cognitive ability. This project will propose the first comprehensive model of episodic memory and, in doing so, will advance our knowledge of human memory systems and will maintain Australian research competitiveness in a domain that is fast evolving. This research c ....Prefrontal and medial temporal lobe cortices' interactions to episodic long-term memory. Current models of episodic memory in humans are incomplete. They mostly consider only one of the two brain systems known to be critical to this cognitive ability. This project will propose the first comprehensive model of episodic memory and, in doing so, will advance our knowledge of human memory systems and will maintain Australian research competitiveness in a domain that is fast evolving. This research contributes to ageing well, ageing productively. Because memory deficits are becoming increasingly common in our ageing population and may represent a sign of dementia, accurate evaluation of episodic memory integrity is essential.Read moreRead less
The role of the prefrontal cortex in responding to a changing world. This proposal will test a novel theory of frontal brain function that emphasises the contrasting role of two regions of the prefrontal cortex in dealing with the changing nature of the world. It will provide novel insights in the the psychology and neural underpinnings of the control of behaviour. This will add to our basic knowledge of brain function, feeding into our understanding of human mental disorders such as schizophren ....The role of the prefrontal cortex in responding to a changing world. This proposal will test a novel theory of frontal brain function that emphasises the contrasting role of two regions of the prefrontal cortex in dealing with the changing nature of the world. It will provide novel insights in the the psychology and neural underpinnings of the control of behaviour. This will add to our basic knowledge of brain function, feeding into our understanding of human mental disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia. It will also provide training in psychology and behavioural neuroscience for Honours and Doctoral students.Read moreRead less
Human long-term memory and social cognition: an integrated cognitive neuroscience approach. Impairment of memory is a ubiquitous feature of the dementias and a better understanding of memory processing in the brain is key to the development of better tests for the early detection and monitoring of disease progression. The study of social cognition is relevant to a range of developmental, psychiatric and neurological disorders. This project will provide the catalyst for the development of a Natio ....Human long-term memory and social cognition: an integrated cognitive neuroscience approach. Impairment of memory is a ubiquitous feature of the dementias and a better understanding of memory processing in the brain is key to the development of better tests for the early detection and monitoring of disease progression. The study of social cognition is relevant to a range of developmental, psychiatric and neurological disorders. This project will provide the catalyst for the development of a National Memory and Cognitive Disorders Centre that would be the focus for multidisciplinary cognitive neuroscience research. The ultimate aim would be the translation of basic neuroscience into effective tools that will impact the health outcomes of the ageing population.Read moreRead less