The Effect Of Oxytocin On The Formation, Expression And Inhibition Of Fear Memories
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,243.00
Summary
Oxytocin is a hormone peptide which reduces amygdala activation to threatening stimuli and reduces anxiety in people and laboratory rodents. These results suggest that oxytocin could be a valuable pharmacological adjunct to exposure-based therapy for anxiety disorders. However, several questions must be answered before its therapeutic potential can be determined. As such, this project examines the effects of oxytocin on fear-related behaviours in rats, and neural fear circuits in the amygdala.
How the brain learns and uses inhibitory predictions. Humans and other animals readily learn about cues and actions that predict the absence of important events. Yet, how and where such inhibitory predictions are processed in the mammalian brain remains unclear. This project aims to demonstrate that inhibitory predictions are generally encoded and retrieved in the medial prefrontal cortex, without any detailed information about the absent events. It combines a unique behavioural approach with th ....How the brain learns and uses inhibitory predictions. Humans and other animals readily learn about cues and actions that predict the absence of important events. Yet, how and where such inhibitory predictions are processed in the mammalian brain remains unclear. This project aims to demonstrate that inhibitory predictions are generally encoded and retrieved in the medial prefrontal cortex, without any detailed information about the absent events. It combines a unique behavioural approach with the latest tools for manipulation of brain activity in behaving rodents. The project expects to generate new insights into how the mammalian brain extracts inhibitory predictions from the environment to guide our behaviours and decisions in the most optimal way.Read moreRead less
Understanding Growth in Emotion Regulatory Flexibility in Emerging Adults. Emerging adults (ages 18-25) are now facing unparalleled social and technological change and the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such demands can be overwhelming and undermine engagement with education and employment, with serious impacts for the individual and society. At the same time, our novel model proposes that the diverse daily adult-like stressors that characterise emerging adulthood can also drive grow ....Understanding Growth in Emotion Regulatory Flexibility in Emerging Adults. Emerging adults (ages 18-25) are now facing unparalleled social and technological change and the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such demands can be overwhelming and undermine engagement with education and employment, with serious impacts for the individual and society. At the same time, our novel model proposes that the diverse daily adult-like stressors that characterise emerging adulthood can also drive growth in flexible emotion regulation when combined with reflection on, and insight into, their own coping processes. Our research expands scientific knowledge by taking the first steps to uncover why some emerging adults increase their ability to flexibly regulate their emotions over this period, whereas others fail to do so.Read moreRead less
From me to you and beyond: understanding socially-induced nocebo effects. Nocebo effects – when negative expectancies trigger adverse outcomes – cause enormous personal and societal harm. We have made great progress understanding how instruction and conditioning contribute to nocebo effects. Yet, the role of social learning – what we learn by observing others – has received surprisingly little attention despite its relevance to many prominent societal-level nocebo effects. The current project us ....From me to you and beyond: understanding socially-induced nocebo effects. Nocebo effects – when negative expectancies trigger adverse outcomes – cause enormous personal and societal harm. We have made great progress understanding how instruction and conditioning contribute to nocebo effects. Yet, the role of social learning – what we learn by observing others – has received surprisingly little attention despite its relevance to many prominent societal-level nocebo effects. The current project uses novel experimental methods to understand how social learning contributes to nocebo effects and which strategies inhibit these effects. The results will significantly advance scientific understanding of socially-induced nocebo effects and pave the way for translational research to reduce the substantial harm they cause.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,154.00
Summary
Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build interna ....Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build international collaborations, and ecologically valid methods for measuring pain interpretation. This research forms a solid platform for further translational research, to build novel, scalable interventions to improve outcomes for the one in five Australians living with chronic pain.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100061
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,147,256.00
Summary
Literacy in adolescence: The next major challenge in the science of reading. This project aims to address the pressing problem of why Australian secondary school children have been declining in literacy. To do so is crucial, since adolescence is a period when strong literacy is critical for knowledge acquisition and preparation for adult life. The project will use a range of theoretically-informed methods to scrutinise cognitive processes in adolescent reading, as well as identify interactions b ....Literacy in adolescence: The next major challenge in the science of reading. This project aims to address the pressing problem of why Australian secondary school children have been declining in literacy. To do so is crucial, since adolescence is a period when strong literacy is critical for knowledge acquisition and preparation for adult life. The project will use a range of theoretically-informed methods to scrutinise cognitive processes in adolescent reading, as well as identify interactions between reading progress and socio-emotional functioning and motivation. Expected outcomes will be the first comprehensive account of secondary school reading acquisition and new insights into how to optimise progress. These will inform research, policy, and reading instruction practice, to the benefit of Australia's children.Read moreRead less