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Connectomes arising: linking structure and function in neocortical wiring. The cerebral cortex underpins human cognition, yet exactly how it becomes connected is unknown due to a lack of live developmental assays. We overcome this using prematurely born marsupials, which allow to study cortical development from embryo-like stages with remarkable resolution. This project will study how neural activity arises as the first connections are formed, and link functional and structural networks across d ....Connectomes arising: linking structure and function in neocortical wiring. The cerebral cortex underpins human cognition, yet exactly how it becomes connected is unknown due to a lack of live developmental assays. We overcome this using prematurely born marsupials, which allow to study cortical development from embryo-like stages with remarkable resolution. This project will study how neural activity arises as the first connections are formed, and link functional and structural networks across development in vivo. Experimental manipulations of activity, and computational models will discover developmental rules for precise wiring of cortical connections. Benefits include new methods to study cortical development, and outlining electrical, molecular and neuroanatomical signatures of early mammalian brain formation.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms that regulate the kinetics of neurotransmitter release. Information processing in the human brain plays important roles in normal behaviour and cognition, most of which require rapid and precisely timed neurotransmitter release. However, the molecular mechanisms that control the speed and timing of this release remain largely unclear. This research project will use a novel mix of electrophysiology, electron microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, and imaging to investigate how t ....Molecular mechanisms that regulate the kinetics of neurotransmitter release. Information processing in the human brain plays important roles in normal behaviour and cognition, most of which require rapid and precisely timed neurotransmitter release. However, the molecular mechanisms that control the speed and timing of this release remain largely unclear. This research project will use a novel mix of electrophysiology, electron microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, and imaging to investigate how the speed of neurotransmitter release is controlled by the most important synaptic protein UNC-13 and its binding partners. This project expects to generate significant knowledge in the area of synaptic transmission. The outcomes will deepen our understanding of neuronal communication and information processing in the brain.Read moreRead less
Brain states and their roles in evasive behaviour. Using cutting-edge custom microscopy, neuroinformatics, and optogenetics in the larval zebrafish model, this project aims to describe the neurons, circuits, and networks that govern brain states. These brain states, by altering sensory-response relationships, allow animals to tune their behaviour to their circumstances, and the small transparent brains of zebrafish offer the possibility to observe activity across all neurons in the brain while t ....Brain states and their roles in evasive behaviour. Using cutting-edge custom microscopy, neuroinformatics, and optogenetics in the larval zebrafish model, this project aims to describe the neurons, circuits, and networks that govern brain states. These brain states, by altering sensory-response relationships, allow animals to tune their behaviour to their circumstances, and the small transparent brains of zebrafish offer the possibility to observe activity across all neurons in the brain while these processes occur in real time. Benefits would include knowledge gained about this fundamental property of the brain, further refinement of technologies in microscopy and biophyisics, and the training of Australia’s next generation of optical physicists, neuroscientists, and mathematicians. Read moreRead less
Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an ....Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an animal health and production problem in the life of the commercial pig. This project will generate new knowledge on early life management to endow stress resilience in pigs, with expected benefits for animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability.Read moreRead less
Becoming expert navigators with tiny brains: Learning in desert ants. Desert ants with tiny brains learn to use their surrounding visual landscape to navigate. This project investigates in detail how they do that in a few carefully orchestrated trips around their nest called learning walks. Desert ants are known now to use magnetic cues to orient during their learning walks. The project also probes the role that magnetic cues play in the ants’ learning, as well as the sensory basis of the percep ....Becoming expert navigators with tiny brains: Learning in desert ants. Desert ants with tiny brains learn to use their surrounding visual landscape to navigate. This project investigates in detail how they do that in a few carefully orchestrated trips around their nest called learning walks. Desert ants are known now to use magnetic cues to orient during their learning walks. The project also probes the role that magnetic cues play in the ants’ learning, as well as the sensory basis of the perception of magnetic cues. Geomagnetic cues in the area of the nest will be artificially manipulated to test how ants use this cue. Probing the use of magnetic cues has potential benefits for projects of artificial autonomous navigation in situations when visual cues are unavailable, such as exploring a deep mine.
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Mapping a complete visual circuit in zebrafish. Our senses perceive the outside world and permit appropriate behaviours, but the underlying brain circuits are poorly understood. This project will use new technologies to observe all active brain cells in zebrafish during the important behaviour of visual predator avoidance and characterise the underlying circuits comprehensively. This approach's significance is in its breadth, spanning functional imaging, anatomy, computational modelling, and beh ....Mapping a complete visual circuit in zebrafish. Our senses perceive the outside world and permit appropriate behaviours, but the underlying brain circuits are poorly understood. This project will use new technologies to observe all active brain cells in zebrafish during the important behaviour of visual predator avoidance and characterise the underlying circuits comprehensively. This approach's significance is in its breadth, spanning functional imaging, anatomy, computational modelling, and behaviour, with the major outcome of producing the first complete map of a visual behaviour at the level of brain circuits and the individual brain cells composing them. Benefits will include new insights into visual processing and the refinement of new genetic, optical, and informatics approaches.Read moreRead less
Neuronal Control of Adaptive Walking. This project seeks to understand how signals from the brain control motor circuits so that an animal can adaptively walk across varying terrains in pursuit of its ever-changing goals. It will focus on the fruit fly, Drosophila, as a model. The fly is an agile walker, its nervous system has been almost fully mapped at the synaptic level, and genetic reagents are available to selectively measure or manipulate the activity of single neurons. This project specif ....Neuronal Control of Adaptive Walking. This project seeks to understand how signals from the brain control motor circuits so that an animal can adaptively walk across varying terrains in pursuit of its ever-changing goals. It will focus on the fruit fly, Drosophila, as a model. The fly is an agile walker, its nervous system has been almost fully mapped at the synaptic level, and genetic reagents are available to selectively measure or manipulate the activity of single neurons. This project specifically focuses on the circuits that generate forward and backward walking, and switch between the two. It will enhance Australia's capacity in connectome-driven neuroscience research, deliver fundamental insights into neuronal motor control, and inspire the design of more agile robots.Read moreRead less
The physics and biology of hearing in larval fish. Using the zebrafish model and an array of cutting-edge biophysics and neuroscience tools, this project aims to provide the first complete map of a functioning auditory system. This is significant because it has previously been impossible to study the brain at the levels of single cells, circuits, and brain-wide networks simultaneously. Expected outcomes include detailed descriptions of information flow through a simple brain and the ways that br ....The physics and biology of hearing in larval fish. Using the zebrafish model and an array of cutting-edge biophysics and neuroscience tools, this project aims to provide the first complete map of a functioning auditory system. This is significant because it has previously been impossible to study the brain at the levels of single cells, circuits, and brain-wide networks simultaneously. Expected outcomes include detailed descriptions of information flow through a simple brain and the ways that brain cells and circuits communicate to process information. Benefits include knowledge gained about sensory systems in nature, future biomimetic approaches for information processing, and the training of the next generation of Australian researchers in cutting edge optical physics and neuroscience.Read moreRead less
Overcoming limits of miniaturisation to enhance spatial memory capacities. Ensuring optimal efficiency at the smallest possible physical limit is a challenge for technical systems, which has been elegantly solved by biological systems. This project aims to identify how insects with miniature brains enhance their memory capacities. It will leverage previous ARC funded research on navigation of Australian ants and apply sophisticated analytical tools to quantify the neural connectivity in the brai ....Overcoming limits of miniaturisation to enhance spatial memory capacities. Ensuring optimal efficiency at the smallest possible physical limit is a challenge for technical systems, which has been elegantly solved by biological systems. This project aims to identify how insects with miniature brains enhance their memory capacities. It will leverage previous ARC funded research on navigation of Australian ants and apply sophisticated analytical tools to quantify the neural connectivity in the brain in the context of spatial memory. Expected outcomes include understanding how expensive neural tissue can be miniaturised for efficient spatial navigation, identifying the consequences of miniaturisation for developing miniature and autonomous agents, enhancing research capacity and institutional collaborations.Read moreRead less
Ecological role of sleep in maintaining optimal brain function in birds. This project aims to explain the function of sleep. Sleep is thought to maintain optimal brain functioning to support waking cognition. Nearly all sleep research is laboratory-based, which fails to realistically capture how animals benefit from sleep. Ecologists treat sleep as a simple behaviour, instead of as a heterogeneous neurophysiological state, while neuroscientists generally fail to appreciate the insights ecologica ....Ecological role of sleep in maintaining optimal brain function in birds. This project aims to explain the function of sleep. Sleep is thought to maintain optimal brain functioning to support waking cognition. Nearly all sleep research is laboratory-based, which fails to realistically capture how animals benefit from sleep. Ecologists treat sleep as a simple behaviour, instead of as a heterogeneous neurophysiological state, while neuroscientists generally fail to appreciate the insights ecological and evolutionary systems offer. This project adopts a cross-disciplinary approach, bringing together animal behaviour, ecology, evolution, anthropogenic disturbance and sleep neurophysiology. By doing so, the project will add a new dimension of understanding on the functions of sleep.Read moreRead less