The Claustrum Enigma: Unlocking The Role Of The Last Unknown Area Of The Primate Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$558,364.00
Summary
Despite nearly 200 years of study, the function of the claustrum remains unclear. Interest in this brain structure has recently been revived by findings showing damage to the claustrum in several major diseases, and by the suggestion that the claustrum may have a role in consciousness. Here we propose a series of experiments to test the novel hypothesis that the claustrum is part of the default mode network, a group of brain areas that act together when we aren't thinking about anything in parti ....Despite nearly 200 years of study, the function of the claustrum remains unclear. Interest in this brain structure has recently been revived by findings showing damage to the claustrum in several major diseases, and by the suggestion that the claustrum may have a role in consciousness. Here we propose a series of experiments to test the novel hypothesis that the claustrum is part of the default mode network, a group of brain areas that act together when we aren't thinking about anything in particular, that is- most of the time.Read moreRead less
SENSORIMOTOR AND AUTONOMIC DYSREGULATION IN HEREDITARY SENSORY AND AUTONOMIC NEUROPATHIES
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$50,406.00
Summary
Specific genetic mutations can lead to widespread changes in the body. Here we are looking at the congenital Hereditary and Sensory Autonomic Neuropathies, the most common of which primarily affects Eastern European Jews. Affected individuals have difficulty walking and controlling their blood pressure, and also have an indifference to pain. This series of experiments aims to increase our understanding of the underlying neurophysiological disturbances.
Understanding Cortical Circuitry Underlying Sensory Integration And The Consequence Of Its Developmental Disruption
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$527,395.00
Summary
The mammalian neocortex is organised into six layers with a systematic pattern of wiring that relies on normal development and balanced activity of neurons. This project combines developmental, electrophysiological, optogenetic behavioural, and computational methods to establish how the properties of the precise structure of cortical circuits impact their function and how disruptions in the balanced activity during development affect circuit formation and function in the mature brain.
Stimulant laxatives are widely used and usually very effective in the short term, but how they work is very poorly understood. Our recent work has shown that they selectively excite sensory pathways from the colon which then trigger defaecation. This points to an undiscovered mechanism that potently affects colonic sensation and motility. This is likely to be a target for new treatments for other colonic disorders such as Irritable bowel syndrome and faecal incontinence.
Promoting Regrowth Of Nerve Fibres Into The Epidermis During Diabetic Neuropathy By LRP Agonists
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,102.00
Summary
Nerve damage can develop post injury or disease and is often very debilitating, slow to heal and can cause increased pain. Our work aims to examine a new class of molecules that we show can activate selected fat-receptors on nerve cells to guide the growth of regenerating nerves. We will determine how these receptors function with the aim of developing a novel class of therapeutics directed at healing nerve damage.
Neuronal Substrate Of Choice In The Rat Whisker System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$405,851.00
Summary
Humans and other animals can optimise their goal-directed behaviour by linking stimuli or actions to consequent positive and negative rewards. How does an animal generate such associations, and make decisions in the natural environment where the associations are often uncertain, at times contradictory, and continuously changing? This project uses rat whisker system as an animal model to identify the neuronal basis of perceptual decision making and the role of context.
How Intestinal Motility Activates Sensory Pathways
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,875.00
Summary
Pain and discomfort from the gut are common and unpleasant. We understand how gut sensory nerve cells work, at the cellular, molecular and genetic level. However, movement of the gut wall and contents are the major cause of activation of sensory neurons. We know little about which particular patterns of movement cause pain. This is crucial information for accurately diagnosing human gut disorders, for monitoring effectiveness of treatments and for identifying potential new drug targets.
Chronic inflammation underlies common and debilitating diseases and causes pain by unknown mechanisms. There is an urgent need to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of chronic pain, which will allow the development of improved therapies with fewer side-effects. Our research program investigates the mechanisms of pain that are associated with inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, with the goal of developing more effective and selective therapies.
Unlocking Hidden Cancer Drivers Using Transcriptome Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,473.00
Summary
New sequencing technologies allow us to get an unbiased look at the molecular signalling in a tumour. However this information is very complex and need specialised methods in statistic and computation in order to make new discoveries. Here will will develop analysis methods to find novel transcriptional variants in cancer and then test them in the lab in order to understand if our discoveries are responsible for causing cancer.
Development And Application Of A Mendelian Randomization Framework Aimed At Dissecting The Biological Basis Of Ankylosing Spondylitis And Other Complex Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$279,666.00
Summary
Our aim is to identify genes and biological molecules that cause a type of autoimmune arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis. Our approach involves finding combinations of genes that are related to biological molecules of interest and then testing to see whether the gene combination is also related to risk of disease. We hope that our strategy will lead to new drug treatments targeting the condition.