Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to ....Listen and learn - statistical learning and the adapting auditory brain. This project aims to explore the link between rapid neural adaptation - a form of learning referred to as statistical learning - and human listening performance in noisy environments. The project aims to generate a new understanding of mechanisms that contribute to listeners' abilities to understand speech in noise, and to complex communication disorders such as dyslexia. Expected outcomes will include increased capacity to investigate a broad range of cognitive and communication functions. Benefits will include potential technologies and algorithms to assist listening (in devices such as hearing aids), language development and reading.Read moreRead less
Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project ....Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project is to address this deficiency by measuring the patterns of neural activity evoked by speech sounds across the tonotopic axis in the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex and assess the extent to which the pattern of neural activity allows discrimination between the different speech sounds.Read moreRead less
Novel mechanisms for regulating the retinal vasculature. Tight control of the retinal vasculature is crucial for maintaining normal vision. Unlike most blood vessels in the body, those in the retina and brain receive no direct neural control. Rather they rely on support cells to communicate the needs of neurons. This project aims to examine the mechanisms by which resident immune cells, called microglia, regulate retinal capillaries in response to neural activity. New knowledge examining a novel ....Novel mechanisms for regulating the retinal vasculature. Tight control of the retinal vasculature is crucial for maintaining normal vision. Unlike most blood vessels in the body, those in the retina and brain receive no direct neural control. Rather they rely on support cells to communicate the needs of neurons. This project aims to examine the mechanisms by which resident immune cells, called microglia, regulate retinal capillaries in response to neural activity. New knowledge examining a novel mechanism will be generated. This information is crucial for enhancing our understanding of how blood vessels are controlled in the retina and brain and will guide the development of novel ways of examining blood vessel function.Read moreRead less
Neural plasticity in older adult human vision. This project aims to expand our understanding of age related changes in brain function, specifically plasticity. The project will increase knowledge of the role of an inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in visual plasticity. Expected outcomes include new knowledge regarding the regulation of brain function in adulthood, enabling future research and planning for societal benefit to older Australia.
Neuronal origin of functional maps on the mammalian visual cortex. This project aims to study how the brain processes images. Basic features of objects in the visual scene seem to be coded on the visual cortex in an orderly way. By recording neurones’ electrical activity in a mammalian brain, this project aims to study how such organisation is determined at the neuronal level, namely how the individual nerves and synapses that form the brain and process the signals are organised to form the over ....Neuronal origin of functional maps on the mammalian visual cortex. This project aims to study how the brain processes images. Basic features of objects in the visual scene seem to be coded on the visual cortex in an orderly way. By recording neurones’ electrical activity in a mammalian brain, this project aims to study how such organisation is determined at the neuronal level, namely how the individual nerves and synapses that form the brain and process the signals are organised to form the overall functional architecture visible at a macroscopic level. This understanding could realise the basis of normal visual perception in robotic vision and brain-machine interfaces.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100108
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,409,738.00
Summary
How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. Spatial hearing is necessary for locating the source of a sound, and critical for communication in noisy listening conditions. The object of this project is to determine how the mammalian brain, including in human listeners, represents sensitivity to interaural time differences, one of the two binaural cues, and how this representation is transformed from the brainstem to the cortex. Anticipated out ....How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. Spatial hearing is necessary for locating the source of a sound, and critical for communication in noisy listening conditions. The object of this project is to determine how the mammalian brain, including in human listeners, represents sensitivity to interaural time differences, one of the two binaural cues, and how this representation is transformed from the brainstem to the cortex. Anticipated outcomes include a coherent model of binaural hearing that links cellular, systems and perceptual investigations, and an understanding of the human auditory brain that should facilitate novel technologies and interventions to improve hearing function.Read moreRead less
Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the funct ....Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the functional organisation of the sensory cortex at a level never previously possible in the living human brain. This will provide new understanding of the neural-level networks that underpin attention and touch perception in the human brain.Read moreRead less
From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden ....From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden behind another object. This project will investigate how brains use both environmental and internal information to select a target and predict its future location. By implementing bio-inspired computations in hardware, this project aims to provide significant benefits such as improving autonomous systems for defence, health and transportation.Read moreRead less
The neural dynamics of real-time processing in the brain. The aim of this project is to investigate a new model for predictive coding of sensory processing in the brain in which the brain compensates for the time delays in neural transmission by maintaining a real-time temporal alignment of the neural activity. This results in a representation of sensory information that is aligned in time across the cortex, offering a new fundamental principle for how the brain functions in a highly dynamic wor ....The neural dynamics of real-time processing in the brain. The aim of this project is to investigate a new model for predictive coding of sensory processing in the brain in which the brain compensates for the time delays in neural transmission by maintaining a real-time temporal alignment of the neural activity. This results in a representation of sensory information that is aligned in time across the cortex, offering a new fundamental principle for how the brain functions in a highly dynamic world whose outcomes would provide a deeper understanding of brain function. It could also have profound significance for artificial intelligence and brain-inspired technologies, as well as benefit neural sensory prostheses and brain-machine interfaces.Read moreRead less
Building a visual world: how brain circuits create and use representations. This project aims to demonstrate the presence, computation, and use of an invariant representation for texture structure. The proposed approach is interdisciplinary and combines image analysis, electrophysiology, optogenetics and computational modelling.
Expected outcomes of this project include learning how neurons encode properties of natural images, defining a novel computational tool for analysis of textures, and ne ....Building a visual world: how brain circuits create and use representations. This project aims to demonstrate the presence, computation, and use of an invariant representation for texture structure. The proposed approach is interdisciplinary and combines image analysis, electrophysiology, optogenetics and computational modelling.
Expected outcomes of this project include learning how neurons encode properties of natural images, defining a novel computational tool for analysis of textures, and new knowledge of how multiple brain areas work together to represent the visual world. This should provide significant benefits for the development of artificial visual systems, and impact on brain research broadly by increasing the number of tools available to predict complex representations at the cellular level.Read moreRead less