Old brain cells perform new tricks to allow life-long learning. In the brain, nerve cells transmit electrical signals more quickly and reliably when they are insulated. The insulating cells undergo small adaptive changes that speed up information transfer during learning, and the faster the electrical signal, the better the learning outcomes. This project aims to understand the signals that direct insulating cells to adapt and support life-long learning. In the longer term, this knowledge may be ....Old brain cells perform new tricks to allow life-long learning. In the brain, nerve cells transmit electrical signals more quickly and reliably when they are insulated. The insulating cells undergo small adaptive changes that speed up information transfer during learning, and the faster the electrical signal, the better the learning outcomes. This project aims to understand the signals that direct insulating cells to adapt and support life-long learning. In the longer term, this knowledge may be used to: develop interventions that improve learning and educational outcomes; counteract age-related memory decline and enable longer work force participation; develop strategies to circumvent the memory loss caused by brain diseases, or improve the design of computer hardware.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882701
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Establishment of a confocal/multiphoton microscope for imaging of living systems. This facility will allow us to study the dynamic changes in living systems, from the smallest unicellular organisms in the ocean through to the sophisticated neural networks of the living brain. Not only will this imaging facility allow us to understand how living systems work, we will also be able to explore the dynamic changes that underlie human disease and injury.