Sympathetic Control Of Cutaneous Blood Flow And Blood Pressure In Human Spinal Cord Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$242,002.00
Summary
While spinal cord injury can cause devastating changes in the nervous system paralysis and loss of sensation relatively little is known about changes to the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is intimately involved in the ongoing control of blood pressure, blood flow and temperature control. Loss of sympathetic control can occur following spinal cord injury. Interruption of descending pathways can result in partial or complete loss of sympathetic outflow from the thoracol ....While spinal cord injury can cause devastating changes in the nervous system paralysis and loss of sensation relatively little is known about changes to the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is intimately involved in the ongoing control of blood pressure, blood flow and temperature control. Loss of sympathetic control can occur following spinal cord injury. Interruption of descending pathways can result in partial or complete loss of sympathetic outflow from the thoracolumbar segments. Complete decentralization can result in autonomic dysreflexia (autonomic hyperreflexia), in which sensory stimuli originating below the lesion evoke a reflex increase in sympathetic drive to the blood vessels, causing them to constrict. Because of this, blood pressure may rise suddenly and remain at such high levels that stroke and (occassionally) cardiac arrest may occur. This phenomenon, autonomic dysreflexia, is considered a medical emergency. The typical subjective signs of autonomic dysreflexia include a throbbing headache, tingling in the head or nasal congestion; sweating and flushing above the lesion are clinical signs that prompt medical staff to measure blood pressure and to locate the source of sensory irritation (usually a distended bladder or impacted colon, sometimes a pressure sore or ingrown toenail). Commonly, however, subclinical episodes go undetected, and this phenomenon of silent dysreflexia is of increasing concern. This project will develop means of assessing the integrity and state of the sympathetic nervous system below a lesion in patients with spinal cord injury and characterize the firing properties of reflexly activated sympathetic neurones.Read moreRead less
The Effects Of Tonic Muscle Pain On The Sympathetic And Somatic Motor Systems In Human Subjects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,948.00
Summary
The main objective of this proposal is to reveal the effects of nociceptive reflexes in humans, and thus identify their functional and clinical implications. By performing invasive recordings from the nerves that control blood vessels and muscles in healthy volunteers subjected to long-lasting (~1 hour) experimental pain, this work will increase our understanding of the adaptive changes that pain induces and improve treatments to prevent pain from becoming chronic.
Central Aortic Blood Pressure In Children: Establishing A Gold Standard Non-invasive Assessment Of Cardiovascular Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$694,342.00
Summary
The best way of assessing early risk of cardiovascular disease involves measuring blood pressure near the heart (central pressure), but existing devices used in adults for this purpose are inaccurate in children. We will develop a children-specific method and apply it to study early cardiovascular risk in a comprehensive health study of 2000 children Australia-wide. We will also investigate why children with congenital heart disease frequently develop ‘older-adult’ heart disease at a young age.
FUNCTIONAL IMAGING OF THE BRAINSTEM AND CORTICAL SITES OF BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL IN HUMAN SUBJECTS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$398,498.00
Summary
Disturbances in cardiovascular control underpin many diseases yet little is known about how the brain controls the heart and blood vessels. This project uses brain imaging (fMRI) and concurrent nerve recording in awake human subjects to increase our understanding of how normal blood pressure is maintained and how different disease states influence this control.
Gender Affirmation in Childhood: Protective Factors and Strategies . This interdisciplinary study aims to explore Australian Trans and Gender Diverse (TGD) children’s experiences of affirming their gender. It is innovative methodologically for inclusion of arts-based methods with children, and multiple perspectives from TGD children (5-16), peer allies, parents, healthcare professionals and educators. TGD young people are a rapidly growing population, disproportionately affected by intentional s ....Gender Affirmation in Childhood: Protective Factors and Strategies . This interdisciplinary study aims to explore Australian Trans and Gender Diverse (TGD) children’s experiences of affirming their gender. It is innovative methodologically for inclusion of arts-based methods with children, and multiple perspectives from TGD children (5-16), peer allies, parents, healthcare professionals and educators. TGD young people are a rapidly growing population, disproportionately affected by intentional self-harm and suicidality. The project expects to generate new understandings of gender, the lived experiences of TGD children and families, and protective factors in their lives. Significant benefits should be informing theory, policy, and early interventions and co-development of resources for key stakeholders. Read moreRead less
Identifying the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse. This project aims to identify the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse, the situation factors affecting goal formation, and the relative impact of different strategies. The project will develop a novel theoretical framework by applying emotion regulation theory a new area (worsening others' emotions), testing predictions through intensive longitudinal methods, experimental studies and a cross-national ....Identifying the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse. This project aims to identify the goals and strategies people use to make others feel worse, the situation factors affecting goal formation, and the relative impact of different strategies. The project will develop a novel theoretical framework by applying emotion regulation theory a new area (worsening others' emotions), testing predictions through intensive longitudinal methods, experimental studies and a cross-national comparison of 15+ countries. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the universal psychological processes that underpin aversive interactions, enhanced capacity for international collaboration, and policy guidance. Benefits include the potential to improve programs to decrease workplace bullying and domestic violence.Read moreRead less
Country Girlhood: the meaning and experience of girlhood in rural and regional Australia. What meanings does Australian country life impose on or generate for girls, and how have these helped define both country life and girlhood in Australia? Looking at the experience of growing up in rural and regional (ie. non-metropolitan) Australia, and how governments and communities have sought to respond to and define it, this project considers how country girlhood has interacted with social policy and o ....Country Girlhood: the meaning and experience of girlhood in rural and regional Australia. What meanings does Australian country life impose on or generate for girls, and how have these helped define both country life and girlhood in Australia? Looking at the experience of growing up in rural and regional (ie. non-metropolitan) Australia, and how governments and communities have sought to respond to and define it, this project considers how country girlhood has interacted with social policy and other influences, and as a particular conjunction of age, gender, location, and community. Is there such a thing as Australian country girlhood, and how has it been shaped by or helped form Australian ways of life?Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101223
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$336,318.00
Summary
Using metacognitive self-evaluation to improve knowledge transfer. The knowledge and skills developed in the classroom often do not transfer to the workplace or even to other subjects at school. This project aims to evaluate how the transfer of knowledge can be enhanced by prompting students to evaluate and reflect on their performance in specific ways. The project will identify how different students respond to self-evaluation and how self-evaluation can most effectively be designed and applied ....Using metacognitive self-evaluation to improve knowledge transfer. The knowledge and skills developed in the classroom often do not transfer to the workplace or even to other subjects at school. This project aims to evaluate how the transfer of knowledge can be enhanced by prompting students to evaluate and reflect on their performance in specific ways. The project will identify how different students respond to self-evaluation and how self-evaluation can most effectively be designed and applied in the classroom. Newly developed self-evaluation prompts will be implemented in a computerised and adaptive way so that self-evaluation is tailored to a particular student. This project should provide a scalable and cost-effective way to help students apply what they learn in a more flexible and efficient way. Read moreRead less
Understanding and Addressing Everyday Sexisms in Australian Universities. This project aims to improve the ways in which gender-based discrimination is understood and addressed in Australian universities by employing a situated, intersectional, and creative approach to researching everyday sexisms. This project expects to use an innovative approach to generate new knowledge about everyday sexisms at the individual level and across disciplinary and university contexts. Expected outcomes include n ....Understanding and Addressing Everyday Sexisms in Australian Universities. This project aims to improve the ways in which gender-based discrimination is understood and addressed in Australian universities by employing a situated, intersectional, and creative approach to researching everyday sexisms. This project expects to use an innovative approach to generate new knowledge about everyday sexisms at the individual level and across disciplinary and university contexts. Expected outcomes include new gender equity practices that will assist universities to refine current programs, strategies, and policies capable of eliminating gender-based discrimination. This should provide significant benefits for Australian society, including women and gender diverse people working in universities.
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Sexual Technologies and Reproductive Powers. The project is to investigate the impact of the new reproductive technologies on the concepts of the sexual relation. The derivation of concepts of sexual equality, and their relation and dependence on technology will be examined. Using the theoretical perspectives of European philosophy, in conjunction with contemporary feminist philosophy, the direction of change in concepts will be investigated.