How does dopamine modulate adult new word learning? Stroke is a chronic disease of increasing prevalence with increasing age. There is a critical need to develop more effective treatments of communication disorders in this population. One way of achieving this is to combine certain drugs with language therapy. Through studying how these drugs influence language, this research will provide vital knowledge for developing effective forms of pharmacotherapy for adults with language disorders after b ....How does dopamine modulate adult new word learning? Stroke is a chronic disease of increasing prevalence with increasing age. There is a critical need to develop more effective treatments of communication disorders in this population. One way of achieving this is to combine certain drugs with language therapy. Through studying how these drugs influence language, this research will provide vital knowledge for developing effective forms of pharmacotherapy for adults with language disorders after brain injury. More effective language rehabilitation can have direct positive consequences on the ability to regain and maintain employment and social relationships after stroke or brain injury and will address the large and growing social and economic cost to the nation.Read moreRead less
A functional imaging study of semantic processing modulated by dopamine. The role of dopamine in language processing is largely unknown, despite emerging evidence that dopaminergic alterations can modulate language in schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and healthy individuals. The research aims to reveal the neural and behavioural correlates of dopaminergic modulation of semantic processing using neuroimaging in healthy individuals who have ingested levodopa. It is hypothesised that levodopa wi ....A functional imaging study of semantic processing modulated by dopamine. The role of dopamine in language processing is largely unknown, despite emerging evidence that dopaminergic alterations can modulate language in schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and healthy individuals. The research aims to reveal the neural and behavioural correlates of dopaminergic modulation of semantic processing using neuroimaging in healthy individuals who have ingested levodopa. It is hypothesised that levodopa will modulate brain activity under circumstances where there is heightened semantic competition, consistent with a contemporary theory of dopaminergic cognitive control. The expected outcome of the research is an increased understanding of the interactions between dopamine, the language faculty, and associated neural systems.Read moreRead less
How the brain produces speech. Speech production is a fundamental ability that enables human interaction through language. Brain injuries impair this ability, with profound negative consequences for the individual and their immediate family and friends. This project will increase our understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in producing speech by using state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques. The findings will inform future clinical research and improve the advice given to clinicians, pa ....How the brain produces speech. Speech production is a fundamental ability that enables human interaction through language. Brain injuries impair this ability, with profound negative consequences for the individual and their immediate family and friends. This project will increase our understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in producing speech by using state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques. The findings will inform future clinical research and improve the advice given to clinicians, patients and the broader community about the nature of language production and its impairments and ultimately the treatment of speech disorders.Read moreRead less
The Ins and Outs of the Central Bottleneck. Humans display severe capacity limitations at multiple levels of information processing. When considering, with modern technological advances, the amount of multitasking one is called upon to do in every day life (e.g., talking on a hands-free mobile phone device and driving) it is vital to understand what stages of information processing interfere with one another. The present work will extend our knowledge regarding which cognitive operations can be ....The Ins and Outs of the Central Bottleneck. Humans display severe capacity limitations at multiple levels of information processing. When considering, with modern technological advances, the amount of multitasking one is called upon to do in every day life (e.g., talking on a hands-free mobile phone device and driving) it is vital to understand what stages of information processing interfere with one another. The present work will extend our knowledge regarding which cognitive operations can be performed concurrently without impairment. In addition, it will help us better understand processing limitations that have been linked to a variety of clinical groups such as those suffering from schizophrenia and mood disorders.Read moreRead less
Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It wi ....Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It will have a substantial national benefit because it will increase our understanding of this insidious social phenomenon and provide a basis for developing an intervention that will minimise a problem that has the potential to devastate community relations.
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Enhancing Language Learning in Ageing With Exercise. This project aims to determine if exercise improves language learning and consolidation in ageing. There is now compelling evidence for the benefits of exercise on cognition in older adults, however, it is unclear whether exercise improves age-related language problems. The project plans to examine exercise-induced changes in brain activity and biomarkers in an innovative set of studies that seeks to identify the brain mechanisms involved. The ....Enhancing Language Learning in Ageing With Exercise. This project aims to determine if exercise improves language learning and consolidation in ageing. There is now compelling evidence for the benefits of exercise on cognition in older adults, however, it is unclear whether exercise improves age-related language problems. The project plans to examine exercise-induced changes in brain activity and biomarkers in an innovative set of studies that seeks to identify the brain mechanisms involved. The findings are expected to contribute to theories of word learning and cognitive ageing and should advance our understanding of how exercise may be harnessed to optimise language and cognition. This would have practical applications in a range of populations with language and learning difficulties.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By ge ....ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By generating an explosion of new approaches and knowledge, the network will build Australia's reputation as a leader in communication science and technology via advances in automatic speech recognition, distress call monitoring, hearing prostheses, web interfaces, and data retrieval and data mining systems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101119
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The critical executive processes involved in translating ideas into spoken language for conversational speech. This project will investigate the critical cognitive pathways, and supporting brain areas, involved in speaking for meaning. This will enable better diagnosis of communication disorders in neurological conditions, such as stroke, and identification of methods for delaying dementia by maintaining and enhancing conversational skills in older adults.
The Control of Memory Access. The topic of control processes in memory access is central to most of the big questions about human memory such as; why we forget, what produces spectacular and tragic memory failures (e.g.,lighting a match to check the level of petrol in a tank) and the role of context in familiarity and recollection. Because of the centrality of the problems addressed there will be many applications for the results. The long term results will include better models for human ope ....The Control of Memory Access. The topic of control processes in memory access is central to most of the big questions about human memory such as; why we forget, what produces spectacular and tragic memory failures (e.g.,lighting a match to check the level of petrol in a tank) and the role of context in familiarity and recollection. Because of the centrality of the problems addressed there will be many applications for the results. The long term results will include better models for human operators which can be used in both civilian (e.g., air traffic control) and military applications. Other areas of application will include how we measure memory impairment, why we make errors in industrial settings, and the nature of memory deficits as we age. Read moreRead less
The many faces of threat: An investigation of animal, interpersonal and intergroup threat. Threat to personal safety can take a number of guises, a snake in the grass, an angry neighbour or, increasingly often in our modern world, a stranger who looks different. The present project will investigate the manner in which we respond to these threats, whether these responses can be modulated and what determines the threatening nature of an event. A better understanding of how we react to real or p ....The many faces of threat: An investigation of animal, interpersonal and intergroup threat. Threat to personal safety can take a number of guises, a snake in the grass, an angry neighbour or, increasingly often in our modern world, a stranger who looks different. The present project will investigate the manner in which we respond to these threats, whether these responses can be modulated and what determines the threatening nature of an event. A better understanding of how we react to real or perceived threats, in particular those involving other humans, will aid our understanding of human behaviour in an ever faster changing environment, both in our region and more broadly. Read moreRead less