A Stepped Care Approach For The Management Of Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$936,628.00
Summary
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental disorder in childhood. Research has led to some good treatments but these don't necessarily suit all families. Stepped care is a format that allows the least complicated treatment to be given to a child first, followed by more intense treatments only when needed. The current study aims to compare this approach against a standard, established treatment. We expect the stepped care approach to result in better outcomes at a lower overall cost.
Taking A LEAP Forward In The Treatment Of Anorexia Nervosa: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$578,818.00
Summary
Extreme levels of exercise to reduce weight and improve mood are common in people with anorexia nevosa and are associated with poorer outcomes. Our study aims to test a novel therapy help people reduce their use of exercise andfind healthier and safer ways of managing weight and low mood. The therapy will be compared with a widely used control therapy - that however has only limited efficacy. We hope the exercise therapy will result in improved outcomes for this debilitating illness.
Epigenetic mechanisms regulating sex differences in fear-related learning and memory. Anxiety disorders represent an enormous burden on society and are associated with premature aging and infertility in men and women. Evidence also indicates that parental anxiety affects child development. Given that fear-related learning has an important influence on emotional health which, in turn, affects lifestyle and the aging process, an understanding of the neural mechanisms mediating sex differences in ....Epigenetic mechanisms regulating sex differences in fear-related learning and memory. Anxiety disorders represent an enormous burden on society and are associated with premature aging and infertility in men and women. Evidence also indicates that parental anxiety affects child development. Given that fear-related learning has an important influence on emotional health which, in turn, affects lifestyle and the aging process, an understanding of the neural mechanisms mediating sex differences in fear learning will enhance our ability to develop better therapeutic approaches for treating anxiety and preventing relapse, potentially through a gender-specific approach. The studies outlined in this proposal will have implications for promoting and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
The Mental Health Of School-Age Children Who Stutter
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$154,781.00
Summary
Children who stutter face considerable social disadvantages and negative consequences. Adults who stutter have been found to report a significant rate of mental health disorders, yet virtually nothing is known about the presence of such problems in children who stutter. This study will evaluate the prevalence and impact of mental disorders among school-age children who stutter. This research is essential for the provision of adequate speech and psychological treatments for children who stutter.
Childhood Cognitive Antecedents Of Adult Psychopathology: Follow-up Of The Port Pirie Lead Cohort Into Adulthood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$587,263.00
Summary
The role of childhood factors in the development of adult psychiatric disorder is an important public health concern. Indvividuals identified before birth and followed across the life course offer the most powerful means of establishing predictors for particular types of psychiatric disorder. Not only do these studies enable researchers to more clearly determine the exact age of onset of disorder but they also give us insight into the background and hence possible risk factors that may have lead ....The role of childhood factors in the development of adult psychiatric disorder is an important public health concern. Indvividuals identified before birth and followed across the life course offer the most powerful means of establishing predictors for particular types of psychiatric disorder. Not only do these studies enable researchers to more clearly determine the exact age of onset of disorder but they also give us insight into the background and hence possible risk factors that may have lead to the development of that disorder. Early identification of disorder can significantly reduce public health cost and reduce the burden on the community by enabling individuals to get help before their symptoms become too severe and unmanageable. Few long-term studies have investigated the combined role of pre-natal, developmental, parental characteristics, biological and childhood cognitive risk factors in the development of adult psychiatric dysfunction. Even fewer studies have examinined this interrelationship in a group of individuals who have been exposed to an environmental toxin such as lead. This study will follow-up 723 adults from the lead smelting city of Port Pirie who were originally recruited between 1979 and 1982. All adults were exposed to lead to some degree in childhood and have been followed over various time points over the course their lives. This project will be conducted 27 years since they were first involved, and will hence be one of the longest studies to be conducted in this field. The extensive information already collected on this group of individuals will enable us to create a very comprehensive picture of risk and protective factors for various types of adult disorder.Read moreRead less
Autism and its milder forms affect approximately 6 per 1,000 children. The biological basis of the disorder is unknown, so considerable research is being invested in identifying cognitive processes that are atypical in children with autism because this may help identify key areas of the brain affected by the disorder. This research has established that children with autism often outperform their typically developing peers on tasks that require detailed analysis of visual information. In contrast ....Autism and its milder forms affect approximately 6 per 1,000 children. The biological basis of the disorder is unknown, so considerable research is being invested in identifying cognitive processes that are atypical in children with autism because this may help identify key areas of the brain affected by the disorder. This research has established that children with autism often outperform their typically developing peers on tasks that require detailed analysis of visual information. In contrast, visual tasks that require integrating information often reveal impaired performance in children with autism. Human vision is achieved through two pathways in the brain - a dorsal pathway most responsive to changing (e.g. moving or flickering) stimuli and a ventral pathway most responsive to enduring stimulus features (e.g. colour, pattern). Increasingly complex visual processing is achieved at higher levels in each pathway through integrating information from lower levels. One objective of our work is to identify which levels of processing in each of the dorsal and ventral pathways show atypical functioning (either enhanced or impaired) in autism. We will do this using tasks designed to establish thresholds for different perceptual judgements, such as identifying patterns in a field of dots. Children with autism will be compared to typically developing children and also to children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This will enable us to establish whether the same profile of strengths and weaknesses in perception and cognition are observed in autism and SLI, or whether they can be distinguished on this basis. The significance of the work is that it will advance considerably the understanding of atypical visual processing in autism and SLI. Also, by identifying perceptual and cognitive differences in children with autism, we may be able to develop tests to identify infants affected by the disorder and commence remediation at an early age.Read moreRead less
Mental Health First Aid Training In The Workplace: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Online And Blended Modes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$540,247.00
Summary
This project will evaluate the effects of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, which aims to teach members of the public how to support people they know who are developing a mental health problem or are in a mental health crisis. Training will be offered to Victorian public servants to see whether it changes their knowledge, attitudes and helping behaviour. MHFA training will be delivered either online or as a blend of online with face-to-face teaching, and will be compared with online Red C ....This project will evaluate the effects of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, which aims to teach members of the public how to support people they know who are developing a mental health problem or are in a mental health crisis. Training will be offered to Victorian public servants to see whether it changes their knowledge, attitudes and helping behaviour. MHFA training will be delivered either online or as a blend of online with face-to-face teaching, and will be compared with online Red Cross physical first aid training as a control.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders will advance theory and research in three areas of cognitive science: models of cognitive disorders, the treatment of cognitive disorders, and the neural basis of cognition and its disorders. The Centre's research programs focus on five key domains of cognition, to be investigated individually and collectively: language, memory, person perception, belief formation and reading. Th ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders will advance theory and research in three areas of cognitive science: models of cognitive disorders, the treatment of cognitive disorders, and the neural basis of cognition and its disorders. The Centre's research programs focus on five key domains of cognition, to be investigated individually and collectively: language, memory, person perception, belief formation and reading. The Centre's interdisciplinary research teams will tackle basic questions in cognitive science, and will implement intervention programs that will inform educational policy and practice, with considerable potential impact for the health and social well-being of Australia.Read moreRead less