Brain development during adolescence and the emergence of depression: A longitudinal MRI study. Traditionally mental health services have focused on established disorders. Whilst significant gains in outcomes have been obtained in other areas of health by focusing on early intervention and prevention, in the mental health field this approach has been limited by the inability to predict who is likely to go on to develop serious mental disorder. This study will provide critical information for und ....Brain development during adolescence and the emergence of depression: A longitudinal MRI study. Traditionally mental health services have focused on established disorders. Whilst significant gains in outcomes have been obtained in other areas of health by focusing on early intervention and prevention, in the mental health field this approach has been limited by the inability to predict who is likely to go on to develop serious mental disorder. This study will provide critical information for understanding the risk processes that are operating during the critical phase of early adolescence, and will therefore make a fundamental contribution to our understanding of who, and what, to target in early intervention and prevention strategies.Read moreRead less
Charting the prevalence, time course and social-cognitive correlates of neonatal imitation. Imitation is something that we do naturally and often. However, because the necessary research has not been done, it remains controversial whether or not humans can imitate from birth and what role this may play for later developments. The proposed research aims to settle these issues through a comprehensive, longitudinal study of infant imitation and its relation to later-developing social skills. A trai ....Charting the prevalence, time course and social-cognitive correlates of neonatal imitation. Imitation is something that we do naturally and often. However, because the necessary research has not been done, it remains controversial whether or not humans can imitate from birth and what role this may play for later developments. The proposed research aims to settle these issues through a comprehensive, longitudinal study of infant imitation and its relation to later-developing social skills. A training condition will examine the viability of potential early interventions aimed at promoting social responding in infants and toddlers. This project will generate new knowledge about the development of early social skills and provide the foundation for new programs to enhance social development in typical and at-risk infants. Read moreRead less
Development Of Executive Functions In Children With Frontal Lobe Lesions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,379.00
Summary
Executive functions (EF), refer to the ability to problem solve, think flexibly and in abstract terms and pay attention. EFs are essential for managing daily life activities. The frontal lobes of the brain are believed be important in coordinating EFs. In childhood, frontal areas are developing rapidly and damage may affect ongoing development due to impairments in a child's capacity to function normally within their environment, interfering with adaptive functions such as new learning and reaso ....Executive functions (EF), refer to the ability to problem solve, think flexibly and in abstract terms and pay attention. EFs are essential for managing daily life activities. The frontal lobes of the brain are believed be important in coordinating EFs. In childhood, frontal areas are developing rapidly and damage may affect ongoing development due to impairments in a child's capacity to function normally within their environment, interfering with adaptive functions such as new learning and reasoning. Executive dysfunction in children manifests as disorganisation, impulsivity, inattention and inappropriate behaviour. Such problems are often masked in early chilhood, due to highly structured environments and support of parents and care-givers in day-to-day activities. However, as children mature, expectations of indepence increase and executive deficits become more apparent (ie. child 'grows into' these problems). Appropriate treatment and management is dependent on (i) improvement in early identification of patients at risk for such sequelae; (ii) establishing long-term consequences of executive deficits to ongoing development. This research aims to advance our understanding of EFs and their development through childhood, both in healthy children and children with cerebral lesions to regions believed to subsume EFs(ie the frontal lobes). While anecdotal case data is available, to our knowledge, no other study has attempted to do this using a longitudinal group design. Specific predictions include; (i) Children with frontal lobe damage will perform more poorly on EF measures, in comparison to children with damage to other cerebral areas and healthy children; (ii) Children with frontal lobe damage will show increasing deficits on EF tasks over time, reflecting an inability to acquire executive skills in the expected time frame, when compared with children with localised damage to cerebral areas excluding the frontal lobes, and healthy children.Read moreRead less
A Prospective Study Of Concussion In Children And Adolescents: Diagnosis, Recovery And Risk Factors For Poor Outcome.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$277,000.00
Summary
Concussion is one of the most common neurological injuries and represents a significant public health issue in Australia. The most common consequences of concussive injuries are reduced attention, slowed response speeds and memory impairment. These cognitive processes are critical for performing common day-to-day activities in childhood and adolescence (e.g. acquiring new knowledge and skills, attending to school work). Approximately 20% of concussive injuries occur during participation in organ ....Concussion is one of the most common neurological injuries and represents a significant public health issue in Australia. The most common consequences of concussive injuries are reduced attention, slowed response speeds and memory impairment. These cognitive processes are critical for performing common day-to-day activities in childhood and adolescence (e.g. acquiring new knowledge and skills, attending to school work). Approximately 20% of concussive injuries occur during participation in organised sport. In adult populations, there are now evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and management of concussion in sport. Few well-controlled studies exist to identify the frequency and outcome of such injuries in child and adolescent populations, and there are currently no guidelines for diagnosis and management of concussion in children. Further, the academic and social consequence of concussion for the child remains unknown. This study will investigate the cognitive and behavioural outcomes of concussion in young children and adolescents and will use this information to modify and validate currently available adult concussion diagnosis and management paradigms for application with this population. This study will also investigate risk factors for poor outcome following concussion in children and adolescents, and provide age-appropriate data for use in the medical, behavioural and educational management of concussed children and adolescents. A total of 3000 children aged between 10 and 18 years will be recruited to participate in this study. All participants will undergo a baseline evaluation consisting of memory and attention tests, a behavioural rating scale, and measures of educational ability. Participants parents will also provide general health and demographic information. Children who are concussed during the year will be re-assessed within 48 hours of injury and again at 5 days, 10 days and 30 days post-injury to track recovery.Read moreRead less
Linking arterial, brain and cognitive integrity in healthy older adults. This project aims to demonstrate that engaging the brain’s prefrontal cortex, an area that is highly sensitive to ageing, can improve the function of arteries that supply blood to this brain region. Using an innovative optical imaging methodology that maps the brain’s regional arterial health, it aims to generate new knowledge about the link between this arterial system and the progressive decline in cognitive control abili ....Linking arterial, brain and cognitive integrity in healthy older adults. This project aims to demonstrate that engaging the brain’s prefrontal cortex, an area that is highly sensitive to ageing, can improve the function of arteries that supply blood to this brain region. Using an innovative optical imaging methodology that maps the brain’s regional arterial health, it aims to generate new knowledge about the link between this arterial system and the progressive decline in cognitive control ability and in prefrontal cortex structure and function in healthy older adults. This interdisciplinary, international collaboration aims to put Australia at the forefront of brain optical imaging methods that may have significant benefits by informing approaches to promote and maintain healthy brain and cognition in old age.Read moreRead less
The elusive engram: What can infantile amnesia tell us about memory? Revealing the 'engram' is one of the greatest challenges neuroscience has faced. Substantial advances have been made in elucidating the mechanisms underlying memories that last for a few hours or days but much less is known about the cellular and molecular processes that mediate memories across remote periods of time. An underutilised approach to this problem is to study forgetting. The infant rat is an ideal model as they typi ....The elusive engram: What can infantile amnesia tell us about memory? Revealing the 'engram' is one of the greatest challenges neuroscience has faced. Substantial advances have been made in elucidating the mechanisms underlying memories that last for a few hours or days but much less is known about the cellular and molecular processes that mediate memories across remote periods of time. An underutilised approach to this problem is to study forgetting. The infant rat is an ideal model as they typically display good memory for a day or two but forget after a week or more. That is, they exhibit a specific impairment in the maintenance of remote memories. This project aims to determine the molecular/cellular processes underlying infantile amnesia and is expected to provide unique insights into memory processes in general.Read moreRead less
Effects of early life trauma on fear memory and fear extinction in rats. This project aims to increase our understanding of how early life stress affects fear regulation across development. The results will provide unique insights into normal developmental changes in fear regulation as well as abnormal developmental changes in these processes in those exposed to early life stress.
The future of childhood anxiety treatment: translating cognitive-neuroscience insights into clinical practice. The newest adult anxiety treatments use computer-based tasks that provide practice in overcoming maladaptive thinking patterns. This project is among the first to test this approach with children by developing a simple intervention that can be done at home. This new treatment will significantly reduce the burden of disease in Australia.
The role of early testosterone and brain laterality in language development. The aim of the project is to provide key insights into how foetal hormone exposure and early brain growth support child language. The specialisation of the left cerebral hemisphere for language function is considered critical to supporting the complexity of human language. There is evidence of sex differences in patterns of brain specialisation, which has led to popular but unsubstantiated hypotheses linking prenatal te ....The role of early testosterone and brain laterality in language development. The aim of the project is to provide key insights into how foetal hormone exposure and early brain growth support child language. The specialisation of the left cerebral hemisphere for language function is considered critical to supporting the complexity of human language. There is evidence of sex differences in patterns of brain specialisation, which has led to popular but unsubstantiated hypotheses linking prenatal testosterone and language development. The project aims to explore this by using innovative neuroimaging, endocrine and genetic techniques to track neurodevelopment longitudinally from prenatal life to three years of age. An important aspect of the project is the anticipated refinement of innovative methods for measuring early human development.Read moreRead less