Frontal-striatal-parietal Activation In Children With ADHD, Combined Type: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$91,750.00
Summary
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, combined type (ADHD-CT) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder that has serious consequences for affected children's educational and social development and success in later life. Despite a large investment in research investigating aetiology and therapeutic strategies that arise from these aetiological investigations, ADHD-CT remains poorly understood and it is often viewed with therapeutic pessimism. Understanding the neurobiological basis of ADHD-CT is ....Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, combined type (ADHD-CT) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder that has serious consequences for affected children's educational and social development and success in later life. Despite a large investment in research investigating aetiology and therapeutic strategies that arise from these aetiological investigations, ADHD-CT remains poorly understood and it is often viewed with therapeutic pessimism. Understanding the neurobiological basis of ADHD-CT is of tremendous importance for the development of more specific and targeted medication and-or psychological treatments and, ultimately, to obtain the best clinical outcome for individual children with ADHD-CT. We have previously examined the function of frontal-striatal-parietal brain networks in adolescent boys with ADHD-CT, showing dysfunction of brain systems important for the control of visuospatial attention. In this project, we aim to examine whether these changes in frontal-striatal-parietal brain function also occur in pre-pubertal 8-12 year-old boys with ADHD-CT. This is important for two major reasons: Firstly, adolescents and young adults examined in previous brain imaging studies of ADHD-CT, including our own, are not truly representative of the core of the disorder, as ADHD-CT has its peak prevalence from 8 to 12 years of age. Secondly, by now comparing pre-pubertal ADHD-CT and healthy control children we can determine whether the changes in brain function we have previously identified represent developmental stage independent brain dysfunction that is characteristic of ADHD-CT.Read moreRead less
Auditory Attentional Processes In Stroke Patients With Unilateral Neglect And In Normal Listeners
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$281,900.00
Summary
A common consequence of a stroke affecting the parietal lobe of the right hemisphere of the brain is a failure to attend to stimuli presented to the left side of the patient. This disorder, called unilateral spatial neglect, affects up to 50% of all stroke sufferers, and poses a significant problem for recovery of function. Neglect has been most widely studied in the modality of vision. Although neglect of auditory stimuli and of stimuli in other modalities has been reported, it has been studied ....A common consequence of a stroke affecting the parietal lobe of the right hemisphere of the brain is a failure to attend to stimuli presented to the left side of the patient. This disorder, called unilateral spatial neglect, affects up to 50% of all stroke sufferers, and poses a significant problem for recovery of function. Neglect has been most widely studied in the modality of vision. Although neglect of auditory stimuli and of stimuli in other modalities has been reported, it has been studied in much less detail, and the relationship between visual and auditory neglect has not been investigated using tasks of similar complexity. One aim of this project is to examine the relationship between auditory and visual neglect using tasks that are carefully matched for complexity and cognitive demands. A second aim relates to the important recent discovery that substantial changes in a visual scene can go unnoticed unless the observer's attention is drawn to them, a phenomenon termed change blindness. The project will examine the ability of normal listeners and of stroke patients to detect changes in complex auditory environments in which sounds arise from multiple sources located in different regions of space. We aim to establish whether there is a change deafness phenomenon analogous to change blindness, and if this is exacerbated in stroke patients with neglect. The results of this project will increase our understanding of the nature of normal auditory attentional processes and of their disruption as a consequence of stroke. The importance of these studies derives from the fact that hearing and attention to auditory stimuli serve a critical role in human communication and as an early warning system for events in the environment that are not within a person's visual field. Increased understanding of disturbances in auditory attention in neglect patients could lead to better rehabilitation of neglect, for which there is currently no effective treatment.Read moreRead less
Visuomotor Integration In The Medial Parietal Cortical Areas
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$665,163.00
Summary
This project will find out how the electrical activity of brain cells is used to direct the arms to a specific position in the space around a person's body. By understanding the code used by brain cells to perform this control of the arms, we will be able to "read" the brain activity directly, and use it to allow control of artificial arms by people who have been paralysed or had amputations.
Understanding The Organisation Of The Medial Parietal Cortex: Sensorimotor Integration For Goal-directed Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$551,862.00
Summary
Reaching and grasping are of obvious significance for a productive life, and many of the brain areas known to be involved in the direction of arm movements are located in the parietal lobe. Stroke affecting this part of the brain causes disability, as people become unable to reach accurately, or to close their hands around objects with appropriate strength. This project will combine modern physiological and anatomical methods to reveal the brain circuitry responsible for such crucial skills.
Mechanisms And Pathways Leading To Saccadic Suppression In Primate Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$858,086.00
Summary
Only the central few degrees of the visual field are viewed in high resolution. Consequently, the eyes must be pointed at targets of interest using saccadic eye movements. Each saccade generates potentially disturbing image motion but this is never perceived: saccadic suppression. This project aims to characterise the neural basis of saccadic suppression using modern techniques. As a result, a prime question in Neuroscience for over 100 years can now be answered.