Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project ....Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project is to address this deficiency by measuring the patterns of neural activity evoked by speech sounds across the tonotopic axis in the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex and assess the extent to which the pattern of neural activity allows discrimination between the different speech sounds.Read moreRead less
Novel mechanisms for regulating the retinal vasculature. Tight control of the retinal vasculature is crucial for maintaining normal vision. Unlike most blood vessels in the body, those in the retina and brain receive no direct neural control. Rather they rely on support cells to communicate the needs of neurons. This project aims to examine the mechanisms by which resident immune cells, called microglia, regulate retinal capillaries in response to neural activity. New knowledge examining a novel ....Novel mechanisms for regulating the retinal vasculature. Tight control of the retinal vasculature is crucial for maintaining normal vision. Unlike most blood vessels in the body, those in the retina and brain receive no direct neural control. Rather they rely on support cells to communicate the needs of neurons. This project aims to examine the mechanisms by which resident immune cells, called microglia, regulate retinal capillaries in response to neural activity. New knowledge examining a novel mechanism will be generated. This information is crucial for enhancing our understanding of how blood vessels are controlled in the retina and brain and will guide the development of novel ways of examining blood vessel function.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100439
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Neural mechanisms of blindsight: a combined physiological and behavioural study. The cellular circuits of the cerebral cortex hold the key to the biological bases of perception, decision making, memory and consciousness. This project will study the physiological mechanisms underlying our ability to decide what we are seeing, based either on consciously perceived images or subconscious processing of visual information.
A novel role for microglia in neural maturation. This project aims to determine the role that microglia have in maturation of cells of the retina called photoreceptors. High resolution microscopy combined with molecular and functional analysis will show the extent and type of contact between photoreceptors and microglia, the molecules released by microglia and the mechanism(s) by which microglia modify photoreceptors after birth. The knowledge gained in this project will provide critical informa ....A novel role for microglia in neural maturation. This project aims to determine the role that microglia have in maturation of cells of the retina called photoreceptors. High resolution microscopy combined with molecular and functional analysis will show the extent and type of contact between photoreceptors and microglia, the molecules released by microglia and the mechanism(s) by which microglia modify photoreceptors after birth. The knowledge gained in this project will provide critical information about how we see, and will have sustained impact on our understanding of the role of immune cells in the nervous system.Read moreRead less
Organisation of the cerebral cortex- what, if anything, is a cortical area? Currently, much effort is being directed towards elucidating the roles of different regions of the cerebral cortex. "Maps" of cortical areas have become essential points of reference, exerting a powerful influence on the way we think about the brain. However, is it really appropriate to model the cortex as a mosaic of well-defined areas? This project will challenge the assumptions underlying current brain mapping efforts ....Organisation of the cerebral cortex- what, if anything, is a cortical area? Currently, much effort is being directed towards elucidating the roles of different regions of the cerebral cortex. "Maps" of cortical areas have become essential points of reference, exerting a powerful influence on the way we think about the brain. However, is it really appropriate to model the cortex as a mosaic of well-defined areas? This project will challenge the assumptions underlying current brain mapping efforts. Its main benefits will be the refinement of strategies for brain mapping, including potential for better
application/interpretation of available medical technology, and unique insights on the mechanisms of development and evolution of the nervous system.
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Neuronal origin of functional maps on the mammalian visual cortex. This project aims to study how the brain processes images. Basic features of objects in the visual scene seem to be coded on the visual cortex in an orderly way. By recording neurones’ electrical activity in a mammalian brain, this project aims to study how such organisation is determined at the neuronal level, namely how the individual nerves and synapses that form the brain and process the signals are organised to form the over ....Neuronal origin of functional maps on the mammalian visual cortex. This project aims to study how the brain processes images. Basic features of objects in the visual scene seem to be coded on the visual cortex in an orderly way. By recording neurones’ electrical activity in a mammalian brain, this project aims to study how such organisation is determined at the neuronal level, namely how the individual nerves and synapses that form the brain and process the signals are organised to form the overall functional architecture visible at a macroscopic level. This understanding could realise the basis of normal visual perception in robotic vision and brain-machine interfaces.Read moreRead less
Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's re ....Functional imaging of colour pathways in the living eye. In order to repair or regenerate a diseased eye, we require knowledge of the normal pattern or nerve cell connections, and knowing how biology solves the problem of colour vision can be used to improve the design of artificial vision systems. The adaptive optics machine we will build in this project can be used to image nerve cells, fine blood vessels, and nerve fibre bundles in the normal and diseased eye. This will improve Australia's research and development capacity in this new area of medical diagnostics. Our machine will be made available to other Australian laboratories and will improve the national capacity for making further scientific discoveries about how the visual system works.Read moreRead less
Centre-surround interactions in ageing human vision. Australia has a rapidly ageing population. This project will study how ageing affects the visual perception of objects presented on non-uniform backgrounds. Our ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds is key to most natural visual tasks. The visual processes involved are known as centre-surround interactions, and are considered fundamental building blocks to human perception. This project will significantly advance our knowledge ....Centre-surround interactions in ageing human vision. Australia has a rapidly ageing population. This project will study how ageing affects the visual perception of objects presented on non-uniform backgrounds. Our ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds is key to most natural visual tasks. The visual processes involved are known as centre-surround interactions, and are considered fundamental building blocks to human perception. This project will significantly advance our knowledge of which spatial visual mechanisms are altered due to age, supplying key information for understanding and improving visual environments for the elderly, as well as increasing knowledge of the brain mechanisms susceptible to the ageing process.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100099
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,575.00
Summary
The importance of glia in the development of healthy blood vessels in the eye. The formation of healthy blood vessels in the eye is critical for vision. An important peptide in blood vessel formation throughout the body, including the eye, is Angiotensin II. Specific retinal cells named astrocytes and microglia are suggested to be involved in vessel formation. However, the way these cells control this formation is unknown. Using innovative techniques, this project will investigate how retinal as ....The importance of glia in the development of healthy blood vessels in the eye. The formation of healthy blood vessels in the eye is critical for vision. An important peptide in blood vessel formation throughout the body, including the eye, is Angiotensin II. Specific retinal cells named astrocytes and microglia are suggested to be involved in vessel formation. However, the way these cells control this formation is unknown. Using innovative techniques, this project will investigate how retinal astrocytes and microglia control glial-vascular communication and blood vessel formation via Angiotensin II. The information gained from this proposal is critical to our understanding of both normal retinal development and blood vessel maintenance in both infants and those of older ages.Read moreRead less
Relationship of the functional architecture of the mammalian brain to its microcircuitry. The project seeks to understand a very fundamental issue in neuroscience: how the connectivity and architecture of the cortex are related to the functions of neurones in that area? This will be investigated by imaging the surface of the visual cortex of anaesthetised cats and monkeys as special visual patterns are shown to the eye/s. The overall picture gained of the active and inactive cortical areas will ....Relationship of the functional architecture of the mammalian brain to its microcircuitry. The project seeks to understand a very fundamental issue in neuroscience: how the connectivity and architecture of the cortex are related to the functions of neurones in that area? This will be investigated by imaging the surface of the visual cortex of anaesthetised cats and monkeys as special visual patterns are shown to the eye/s. The overall picture gained of the active and inactive cortical areas will be related to the properties of neurones in those areas and to those of individual input and output fibres. An optical imaging equipment will be acquired in 2004 using a recently awarded LIEF grant to the CI.Read moreRead less