When is extinction not extinction? Disorders of fear and anxiety are widespread and impose significant burdens on individual sufferers and their families. This projects studies new ways of augmenting loss of fear and will identify the important behavioural mechanisms as well as critical brain pathways for this fear loss.
Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and w ....Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and witness memory accuracy. Crucially, crimes are frequently distressing; therefore the interaction between intoxication and stress urgently requires exploration. This project will significantly advance our understanding of key mechanisms behind drug effects on memory, and support fairer judicial outcomes for all. Read moreRead less
Uncertainty and response control in the prefrontal cortex. This project will identify how complex behaviours come to be performed habitually. It is proposed that statistical certainty in the learning environment is a key determinant of automatic behaviour, that detection of uncertainty can restore voluntary control of behaviour and that this is an important function of the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100509
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$388,000.00
Summary
Molecular mechanisms causing relapse. This project aims to identify the neural connectivity and molecular profile of ventral pallidal neurons in the brain that control drug and alcohol addiction, relapsing disorders where users lose the ability to inhibit drug seeking behaviour. This project integrates neurobiological and psychological attributes of relapse. The anticipated outcomes provide insights about molecular mechanisms causing relapse, and expand knowledge of brain mechanisms that contrib ....Molecular mechanisms causing relapse. This project aims to identify the neural connectivity and molecular profile of ventral pallidal neurons in the brain that control drug and alcohol addiction, relapsing disorders where users lose the ability to inhibit drug seeking behaviour. This project integrates neurobiological and psychological attributes of relapse. The anticipated outcomes provide insights about molecular mechanisms causing relapse, and expand knowledge of brain mechanisms that contribute to relapsing disorders such as drug addiction and obesity. The findings from this project could be used to reduce relapse, and hence reduce the burden of alcohol related problems on health, the community and the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
From neuroscience to society: A multi-disciplinary study of human perception and cognition. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the factors influencing human perception and cognition - from the level of basic neuroscience, through to the wider impact felt by individuals and society when these functions are either impaired or enhanced. This will inform the basic research question of how the brain generates a conscious experience, identify the relationship between ....From neuroscience to society: A multi-disciplinary study of human perception and cognition. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the factors influencing human perception and cognition - from the level of basic neuroscience, through to the wider impact felt by individuals and society when these functions are either impaired or enhanced. This will inform the basic research question of how the brain generates a conscious experience, identify the relationship between altered visual cognitive function and clinical symptoms of psychosis, and determine the current prevalence and neuroethical issues associated with the non-medical use of drugs to enhance cognitive or perceptual function within Australia.Read moreRead less
Cannabis and the brain: the good, the bad and the unknown. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug but much remains unknown about how it affects the brain. This research will examine effects on brain cells through to whole brain function in humans to determine how cannabis use may lead to impaired thinking or psychological symptoms and why cannabis might affect individuals in different ways.
The role of reward expectancy and reward availability in appetitive motivation. This project will investigate the learning processes that help regulate our desire for rewards such as food and drugs and our decisions about when to pursue those rewards. The results will have implications for our understanding of normal reward motivation as well as interventions for maladaptive behaviours such as gambling and drug-taking.