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Quantitative brain imaging in epilepsy using MRI
| Florey Neuroscience Institutes |
Magnetic resonance imaging is a widely-used technique to image brain tissue non invasively. Structural MRI has become the primary tool for assessing structural change in the brain in patients with neurological disorders. The technique to be implemented in this project will be used to quantitatively map a tissue parameter known as the longitudinal relaxation time (T1) that varies in different parts of the brain.  View project details
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Type I mGlu receptors, drug-seeking and drug-induced plasticity
| Florey Neuroscience Institutes |
Our overall aim is to further elucidate the precise mechanisms that drive the motivation to use alcohol and other drugs. Such information is clearly necessary for the improved targeting of therapeutics to assist in the overall management of patients presenting with substance abuse disorders. View project details
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A model of functional disconnections to study the pathophysiology of psychosis
Supervisors:Dr. Nigel Jones, Prof. Terry O’Brien, Dr. Didier Pinault
Background: Functional disconnections in cortico-thalamo-cortical (CTC) systems, the neuronal circuits of attention, cognition and perception, are thought to underlie dysfunctions of conscious integration such as those seen in schizophrenia. CTC circuits generate coherent synchronized gamma frequency (30-80 Hz) oscillations during conscious brain operations. Disruption of cognition-related coherences of gamma oscillations between cortical areas is a major functional abnormality in schizophrenic patients. NMDA-type glutamate receptors are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonists (PCP, ketamine, MK-801), induce cognition impairment, schizophreniform psychosis, hallucinations, and exacerbate both positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients. In rodents, ketamine produces a wide spectrum of abnormal behaviour relevant to schizophrenia. Ketamine also alters the characteristics of spontaneously occurring gamma oscillations in rodents, providing a potential neurophysiological correlate of schizophrenia-like psychosis. This project will seek to understand the neuronal mechanisms underlying transient disruption in NMDA receptor function. View project details
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A model of functional disconnections to study the pathophysiology of psychosis and epilepsy
| A/Prof. Terence J. O'Brien |
Functional disconnections in cortico-thalamo-cortical (CTC) systems, the neuronal circuits of attention, cognition and perception, are thought to underlie dysfunctions of conscious integration such as those seen in schizophrenia. More than 80% of the neurons that make up the CTC systems are glutamatergic. View project details
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A new structural model of the GABA-A receptor - understanding anaesthetic and neurosteroid action.
| Florey Neuroscience Institutes |
Supervisors: Dr. Brett Cromer, Dr. Steve Petrou
Many anaesthetics and anxiolytics drugs target GABA-A receptors but have undesirable side-effects. Recent structural insights offer an opportunity to develop new receptor models, the basis of this project, and design improved drugs. View project details
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