honours & phd student projects - neura...professor peter r scho!eld, faahms phd dsc, has been...
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Honours & PhD Student Projects
Neuroscience Research Australia Margarete Ainsworth Building, Barker Street, Randwick
NeuRA
Welcome to NeuRAOur Vision & Mission: “Our vision is to prevent and cure disease and disability of the brain and nervous system through leadership, excellence and innovation in neuroscience research.”
About Us
NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia) is one of the largest independent centres of research on the brain and nervous system in Australia, based in Randwick, Sydney. Recognised as an international leader in research, NeuRA is changing the face of research into diseases and disorders of the brain and nervous system, not just in Australia, but around the world. Our eminent neuroscientists, clinicians and outstanding research leaders relate laboratory-based research to clinical research involving patients to ensure that our discoveries are translated into health benefits for people as soon as possible. The institute hosts over 300 staff and students in 33 neuroscience research groups spread across five broad themes. NeuRA is an independent, not-for-profit, medical research institute. It is affiliated with the University of New South Wales and South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
Our Values
Ethics, Enquiry, Human Impact, Respect, Excellence, Accountability
Ethics: the moral principles that influence and govern our conduct
Enquiry: our constant pursuit of knowledge and understanding
Human Impact: our desire to make a genuine positive human health impact
Respect: we respect the feelings and rights of all human beings, and admire their achievements
Excellence: we will achieve the very best possible
Accountability: we are accountable for our actions and decisions
Our Name
Neuroscience: the science of the brain and nervous system. It is our focus, expertise and dedication.
Research: our passion is to understand how the brain and nervous system work. Our brain controls our thoughts, feelings and mobility. It powers the electrical system that controls our heartbeat, our ability to work, breathe and swallow. But these can be stolen by disease, mental illness and injury. The solutions will only be found through medical research. Research provides the power to cure.
Australia: our position in the global research environment. Our research is for Australia because it impacts all Australians, directly and indirectly.
Our Research
The focus of NeuRA’s work has always been on neuroscience. Our research portfolio includes both clinical and laboratory research into neurological, psychiatric and psychological disorders. Our research activity is organised into five themes:
Ageing & Neurodegeneration: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, Motor Neurone Disease, ageing research in indigenous populations, stroke rehabilitation.
Brain Structure & Function: brain mapping for research and clinical use, on-site MRI scanning, biochemical and structural bases of brain function; development of MRI methods.
Mental Illness: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and autism.
Neural Injury: spinal cord injury, assessment and prevention of road trauma in children.
Sensation, Movement, Balance & Falls: human movement, fatigue, sleep apnoea, balance and vision, neural control of muscles, falls in older adults, chronic pain.
NeuRA houses several specialist research facilities, including the Sydney Brain Bank and Genetic Repositories Australia. The institute has an on-site 3T MRI imaging research facility.
Leadership
Professor Peter R Schofield, FAAHMS PhD DSc, has been the Executive Director and CEO of Neuroscience Research Australia since 2004. Professor Simon Gandevia, MD PhD DSc FAA FRACP, is Deputy Director and was one of four foundation scientists.
Governance
NeuRA is the not-for-profit company that was incorporated on 4 November 1991 to govern the institute. The company was founded by the University of New South Wales and the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
The Board comprises up to 14 directors. There are two nominees each from the founding stakeholders, the University of New South Wales and the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, plus one nominee each from the Commonwealth via the NHMRC and the State via the NSW Minister for Medical Research. There are seven positions for independent directors, and the CEO is also a director. The Chairman is John Grill, BSc BE(Hons) Hon DEng, Chairman at WorleyParsons Limited. The directors are also the sole members of the company. The Board meets bimonthly.
Funding
NeuRA attracts competitive external grant funding from national and international organisations, infrastructure funds from state and federal governments and substantial philanthropic support. Total peer-reviewed
funds for the 2015 calendar year were $14.1 million. The most significant funding body is the NHMRC which awarded $11.59 million in 2015. This includes 29 research and postdoctoral fellowships and 37 research grants. NeuRA hosts two NHMRC Program Grants at the institute, and is a partner in a third Program Grant. The Australian Research Council awarded $1.18 million in 2015, which includes a Discovery early career award and a node of a Centre of Excellence.
Through the NSW Government’s Medical Research Support Program, NeuRA secured $3.3 million in 2015. NeuRA also received $2.3 million in 2015 from UNSW for research infrastructure. The NeuRA Foundation, established in 2007 to enhance philanthropic fundraising to underpin the activities of the institute, continues to grow.
The Foundation raised $4.3 million in philanthropic support in 2015. To date, it has raised $31 million, with additional pledges of over $7 million.
Neuroscience Research Precinct
The Margarete Ainsworth Building was completed in 2012 and officially opened in 2013. The building provides 8,165m2 of new, purpose-built space, more than doubling our existing research space. Funding of over $70 million has been secured - $36 million from the Federal Government and $16 million from the State Government, in addition to $22 million from philanthropy. With the current support of NSW Government and philanthropic funding, fit-out of the remaining floors of the building is underway.
The new building forms the first stage of a four-stage development to create a larger Neuroscience Research Precinct, the Mindgardens project. The Precinct development has secured full project planning approvals and will allow the consolidation of the many neuroscience research strengths from the UNSW and the POW Hospital campuses. Once fully developed, the precinct will provide six stories of research space, 25,000m2 floor space and be able to house up to 700 researchers.
NeuRA
GROUP: ITTNERSUPERVISOR
PROF LARS [email protected]
Pathomechanisms in Frontotemporal Dementia and Motor Neuron Degeneration/Pathomechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease
Honours
SUMMARY: Our research program is focused on two major neurodegenerative disease complexes - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD)/Motor Neuron Disease (MND). Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent of all neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by a progressive loss of cognition. Frontotemporal dementia is the second most prevalent form of dementia. Motor neuron disease (also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is characterized by rapid degeneration of motor neurons and shares molecular and clinical features with Frontotemporal dementia. The DRU focuses on the molecular mechanisms involved in these diseases in order to understand how brain function progressively declines and neurons eventually die, which is the first step to developing new therapeutic approaches and drugs. The DRU uses expertise in the generation of transgenic mouse models to study disease, through
techniques such as behavioral testing, EEG recordings, biochemical and histochemical analysis, as well as using in vitro cell culture techniques to identify and characterise pathomechanisms in neurodegeneration. The DRU is also involved in translational research programs to develop benchside discoveries into future treatments for AD, FTD and MND.
GROUP: ITTNERSUPERVISOR
DR FABIEN DELERUE [email protected]
Studying pathomechanisms underlying FoxG1 syndrome in transgenic mouse models PhD
SUMMARY: The mechanisms that control progenitor cell proliferation and regulate their progression through the cell cycle are of central importance in the development of the brain. FoxG1, also known as BF1, is a member of the forkhead family. Correct expression of this transcription factor is essential to regulate a timely development (growth and pattern) of the mammalian brain. Mutations in the FoxG1 gene have recently been identified as being responsible for the FoxG1 syndrome, which is a rare debilitating condition characterised by profound global
development delay, movement disorders, often associated with epileptic seizures. Much work is needed to identify the mechanisms involved in both physiological and pathological expression of FoxG1, to ultimately develop new therapeutic approaches, in a hope for a cure.Using genome editing, we generated new mouse models of the FoxG1 syndrome and aim to characterise them genotypically, phenotypically, and at biochemical and physiological levels. These models, complemented with in vitro assays (e.g. primary neuronal cultures and iPs cells) are pivotal tools to discover new insights into this rare genetic condition.
The PhD project is supported by the UNSW Kushagra Singha FoxG1 Research PhD Scholarship (equivalent to an APA).
GROUP: CYSIQUESUPERVISOR
DR LUCETTE CYSIQUE [email protected]
HIV and the brain
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: The group conducts cross-disciplinary research into the neurocognitive changes associated with HIV, ageing, HIV and cardiovascular diseases, as well as their
underpinnings in brain structural and metabolic changes using MRI/MRS/DTI and PET. Based on neuropsychology and/or neuroimaging data and/or laboratory biomarkers data we work on:
• Developing models of complex longitudinal brain changes to better predict the course of the disease
• Determining the disease mechanisms in HIV-infected persons who are virally undetectable and in relation to viral reservoirs
• Assessing treatment effects
Because HIV is a global disease, the group also conducts research into cross-cultural neuropsychology and the development of cross-sectional and longitudinal neuropsychological normative data that are valid across nations, as well as cognitive test batteries, screens, and multi-dimensional algorithms.
Projects can involve a greater laboratory dimension based on the group's collaborations with neurobiologists and neuroscientists in Australia.
Projects can involve a greater neuroimaging dimension based on the group's collaboration with neuroimaging experts in Australia and USA.
Projects can involve a greater neuropsychological dimension based on the group's collaborations with neuropsychologists in Australia, USA and Canada.
Ageing and Neurodegeneration1
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Brain Structure and Function
NeuRA
GROUP: RAE SUPERVISORS
PROF CAROLINE (LINDY) RAEPROF GARY HOUSLEY
Brain drains
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: The brain perivascular space is a unique system of tunnels that has recently been the focus of interest due to the suggestion that it might be involved in metabolite clearance from the brain, including metabolic “waste” products and amyloid proteins.
We plan to adapt a microscopic method for real time imaging of the vascular system to measurement of the perivascular system to determine what roles it plays in the clearance of metabolites, including in sleep, and to characterise the biochemical elements involved in this system.
This project will be conducted in collaboration with the Translational Neuroscience Facility in SOMS with Prof Gary Housley.
GROUP: SHANNON WEICKERTSUPERVISOR
PROF CYNDI SHANNON WEICKERT [email protected]
Shining a light on schizophrenia
Honours
SUMMARY: The Schizophrenia Research Laboratory has two projects on offer with Cyndi Shannon Weickert as lead mentor.
1. Human brainThe human brain is arguably the most complicated and malleable organ on the planet. Adult neurogenesis, or the birth of new brain neurons, is a recently recognised event that contributes to new learning. However, little is known about the extent, timing or control of neurogenesis in the most active proliferation zone deep within the human brain.
We will investigate whether there are differences in the control of human neurogenesis as we grow and as we age. By investigating molecular changes in the neurogenic niche in old age compared to young brains we hope to find ways to better tap into this reservoir of nascent neurons when needed.
2. Mouse brainNeuroinflammation has been recently identified in the brains of people with schizophrenia. A key regulator of inflammation is Schnurri-2 (Sch-2) and lower levels of this molecule have been linked to overproduction of cytokines in the brain, to changes in behaviour (hyper locomotion and deficits in nest building) and to decreased neurogenesis. This project will employ Sch-2 knock-out mice and will involve determining when, where and how cytokines are overproduced in these brains by using in situ hybridisation.
GROUP: SHANNON WEICKERTSUPERVISORS
DR VIBEKE S CATTSDR TERTIA PURVES-TYSON
Molecular underpinnings of pharmacotherapies for schizophrenia
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: The Schizophrenia Research Laboratory (SRL) endeavours to define the biological basis of schizophrenia. Our group leads a translational research program that uses rodent models, post-mortem brain tissue and clinical samples to gain insights into the neurodevelopment of schizophrenia and to design and test novel treatments for people with schizophrenia.
Mental Illness
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4For example, with the help of clinical colleagues, we have translated basic discoveries on estrogen receptor disruption to model systems and into a successfully completed clinical trial using a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) for people with schizophrenia.
Current student projects in the SRL include studies of the molecular basis of raloxifene (a SERM) modulation of dopamine signalling in schizophrenia, which uses a maternal immune activation rodent model of schizophrenia to better understand how raloxifene brings about its effects.
Additionally, we are interested in characterising cell-type specific deficits in NMDA receptor subunit expression in schizophrenia and in transgenic animal models using in situ hybridisation techniques in order to better delineate the NMDA receptor contribution to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
This research will inform the development of personalised pharmacotherapies for schizophrenia.
NeuRA
GROUP: BILSTONSUPERVISORS
DR PETER BURKEASSOC PROF JANE BUTLER
PROF LYNNE [email protected]
Coordination of upper airway musculature during breathing
Honours
SUMMARY: The upper airway muscles in healthy older individuals act in a coordinated way to dilate the airway during inspiration. In persons with obstructive sleep apnoea there is either an uncoordinated muscle behaviour, or minimal active dilation of the airway during inspiration.
The aim of this project is to measure the coordination of different regions of the major upper airway dilator muscle, genioglossus, and to relate the neural drive to these regions to the resulting muscle action.
GROUP: WEICKERTSUPERVISOR
ASSOC PROF TOM [email protected]
Novel treatment trials in people with schizophrenia
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: There are robust reductions across a number of cognitive domains which are related to poor daily function in schizophrenia and these cognitive deficits are not responsive to antipsychotics. Human cognition can be positively influenced with estrogen or estrogen-like treatments. This finding has created the possibility for a truly novel treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia based on hormonal intervention.
We have chosen to administer the Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator raloxifene as it binds with high affinity to the nuclear estrogen receptor and has been shown to display estrogen agonist action in neurons. Most importantly, we have recently successfully completed a proof-of-concept study (NHMRC 568807) showing that administration of adjunctive raloxifene to chronically ill men and women with schizophrenia improves immediate and delayed verbal memory.
GROUP: BILSTONSUPERVISORS
DR PETER BURKEPROF LYNNE BILSTON
The effect of mandibular advancement on upper airway pressure reflex responses
Honours
SUMMARY: Mandibular advancement splints are an effective treatment for approximately 33-50% of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. However, their effect on the physiology of the upper airway is not well understood, and a better understanding may help identify which patients will benefit from this therapy.
The aim of this project is to determine whether there is any effect of a mandibular advancement splint on the pharyngeal negative pressure reflex, by measuring this reflex in sleep apnoea patients with and without their splint in place. To do this, we will apply brief pulses of negative pressure (suction) as subjects breathe comfortably through a nasal mask.
We will monitor airway pressures (nasal, epiglottic) using nasal catheters, and record the reflex activation of upper airway dilator muscles.
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Neural Injury 9There is increasing evidence that neuroinflammation and in particular the cytokine Interleukin 1-beta (IL-1ß) may be altered in schizophrenia. IL-1ß mRNA and protein levels are significantly increased in serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue in chronically ill adults with schizophrenia and in first-episode psychosis.
Genetic studies show that allelic variation in the IL-1ß gene has been associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and IL-1ß risk alleles have been associated with abnormal prefrontal cortex activity and reduced prefrontal grey matter in schizophrenia. Canakinumab, a human anti-interleukin 1ß monoclonal antibody, interferes with the bioactivity of IL-1ß.
This will be the first study to test if treatment of elevated peripheral inflammation markers will reduce psychotic symptoms and reverse cognitive deficits in people with schizophrenia.
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NeuRA
GROUP: BIRZNIEKSSUPERVISORS
DR INGVARS BIRZNIEKSDR RICHARD VICKERYDR SARAH MCINTYRE
Tactile information encoding and sensorimotor control of the human hand (fundamental neuroscience, stroke, prosthesis and robots)
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: Our senses define our existence and determine how we perceive the world in which we live.
The research in our laboratory primarily comprises a range of studies related to the function of tactile receptors in the skin and sensorimotor control of the human hand. However, our ultimate goal is to use this fundamental knowledge and foster two branches of collaborative networks – one
with clinicians, which aims to develop new methods for evaluation of sensorimotor function in different groups of patients, while the second branch aims to work with biomedical engineers to create artificial sensors and control algorithms for prostheses and robotic manipulators resembling functionality of the human hand.
There are several research methodologies and methods you can learn in our laboratory:
1. Human microneurography – a unique method that allows us to tap into the signals that single sensory axons are sending to the brain. Using fine needle electrodes inserted into a peripheral nerve we are able to analyse tactile neural signals in awake humans with a precision and resolution previously available only in animal experiments.
2. Psychophysics (controlled, objective studies of perception).
3. Computer modelling, simulations, robotics (collaboration with biomedical engineers).
4. Investigations in patients (stroke, diabetic neuropathy).
GROUP: HERBERTSUPERVISORS
DR MARTIN HÉROUXDR BART BOLSTERLEE
3-D motion of the ribs during quiet breathing in patients with lung cancer
Honours
SUMMARY: Human breathing is essential to life. Many medical conditions impact our ability to breathe, the most severe of which lead to death. A crucial aspect of human breathing is the work done by muscles to expand the chest wall during breathing. In collaboration with leading experts in the field, our group has conducted numerous studies to understand how the diaphragm and muscles of the rib cage contribute to breathing. There is a need to have a non-invasive way of assessing parasternal muscle activation and their mechanical advantage. Unfortunately, techniques such as MRI and CT can be expensive or involve exposure to harmful radiation. Recording muscle activity is typically done with indwelling recording techniques, which are not well suited for routine clinical use and also pose a risk of complications. Our group has devised a way to use ultrasound to assess changes in muscle fascicle length during breathing. Validating this method involves obtaining high-resolution measures of rib motion
during quiet breathing. We have obtained a set of 4-D CT data from lung cancer patients that will allow us to accurately model rib motion and rib muscle behaviour during quiet breathing. Results from this study will provide clinicians and researchers with the most detailed description of human chest wall motion available to date. They will also be used to validate our ultrasound-based techniques, model chest wall muscle behaviour and provide important insight into the effect lung cancer has on chest wall and breathing mechanics.
GROUP: HERBERTSUPERVISORS
DR MARTIN HÉROUXPROF ROB HERBERT
PROF SIMON GANDEVIAASSOC PROF JANE BUTLER
Distribution of human motor units in the human gastrocnemius muscle
Honours
SUMMARY: Human medial gastrocnemius motor units are thought to occupy small muscle territories or regions, with low-threshold units preferentially located distally. This
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is at odds with recent results obtained using indwelling motor unit recordings where over 40% of recorded units spanned at least half the length of the muscle, many of which spanned the entire length (Heroux et al. 2015).
Although it has been argued that these results do not disprove the existence of regional muscle activity in the medial gastrocnemius muscle, strong evidence to the contrary remains elusive. If present, regional muscle activity – with low-threshold motor units concentrated distally – should result in earlier shortening in distal muscle fascicles during ramped contractions.
However, a recent study by our research group (Heroux et al. 2016) found no evidence of this type of regional muscle activity using ultrasound measures. In the proposed study, we will use transcranial magnetic stimulation to activate the lowest threshold motor units in the human gastrocnemius, and we will use both ultrasound videos and indwelling fine-wire motor unit recordings to confirm once and for all that motor units in this muscle are not spatially localised or functionally grouped.
The student would help set-up the experiment. They would also help collect and analyse all of the data, as well as draft the manuscript that will be submitted for publication.
GROUP: HERBERTSUPERVISORS
DR BART BOLSTERLEEPROF ROB HERBERT
Development and application of diffusion tensor imaging techniques to study three-dimensional muscle architecture
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: Muscles are composed of many muscle fibres. The orientations and lengths of muscle fibres determine how much force a muscle can produce so these properties, referred to as muscle architecture, are very important for the muscle’s function. In the last several decades, researchers have measured these properties using ultrasound imaging.
By placing an ultrasound transducer on the skin overlying a muscle, a two-dimensional image of the muscle is obtained from which fibre lengths and orientation can be measured. But muscles have complex, three-dimensional shapes, which makes measuring their properties with ultrasound difficult and inaccurate.
In the last decade, a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique has emerged to measure the diffusion properties of tissues, which provides detailed information on three-dimensional
muscle structure. This technique is called diffusion tensor imaging or DTI.
Researchers at NeuRA have recently developed DTI-based techniques to make exquisite three-dimensional reconstructions of muscle fibre architecture and are now applying these techniques to study both healthy and diseased muscles. Joint contracture is one of the important clinical problems that we study. Joint contractures, a loss of the passive joint range of motion, are a major cause of disability in several patient groups including stroke survivors, patients with multiple sclerosis and children with cerebral palsy.
We are looking for undergraduates, Honours, Master’s or PhD students who are interested in solving clinical problems using DTI techniques or who want to further develop this state-of-the-art technology in a research team composed of physiotherapists and biomedical engineers.
GROUP: DELBAERESUPERVISORS
DR KIM DELBAEREDR KYLIE RADFORD
PROF STEPHEN LORD
Healthy ageing: falls, depression, dementia
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: Falls in older people are a major and increasing public health problem. One third of people aged 65 years and over fall every year, and falls and fractures account for over half of all injury-related health care costs. This impact will grow exponentially in the future due to the increasing proportion of older people in the population. The prevention of falls and mobility-related disability among older people is therefore an urgent public health challenge in Australia and internationally.
Our research is driven by the frequent co-existence of problems with mobility, cognition and mood in older people. Our ultimate research goal is to design
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intervention programs that simultaneously improve all three components of the thinking-moving-feeling triad implicated in poor health-related quality of life. In order to achieve this, we conduct research to enhance our understanding of healthy ageing and falls in older people across two main areas:
1. Our fundamental research aims to further explore the underlying mechanisms across the triad of physical frailty, depression and cognitive impairment on fall risk and on active and healthy ageing, through cognitive and behavioural neuroscience.
2. Our translational research aims to further explore the use and feasibility of technological solutions to predict falls in older adults and to deliver tailored interventions supporting healthy ageing through self-management of fall risk.
If your research interests fall within one of these themes for a PhD, Honours or Master's project, please get in touch with Kim Delbaere ([email protected]) or visit www.neura.edu.au/staff/dr-kim-delbaere for more information.
GROUP: DELBAERESUPERVISORS
DR KIM DELBAEREDR KYLIE [email protected]
Ageing and dementia in Aboriginal Australians
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: There are increasing numbers of older Aboriginal Australians, but recent research at NeuRA has found that dementia prevalence is three times higher in Aboriginal peoples compared to non-Indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal Elders play vital roles in their communities and further research is required to reduce the burden of dementia, and improve health and longevity for Aboriginal Australians, as they grow older. Current research projects at NeuRA include:
1. A population-based cohort study to investigate the major causes and risk factors for dementia in this population. This study will focus on the social and biomedical factors associated with dementia. It includes structured interviews, clinical assessments, genotyping and cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques.
2. A mixed-methods project to examine Aboriginal perspectives on healthy brain ageing and develop/evaluate novel programs to prevent cognitive decline.
3. Research to improve the evidence base for cognitive assessment in this population, in a cultural sensitive manner.
This research would suit prospective students with an interest in the epidemiology of dementia and ageing, Indigenous health, healthy brain ageing and dementia prevention, social determinants of health, or cross-cultural neuropsychology. It offers opportunities to gain experience in a range of different methodologies and scope to develop a independent study within the general scope of current projects.
GROUP: ECKERTSUPERVISORS
ASSOC PROF DANNY ECKERTDR JAYNE CARBERRY
Sleep and breathing research at NeuRA
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: We have a range of projects available that are designed to determine why people get sleep apnoea and develop new treatments.
GROUP: MIGLIACCIOSUPERVISORS
ASSOC PROF AMERICO MIGLIACCIODR SERAJUL KHAN
Understanding vestibular plasticity using the incremental vestibulo-ocular reflex adaptation training technique: a new approach for balance rehabilitation
PhD Honours
SUMMARY: During typical far-viewing, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) generates an eye movement that has the same speed, but opposite direction, to head movement with a latency of 5 ms. The VOR keeps images stable on the back of the retina. Without the VOR, stable vision and balance becomes impossible when the head moves - a debilitating condition that affects up to 5% of the population.
Virtual reality (VR) therapy is gaining popularity for treatment of several conditions, e.g., phobias. However, patients often report unstable vision and balance afterwards. Due to technical limitations VR uncouples head movement to the visual world potentially affecting the VOR latency. The plasticity of the VOR latency has never been investigated. Our aim is to determine whether the VOR
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latency is hard-wired or can be modified through training. The Balance and Vision laboratory at NeuRA has developed a new vestibular rehabilitation technique that modifies the VOR response magnitude 12 times faster than traditional techniques. We will use this technique to modify the horizontal VOR latency in 12 normal subjects. A fixed delay will be introduced between the head movement stimulus and a visual laser target stimulus, which will start at latency 2 ms and increase to 20 ms in steps of 2 ms over ten 90 second epochs.
We hypothesise that the latency of the otherwise highly-plastic VOR will increase, thus revealing a key feature about VOR timing that may be important for VR therapy and vestibular rehabilitation.
GROUP: CLOSESUPERVISORS
PROF JACQUELINE CLOSEDR MORAG [email protected]
Randomised controlled trial of cognitive training for people with mild to moderate dementia
PhD
SUMMARY: In cognitively healthy older people the literature suggests that cognitive training (CT) can improve cognition
and less consistently, activities of daily living and physical performance. The impact of CT on cognitive performance in community-dwelling older people with dementia (CDWD) is yet to be clearly established and needs further well-conducted research.
Hypothesis:Cognitive training will maintain or improve cognitive performance in CDWD, and maintain or improve physical and functional performance.
Research Objectives:
Primary aim1. To determine if a home program
of CT improves processing speed, working memory and/or executive function in older people with mild to moderate dementia.
Secondary aims:1. Examine the effect of the CT
on physical and functional performance.
2. Evaluate adherence to the CT program.
3. Examine the effect of CT on participant and carer quality of life.
Study design: Single blind pilot randomised control
Planned sample size: 80 dyads
Study procedure: All participants will undergo a comprehensive test battery including neuropsychological, physical, functional and QOL assessments at
baseline, at 6 months (at completion of CT for intervention group) and at 12 months (6 months after completion of CT). The baseline and follow-up assessments will be completed in the participant's home (or at NeuRA if the participant prefers). Concealed randomisation will be performed by a person independent of the study after baseline assessment.
The intervention group will endeavour to undertake CT at home for 6 months. The intervention involves training 3x/week for 10-30 minutes. The control group will receive usual care and healthy living information.
Study duration: 12 months
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Notes Notes
NeuRA
Why study at NeuRA?NeuRA’s students are future research leaders. In our vibrant research environment, our students are supervised by internationally recognised experts in neuroscience.For further information go to neura.edu.au/why-study-at-neura.
Neuroscience Research Australia Margarete Ainsworth Building, Barker Street, Randwick NSW 2031
Phone: +61 2 9399 1000 Email: [email protected] Website: neura.edu.au
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