Show Notes
Virtual reality (VR) is more than just a video game tool — it’s helping advance our understanding of memory. At UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, cognitive neuroscientist Professor Jason Mattingley, PhD student Richard Ronayne, and research assistant Jayce Rushton are using VR to immerse people in a world they can explore to test their navigational and spatial memory. In part one of this two-part series, our guests discuss: The different types of memory Why traditional memory test...
More from A Grey Matter
Antipsychotic drugs, like clozapine, can stabilise some schizophrenia symptoms, but they do not cure the illness and can cause severe side effects. At UQ, a neuroscientist, a chemist and a psychiatrist have hit on a formulation that may revolutionise the treatment of schizophrenia. The research team, led by Professor Darryl Eyles and Dr Xiaoying Cui, are investigating a new delivery mode for clozapine, in the hope that it may be better tolerated by people living with schizophrenia and improve...
In neurodegenerative diseases, about 99% are associated with protein molecules aggregating together. In recent years, super-resolution microscopy has revolutionised how scientists view these minute molecules aggregating, along with other cellular events. QBI’s Professor Fred Meunier advocated that The University of Queensland invest in super-resolution microscopy; this had paid dividends, revealing fascinating discoveries about the nanoworld. Professor Meunier and his lab can now observ...
Despite its everyday use in hospitals, scientists have yet to fully understand how general anaesthesia works. Professor Bruno van Swinderen began studying general anaesthesia using the tiny worm C.elegans in the 1990s. Now in his lab at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Bruno and Dr Drew Cylinder are studying general anaesthesia reversal agents, which could shorten patients’ recovery time and potentially reduce the risk of post-operative complications. In this thought-provoking discussion, Bru...
Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of our cells, but research is revealing their wide role in brain health and links to rare genetic diseases that affect the brain. At UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Professor Steven Zuryn, a leading researcher in this field, and PhD student Tessa Onraet are investigating how keeping mitochondria healthy may help brain function. By studying tiny but experimentally powerful worms, C. elegans, their discoveries may help us understand more about the agei...
Exercise has many health benefits, including for our brains. Recent discoveries at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute offer new clues about the mechanisms that generate exercise’s positive effects. In their labs, Dr Tara Walker and Professor Jana Vukovic investigate how exercise enhances cognitive capacity from different angles. They study various mechanisms that can improve learning, memory, and neurogenesis. They are both on the cusp of clinical trials to begin translating their findings into ...