The Brain Dynamics Centre - Convenor of BRAINnet

Cognitive Neuroscience

Background

The Cognitive Neuroscience Unit research involves international collaborations with the Universities of London, Cambridge, Brown, Pennsylvania, Missouri and UMDNJ.

Objectives

The Unit focuses on a number of areas of research including:

• Identifying how different emotions are defined by distinct 'signatures' for how the brain and body react

• Showing that our emotional brain and body reactions can occur without our conscious awareness - especially when we recognize a threat-related cue

• Evidence that different modes of brain connectivity are associated with different levels of awareness for emotional cues. Perceiving emotion cues in the absence of awareness is supported by a 'feedforward' mode of connectivity. Conscious awareness of these cues emerges when we obtain 'feedback' from the brain and body. This feedback also allows us to feel the emotion associated with the cue.

• Different mental health conditions are defined by distinct disruptions to emotional brain and body systems.

CURRENT PROJECTS:

Emotional Well-being Project draws on the INTEGRATE model and is funded by an ARC-linkage grant (LP0883621 -Gene-brain pathways in emotional brain stability and instability)

Missing Links investigates brain connectivity and is funded by a Pfizer Fellowship for (Missing Links: Cause and Treatment of Mental Illness)

Development of Integrated Biological Markers uses brain imaging and genetic techniques to develop evidence-based biological markers of normal function and is funded by an ARC-linkage grant (LP0455104 - Development of Integrated Biomarkers)

Identifying Risk Markers for Depression aims to establish objective markers for detecting early signs of depression and is funded by an ARC-Discovery grant (DP0773994 - Identifying Risk Markers for Depression)

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE TEAM

Professor Lea Williams