Laboratory of Neural Structure & Function

The central nervous system circuits and mechanisms which underlie an individuals response to traumatic injuries has been the major focus of research in our laboratory for a number of years. In particular, we are interested in two important questions:

(1) Why do some people develop conditions of chronic pain and disability following traumatic injury whereas others recover quickly and without complication ?

(2) What is the organization, connectivity and neurochemistry of the brain circuits which mediate shock following blood loss which is often associated with traumatic injury?

Our laboratory has developed animal models of pain, injury and disability which reflect closely human clinical conditions. Our experimental work is characterised by a strong multidisciplinary approach. We perform behavioural experiments identifying specific disabilities in complex behaviour including social interactions, reproductive behaviours, appetite and sleep-wake cycle function. Such studies are complemented with investigations of altered cardiovascular and endocrine function in behaving animals which display chronic pain and disability. We use also a variety of neuroanatomical techniques to identify the precise neural circuits involved in the development of chronic pain, disability and shock which include neuronal tract tracing, immunohistochemistry, in-situ hybridisation and immediate-early gene expression, data from which are analysed using conventional and confocal microscopic techniques. We use a range of state of the art molecular biological techniques to identify the acute and chronic changes in neural tissues following injury and blood loss, these include GeneChip technology, real-time RT-PCR as well as protein analyses (ELISA and Western blotting). We have collaborators both in Australia (i.e., University of Newcastle, POWMRI) as well as in France (INSERM), the USA (Salk Institute, Scripps Institute) and the UK (University College London) and have enjoyed a very successful collaboration with the Neural Imaging Laboratory in the Discipline of Anatomy and Histology in which brain imaging studies using fMRI have been performed.