Dr Llew Mills (USYD)What works and why: two approaches to the treatment of addiction Abstract Addiction affects everyone, either directly through their own struggles or indirectly through the struggles of their friends and family. Yet it remains one of the most challenging disorders to treat. Medical addiction research tends to be pre-occupied with what treatments […]
A/Prof Vincent Laurent (UNSW)Cholinergic regulation of fear by the basal forebrain Abstract The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex are heavily implicated in fear regulation. These two regions receive dense cholinergic projections from the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) and/or the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of […]
Dr Erin Goddard (UNSW)Visual feature binding and colour constancy: similar processes? Abstract Different regions in visual cortex show specialisation for encoding different visual features, giving rise the question of how these features are ‘bound together’ to create a unitary percept of each object. I will show recent work based on classification of magnetoencephalography (MEG) data […]
Prof Carolyn MacCann (USYD)Emotional intelligence and emotion regulation Abstract The way we deal with emotions is important for our well-being, social relationships, and performance at work and school. This talk focuses on two key concepts that affect how we deal with emotions: emotional intelligence and emotion regulation. Emotional intelligence is a set of skills or capacities you have, […]
Dr Eliane Deschrijver (USYD)Unequal resource division occurs in the absence of group division and identity Abstract The seminal minimal group experiment has shown that discrimination can follow from intergroup relations and social identity. A large body of research evidenced that people discriminate against members of their out versus ingroup, even if groups and identities were assigned on the […]
Dr Dave Trudinger & Mr James Bates (NSW Department of Customer Service)Sludge: are there measurable psychological costs from administrative burden? A NSW and global perspective Abstract You’ve heard of nudges, but have you heard of sludge? The NSW Behavioural Insights Unit is leading the world on tackling sludge – the unnecessary and unjustified frictions that […]
Prof Michael Bowen (USYD)Title: KNX100 and other small molecules that could: Developing prosocial compounds for disorders of the brain and mind Abstract: Challenges with social motivation, interactions, and communication are central to many disorders of the brain and mind, and are major barriers to improved functioning in others. For example, in substance use disorders, impairments […]
Prof Ben Newell (UNSW)Title: The many uncertainties of climate change: A psychological perspective Abstract: The one thing that is certain about climate change is that it is happening. The extent of its impacts, our ability to adapt, to mitigate and to plan are, however, all inherently uncertain. This is unfortunate because uncertainty can often cloud perception […]
Prof Andrew Lawrence (Florey)Title: Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors as a Novel Treatment Target for Alcohol Use Disorder Abstract: Despite the large socioeconomic burden of alcohol use disorders (AUD), therapeutic treatment options are limited. There is a need to characterise the underlying neurochemistry driving alcohol seeking to identify and evaluate novel treatment targets. To this end we conducted […]
Dr Jelena Brcic (University of the Fraser Valley)Title: Reported Psychological Growth Following Work in Extreme and Unusual Environments: Role of Perceived Stress and Coping Abstract: There are psychological, biological, and sociological constructs that emerge within extreme and unusual environments (EUE) that cannot be studied elsewhere. Post-Experience Change (PEC), which is significantly modelled after Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), […]