Research Fields

In 1999, forty four students were pursuing higher degrees in the Department in diverse fields which are summarised below:

Regulation of Cardiovascular and Renal Function: Hypertension; renal factors in blood pressure control; renin-angiotensin system; regulation of glomerular filtration rate; autonomic neural control of the kidney; central nervous system control of cardiovascular function; pressure-natriuresis; vascular growth and hypertension; hypertension in pregnancy; renal effects of antihypertensive agents; peptidases and blood pressure control.

Fetal and Neonatal Development: Development of the lungs and respiratory control in the fetus and newborn; sudden infant death syndrome; fetal-maternal endocrinology and fluid balance; fetal responses to hypoxia, stress and infection; control of events leading to parturition; development of the central nervous system and vulnerability of the brain to damage before and at birth; control of fetal and placental growth; control of fetal muscle development.

Reproductive Biology: Production and secretion of reproductive hormones; role of hypothalamic and pituitary axis; response of endocrine cells to stimuli; hormonal control of sexual differentiation; contraceptive effects of breastfeeding and population control; development of techniques for fertility control in feral animals; hormonal control of the oestrous cycle, menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.

Autonomic Neurobiology: Mechanisms of smooth muscle contraction; ion channels and their modulation; spread of excitation; roles of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides; function of autonomic ganglion cells; enteric nervous system; peripheral neural networks; neuroendocine cells, pineal function and innervation of adrenal chromaffin cells; simultaneous measurement of muscle tension, electrical events and intracellular calcium concentration.

Regulation of Muscle Function: The interrelationship between calcium, contraction and energy output of muscles; physiological determinants of oxygen usage in heart muscle; effects of age on mechanical and energetic properties of cardiac muscles; control of smooth muscle contraction by calcium and other second messenger systems; the mechanisms whereby second messengers modulate contractile activity and metabolic consequences of this; mechanisms of relaxation of smooth muscle; mechanical and energetic aspects of fatigue in skeletal muscle.

Neuroscience: Muscle sense organs, their development and regeneration, internal functioning and spinal reflex action; recovery from nerve and muscle injury, nerve regeneration, axonal sprouting and deafferentation, exercise-induced changes in skeletal muscle, structural and mechanical aspects of muscle development; brain processing of auditory signals, plasticity of the auditory cortex and deafness, function of auditory efferent systems, sound localisation, comparative aspects of hearing in Australian native animals; brain pathways involved in movement control; function of the cerebellum, development of somatic sensory receptors and pathways and central connections; control of motor function in the primate, movement programming by cortical motor areas and basal ganglia.

Exercise Physiology: Effect of alterations in blood glucose levels on hepatic glucose production and glucose uptake during intense exercise in humans; energy state in contracting human muscle at the point of fatigue; causes of fatigue during intense exercise in trained and untrained individuals; importance of fluid ingestion during intensive exercise.

Cellular Physiology: Membrane transport processes studied in the red blood cell; regulation of ionic transport; intracellular buffering of magnesium; computer modelling of the interaction of the red cell with its environment.

Molecular Neurobiology: Regulation of gene expression in the developing and ageing brain in response to stress neurodegeneration and ageing; molecular mechanisms of cell death/cell survival in adult brain; neurotrophic factors and cytokines in brain damage repair.

Experimental Techniques Available in the Department Major techniques currently used in the Department include:

• patch clamp for measuring ion channels on cell membranes.
• in vitro and in vivo recording of cell and nerve electrical activities.
• isolation and measurement of messenger RNA.
• DNA sequencing, DNA cloning, display of differentially expressed genes.
• generation of gene knockout and transgenic mice.
• immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, tracing of neural pathways.
• muscle biopsy, single fibre and whole muscle techniques for measuring muscle contractions.
• in situ hybridization, histochemistry, autoradiography.
• measuring renal and cardiovascular function in anaesthetised and conscious animals.
• measuring sleep/wake cerebral activity and lung function in fetal and newborn animals.
• fetal surgery.
• surgery on small and large animals.
• RIA and ELISA techniques.