A Grey Matter

Did you know? Humans are pretty average when it comes to seeing the visual world compared to many other animals with much smaller brains. Or that octopuses are essentially colourblind? And that there’s really no such thing as colour? We talk to visual ecologist Professor Justin Marshall about the fascinating world of animal vision. CREDIT Hosted, produced and edited by Carolyn Barry

At the very earliest stages of life, how do stem cells know how to turn into the right cells at the right time and go to the right places. Just a few cells create the billions of brain cells we have. In this episode, we talk to Professor Helen Cooper, Deputy Director of Research at the Queensland Brain Institute. She studies the complex world of the signalling pathways that stem cells use to turn...

How do birds and bees fly in groups without colliding? or know how to navigate straight to a food source? And how do you train a bee to fly down a tunnel? Studying these tiny insects can give us insight, not only into how our brains work, but also how we might enhance aircraft navigation. CREDIT Hosted by Donna Lu, edited by Carolyn Barry

We chat to neuroscientist Dr Susannah Tye from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute, who investigates new therapies for treatment-resistant depression, about the signs and symptoms, causes and treatments of this common mental health disorder.

You either know someone who's had a mental health disorder or you've had that challenge yourself. We know so much more about the science of mental health than ever before, but there's still so much to learn. Neuroscientists are doing their part to unlock the mysteries of why people get mental health disorders and how they develop. CREDIT Hosted, produced and edited by Carolyn Barry

We spend approximately a third of our lives asleep: that’s roughly 25 years we could spend awake and running around being productive, and yet evolution has guided us to spend hours every night in our most vulnerable state – unconscious and unaware. It’s an easy question to ask: what’s the point? CREDIT Hosted, produced and edited by Carolyn Barry

Who would have thought the humble zebrafish might hold the key to understanding our own brain, including conditions such as autism spectrum disorder? We talk to Associate Professor Ethan Scott who leads the Neural Circuits and Behaviour laboratory at QBI. Ethan is interested in understanding the biology behind developmental mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder.

We talk to Professor Massimo Hilliard and Dr Steven Zuryn about the importance of fundamental science – what it is and why it is critical for generating discoveries that may have huge impacts to your health. Both researchers use roundworms to tackle some big problems in neuroscience. They study the basics of how cells in the brain and nervous system work in a simple animal to gain insights into ho...

We all have our own ways of pursuing pleasure: some of us exercise; some of us love gaming; some of us can’t resist another bit of chocolate. But what happens when our ability to manage the pursuit of pleasure goes wrong? In this episode of A Grey Matter, we talked to QBI’s Dr James Kesby about the brain’s reward mechanism – the dopamine system – and how faults in this mechanism can cause disorder...

John Quinn was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in his late 50s. Despite falling into a deep depression after his initial diagnosis, John is now a strong advocate for greater dementia awareness and research. In this episode of A Grey Matter, we hear from John and his partner Glenys, on their shared experience of living with John’s dementia. They are embarking on a four-day trek across Tasmania...

We hear from Rebecca Sharrock, one of 60 people in the world known to have highly superior autobiographical memory. Becky remembers a vast amount of her lived experiences – from her earliest birthdays to what she had to breakfast on this day five years ago. In this episode we hear from her, her mother Janet, and Associate Professor Gail Robinson from UQ Psychology.

We all know what it feels like to have a bad night's sleep - and feel tired and irritable the next day. Sleep plays such an important role in recharging our minds and bodies – but what if, no matter how much sleep you had, you didn't wake rejuvenated the next day? In this episode, we're taking sleep disorders – everything from sleepwalking to problems getting to sleep in the first p...

What's going on in the brain when someone creates new music? Musical improvisation is a skill that draws on many parts of the brain and is also related to creativity in other domains. In this episode of A Grey Matter, we speak to legendary jazz pianist Jason Rebello and UQ neuroscientist Professor Geoff Goodhill to explore the science behind musical creativity.  Jason Rebello is a leading jaz...

Tennis is not usually a sport you’d associate with concussion, but for Casey Dellacqua, head injury hits close to home. The former dual Olympian, World No. 26 singles and World No. 3 doubles player suffered a concussion during a match in October 2015, which put her out of action for almost a year. She shares her experiences in this episode of A Grey Matter. And we talk with Dr Fatima Nasrallah, wh...

Autism is a condition that affects a person’s ability to interact socially and relate to the world around them. The degree to which a person is affected ranges across a wide spectrum, from severe difficulties in communicating to mild symptoms. Mia Langguth, a researcher at QBI, works part-time as a carer for Chris, a 24-year-old man with autism. She became a disability support worker almost by cha...

Why and how do we sleep and what is consciousness? Are all animals that sleep by definition conscious when they are awake? Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen studies fruit flies and has recently published research which shows that flies have distinct sleep stages. General anaesthetics extinguish consciousness in humans, but how do they really work? His research shows that common mechanisms mi...

When it comes to self-improvement, there’s no shortage of books, tips, websites and online articles, particularly when it comes to boosting memory or brain power. The search term “hack your brain” turns up more than 7 million hits on Google. In this episode, we’re talking about brain stimulation – using external devices involving magnetic fields and electricity to zap the brain. In recent years, a...

We all know what it feels like after a bad night’s sleep – you’re tired, sluggish, and it’s hard to concentrate. Lack of sleep can have lasting effects on the mind and body. So why is sleep so important? Dr Leonie Kirszenblat talks from a scientific and personal perspective about sleep deprivation and what happens to the brain when we don't get enough.

Sallyanne Atkinson AO, Chair of QBI’s Advisory Board, talks to Ita Buttrose AO OBE, about her experience caring for her father, who had dementia. Ita is a national ambassador for Dementia Australia (formerly Alzheimer’s Australia.

We have about 100 billion neurons in the brain, which contains a lot of information and processing power for a computer to try to emulate. So, how does AI work? Just how close are we to creating human-like computers, or even bionic body parts?

We talk to neurosurgeon and researcher Professor Peter Silburn about OCD and how deep brain stimulation, like in Parkinson's disease, could help those with the most severe form of the disorder.

QBI researchers are doing all they can to understand and develop new treatments for dementia. In this episode, Dr Gerhard Leinenga explains the different types of dementia, whether it's possible to reduce the risk of getting it, and exciting QBI research that has reduced the symptoms of Alzheimer's in animal models. CREDIT Hosted by Donna Lu Produced by Jessica McGaw

"At 31, my mother had a stroke which happened in an instant, and whose effect will span her entire life."  Zoe McDonald interviews her mother, Dr Lavinia Codd, who is a stroke survivor and now stroke researcher at the Queensland Brain Institute. Zoe was just two at the time and she talks with her mother about the impact the stroke had on their family. CREDIT Produced by Jessica McGaw

We talk to Dr Dhanisha Jhaveri about the biological foundations of depression and anxiety. Two key structures, the hippocampus and the amygdala are integral to memory and emotions, respectively, and Dr Jhaveri studies how these function normally in order to understand what might happen when things go wrong. CREDIT Hosted by Donna Lu Produced by Jessica McGaw

Dr Bianca Di Wit, from the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University in Sydney talks gaming - of the neuro kind. Just what is this new field of neurogaming and how can it be used for learning? Can playing games make us more intelligent? CREDIT  Hosted by Donna Lu  Produced by Jessica McGaw