A Grey Matter

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of our cells, but research is revealing their wide role in brain health and links to rare genetic diseases that affect the brain. At UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Professor Steven Zuryn, a leading researcher in this field, and PhD student Tessa Onraet are investigating how keeping mitochondria healthy may help brain function. By studying tiny but experimentally powerful worms, C. elegans, their discoveries may help us understand more about the ageing brain and potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.   
In this engaging conversation, Steven and Tessa discuss:
Mitochondria’s role in evolution
The unique DNA inside mitochondria
Why tiny worms called C.elegans are useful for studying mitochondria
How our brain cells react to damaged mitochondria
The future of mitochondria research
Related papers and resources
Digging deep into distinctly different DNA
C. elegans as a model to study mitochondrial biology and disease

Exercise has many health benefits, including for our brains. Recent discoveries at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute offer new clues about the mechanisms that generate exercise’s positive effects. In their labs, Dr Tara Walker and Professor Jana Vukovic investigate how exercise enhances cognitive capacity from different angles. They study various mechanisms that can improve learning, memory, and neurogenesis. They are both on the cusp of clinical trials to begin translating their findings into practice.  

In this captivating conversation, Tara and Jana explore:
How exercise impacts the brain
The process of neurogenesis
Whether we can replicate the effects of exercise
How exercise affects the brain’s primary immune cells (microglia) 
Why they want to see exercise prescribed

Related papers and resources 
Exercise can help slow cognitive decline
What the evidence tells us about exercise and healthy brain ageing
Platelets can replicate the benefits of exercise in the brain
UQ research reveals exercise brain boost can last for years

Virtual reality (VR) is changing how scientists study memory, and it involves exploring virtual mazes. At UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, cognitive neuroscience leader Professor Jason Mattingley, PhD student Richard Ronayne, and research assistant Jayce Rushton are conducting VR experiments that they hope will be adopted in clinical settings to test people’s navigational and spatial memory.  

In part two of this two-part series, our guests discuss:
The challenge of using VR when conducting experiments
Participants’ reactions to trying the VR memory test
Building a virtual maze to test memory
How VR can be used in a clinical setting
Why VR could help people struggling with memory loss

Related papers and resources 
Interpreting memory

Virtual reality (VR) is more than just a video game tool — it’s helping advance our understanding of memory. At UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, cognitive neuroscientist Professor Jason Mattingley, PhD student Richard Ronayne, and research assistant Jayce Rushton are using VR to immerse people in a world they can explore to test their navigational and spatial memory.  
In part one of this two-part series, our guests discuss:
The different types of memory 
Why traditional memory tests may need refining
Richard’s unique journey from mining sites to neuroscience labs
The inspiration behind using VR to test memory 
What a VR experiment looks like for participants

Related papers and resources:
What is memory?
Types of memory

Professor Massimo Hilliard and Dr Ramon Martinez-Marmol grew up far from Queensland – Massimo in Naples, Italy, and Ramon in Catalonia, Spain. Their passion for biology led them both overseas as postdoctoral researchers: Massimo to the United States, and then Ramon to Australia. In 2015, they met at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, where Ramon joined the Meunier lab before moving to the Hilliard lab in 2020 as a Research Fellow. Together, they have been extending the limits of what is known or expected about neuronal fusion.   
In this fascinating conversation, Massimo and Ramon explore:
 What happens when neurons fuse 
How viral infections, like Covid-19, can induce fusion, disrupting neural circuits 
The surprising role of a tiny, transparent roundworm, C.elegans, in advancing their research 
How the lab’s discoveries of critical molecular players, like fusogens, may one day revolutionise nerve injury repair
Advice for early-career researchers pursuing discovery science

Related resources
 
SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral fusogens cause neuronal and glial fusion that compromises neuronal activity

EFF-1-mediated regenerative axonal fusion requires components of the apoptotic pathway

Fusogen-mediated neuron−neuron fusion disrupts neural circuit connectivity and alters animal behavior