Binge drinking

HEALTH INFORMATION

The effect of binge drinking on the teenage brain

WHAT WE KNOW

Binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks for a man or four or more drinks for a woman on one occasion, has become a common and more extreme pattern of drinking among young Australians.

Recognising that adolescence is a critical period for brain development, we are conducting research into how excessive drinking affects the teenage brain. This research will be crucial to informing our alcohol licensing laws and public health advice.

More information

What else is happening in Binge drinking research at NeuRA?

FEEL THE BUZZ IN THE AIR? US TOO.

The importance of medical research - Professor Peter Schofield AO

On August 11 2019, 54 people took on the City2Surf for Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). The event is the world’s largest fun run with 80,000 participants taking on the 14km course, which stretches from Hyde Park in central Sydney to the iconic Bondi Beach. NeuRA thanks all of its fundraisers, who raised an incredible $30,903. This funding will further NeuRA’s […]

Gabrielle Hunter

NeuRA BLOG: Team NeuRA at the City2Surf 2019

Entering the vital next phase in our fight against Alzheimer’s

‘Take care of all your memories… for you cannot relive them.’ The words of the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan are so true… for you cannot relive them. For Amanda, a big turning point was the moment a test showed she carried the family’s early-onset Alzheimer’s gene. Would she see her 50th birthday? And would her most treasured family memories fade away like an old album of yellowing photos? Another turning point was her vow to take part in a large clinical trial in the hope of sparing her children’s lives, since they had a 50% chance of carrying the gene too. “Sign me up... I’m your girl”, she said. The day-by-day pressure on Amanda’s life in her Alzheimer’s clinical trial has been enormous. And her bravery and endurance only heighten the pressure on us to keep up – and intensify – the fight against the hideous disease of Alzheimer’s.

Colour Your Hair for Mental Health

Older driver safety compromised by seat cushions and pillows

The Genomics of Intellectual Disability

Neurocognitive disorders are one of the largest unmet challenges in healthcare, due to their lifelong nature, high management costs, prevalence and frequent recurrence within families. The objectives of this research will be to enhance fundamental knowledge about the genetic basis of neurocognition and the investigation of targeted treatment strategies in relation to biological pathways. Non-coding and copy number variation mechanisms will be explored along, with a study on variable expressivity and non-penetrance in specific syndromes. It will apply genomic technologies to a cohort of at least 200 families with neurocognitive disorders, develop bioinformatics tools and implement functional studies using induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR/Cas9 to explore the heterogeneity underlying the genetic aetiology of intellectual disability. The outcomes of this research could enable improvements in clinical phenotyping, genomic diagnosis, common data analysis and reporting standards.

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