Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre

Impulsive, Compulsive & Addictive Behaviour

Research Areas & Approach

The key psychological and biological measures of focus are:

  • Brain maturation (especially during early childhood and adolescence)
  • Cognition (e.g. attention, inhibition, intelligence)
  • Emotion (e.g. anxiety, temperament, personality)
  • Motivation (e.g. sensation seeking, reward/punishment sensitivity)
  • Genetics (genetic traits and polymorphisms)

    • Our work combines (a) detailed behavioral characterization, using experimental cognitive, psychophysiological, and standard psychological/neuropsychological tests; (b) multi-modal brain imaging, incorporating measures of brain anatomy, function, biochemistry, connectivity, and perfusion, and; (c) molecular genetic information. The inter-relationships of these measures are characterized in healthy participants, as well as disorders such as:

  • Schizophrenia
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Drug Abuse & Drug Dependence Disorders

    • Additionally, we are testing the notion that adolescence represents a unique timewindow during which individuals are especially sensitive to the effects of drugs of abuse on brain development, leading to cognitive, emotional and motivational disturbances later in life. Finally, we place a strong emphasis on translating our findings into practical strategies that are relevant to the clinical management of these patients.

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