Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory
UNSW
behavioural neuroscience laboratory
What we do
Our research aims to discover how brain activity across scale, underpins the complex but fundamental forms of associative learning essential for healthy decision-making and adaptive behaviour. We focus on how we learn about the adverse consequences of our actions, how we learn to fear and learn to reduce fear, how we learn about rewards, and how we use this learning to make better decisions.
Aberrations in these mechanisms contribute to a variety of disorders such as substance abuse, antisocial personality disorder and conduct disorder, problem gambling, binge and overeating, and depressive disorders. These are complex problems, contributing significantly to economic burden and imposing costs to Australia in excess of $100 billion per year. They affect more than 1 in 3 Australians. The burden of these problems is only expected to increase in the future. So, we also aim to discover how these fundamental mechanisms are disrupted in clinical conditions and how such disruptions may be better treated.
To achieve this, we adopt multidisciplinary solutions based on recent advances in experimental psychology and neuroscience. We have unique, state of the art research facilities and an extensive translational and collaborative research profile. Our work is funded by The Australian Research Council and The National Health and Medical Research Council. Our current international and national collaborations range from optimising new optical tools for neuroscience research to clinical trials of new pharmacotherapies for alcohol-use disorders.
Our Team
Professor Gavan McNally
I am Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNSW. I completed my undergraduate training and PhD at UNSW prior to postdoctoral training at The University of Michigan.
I was awarded the Pavlovian Research Award (Pavlovian Society), The 2021 and 2016 D.G. Marquis Behavioural Neuroscience Award (American Psychological Association),The Rising Star Award (Association for Psychological Science). I have been a Professorial Future Fellow (2012 – 2014) and QEII Fellow (2008 – 2012) of the Australian Research Council. I am Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.
I serve as Editor in Chief of Neurobiology of Learning & Memory and Senior Editor at The Journal of Neuroscience.
Our Team
Senior Staff
Dr Zayra Millan
Dr Joanna Yau
Dr Eun A Choi
Lecturer and Senior Research Associate
Senior Technical Officer and Research Associate
Lecturer and Senior Research Associate
+ each year we are joined by 2 - 3 Honours students and 3 - 4 interns
PhD Students
Sophia
Gilchrist
Si Yin
Lui
林璧旋
Bixuan Lin
Bart
Cooley
Kelly
Zhuang
Hannah
Machet
Our research
Current Projects
Pathways to the persistence of maladaptive behaviour
We all make poor decisions some of the time, but we learn from our mistakes to make better decisions in the future. However, some people make poor decisions a lot of the time, resulting in persistent self-detrimental behaviour. Across domains, from the environment to justice to health, the impacts of persistent poor decision making by individuals are staggering
Building on our recent experimental and theoretical work, this project uses cutting edge behavioural, cellular, and molecular tools to map the cognitive and brain mechanisms enabling us to learn about the adverse consequences of our actions and avoid persistent maladaptive behaviour and to show why some people have difficulty with this learning.
Linking clinical and basic science discovery to find new treatments for alcohol use disorder
Building on recent neuroscience discoveries of treatment targets by our team and others, this project creates a new translational platform for treatment development. Commencing from discovery science in animal models and leading to in vivo human trials, we aim to demonstrate the efficacy of new targeted pharmacological and behavioural approaches.
A new science of fear inhibition
Disorders of fear and anxiety affect 1 in 3 Australians. Animal models of fear inhibition have had success reducing this burden, opening new streams of clinical research and delivering gains in treatments. Yet progress in the science of fear inhibition and further translational success has stalled, with no new treatments emerging in a decade.
Building on our innovative behavioural and neural approaches, this project aims to delivera new understanding of fear inhibition across biological scale – molecular, synaptic, circuit, and behaviour – identifying new mechanisms for how the brain inhibits fear, establishing new links with medication and therapeutic targets.
Our research
Recent Publications
Studying human learning and decision-making, we show that some individuals can fall into a ‘punishment trap’
A comprehensive review on the nature and mechanisms of extinction learning.
Here we show how relapse to alcohol-seeking relates to activity in specific components of te mesolimbic dopamine system. We report the mesolimbic dopamine activity signatures for relapse and show that these signatures are unique for different forms of relapse
We outline a new conceptual model of understanding some of the core features of persisrent drug use
We provide the first evidence for aversion coding in the amygdala during punishment learning.
Our research
Our facilities
We operate a modern neuroscience laboratory, working across species from mice to rats to humans.
We hold colonies of wildtype and transgenic rats and mice. There is a dedicated PC2 surgical suite with stereotaxic instruments, including fully robotic instruments. Our behavioural testing facilities fare fully integrated with optogenetic manipulation, single and dual colour Inscopix headmounted microscopes, Inscopix nVoke for dual imaging and optogenetic manipulation, as well as single and two colour fibre photometry. There is capacity for 3D video reconstruction of animal behaviour/posture and machine learning for high dimensional behavioural quantification. There are dedicated facilities for immunohistochemistry, RNA and DNA extraction, identification and quantification, and tissue clearing. There are extensive in-lab imaging capabilities as well as access MERSCOPE and whole brain single cell imaging technologies.
Our human research is conducted in our laboratory and remotely as well as with collaborators. We study learning and decision-making in treatment seeking populations across the nation.
Our research
Collaborators
We collaborate broadly with colleagues across Australia to increase the knowledge gain from our work as well as achieve its translational impact. These collaborations range from discovery science to clinical discovery. If you are interested in collaborating with us, please email Gavan (g.mcnally@unsw.edu.au).
Discovery Science
Dr John Power (UNSW)
Professor Elena Bagley (University of Sydney)
Dr John Lin (University of Tasmania)
Dr Gabrielle Weidemann (Western Sydney University)
Professor Peter Lovibond (UNSW)
Translational clinical discovery
Professor Andrew Lawrence (Florey Neuroscience Institute)
Professor Paul Haber (University of Sydney)
Professor Kirsten Morley (University of Sydney)
Dr Leigh Walker (Florey Neuroscience Institute)
Professor Dan Tubman (Turning Point, Monash University)
Associate Professor Victoria Manning (Turning Point, Monash University)
Professor Shalini Arunogiri (Turning Point, Monash University)
FAQs
Prospective PhD students
Q: Can I do a PhD in your lab?
We are always seeking outstanding, highly motivated individuals interested in completing a PhD. The first step is to email me your CV and academic transcript. We will then schedule a meeting to discuss your interests, goals, working style and so forth. If we each remain interested, then we will work together on your application for entry.
Q: What are your expectations of PhD students?
Our lab values are respect, integrity, safety, and excellence. So, we expect you to treat others with respect, to carry out your research with integrity, to work safely, and to strive for academic and research excellence. We expect you to attend the lab as scheduled to complete your research, to keep excellent records, to assist with mentoring and training junior members in the lab, to assist with communal lab tasks, and to attend and participate in weekly lab meetings.
Q: Are your PhD students successful
We pride ourselves on creating a quality, world-class training environment for students. You will have access to state of the art technologies, an inclusive and supportive lab culture, and many opportunities for your personal and academic development. Your success in your PhD is determined by you, your committment, and your willingness to take advantage of and profit from these unique opportunities.
We have been fortunate to work with many talented PhD students. Some now hold academic and research positions in Australia and overseas. Others have taken their skills and expertise to work as linical psychologists, forensic psychologists, and in the public service as well as industry.
FAQs
Prospective Honours students
Q: Can I do my honours year in your lab?
Yes. Please note that the School of Psychology Honours allocation takes into account but does not guarantee your preference for supervisor and laboratory. Individual supervisors have no control over which students they are allocated.
Q: Do I have to come up with my own thesis topic?
We will work collaboratively to design your thesis work to ensure that you work on a modern research question that interests you and maximises your chances to achieve academic excellence.
Q: What do you expect from Honours students in your lab?
Our lab values are respect, integrity, safety, and excelllence. So, we expect you to treat others with respect, to carry out your research with integrity, to work safely, and to strive for academic and research excellence. We do not expect you to have prior research experience. We expect you to attend the lab as scheduled to complete your research, to keep excellent records, to assist with communal lab tasks, and to attend and participate in weekly lab meetings.
Q:Are your honours students successful?
We pride ourselves on creating a quality, world-class training environment for students. You will have access to state of the art technologies, an inclusive and supportive lab culture, and many opportunities for your personal and academic development. Your success in Honours is determined by you, your committment, and your willingness to take advantage of and profit from these unique opportunities.
We have been fortunate to work with many talented, hard working Honours students, with most earning quality First Class degrees and many winning University Medals, Australian Psychology Society Prize
etc.
Q: I have never worked in a lab/your lab before, will I be disadvantaged?
No. All Honours students have equal opportunity for success.
FAQs
Prospective interns and volunteers
Q: Can I gain experience by volunteering in your lab?
Yes. We are always keen to welcome new students into the lab. Email Gavan to schedule a meeting to discuss.
Q:What would I be doing in your lab a volunteer?
Assisting lab staff or PhD students with their projects. Depending on your interests and goals, this could range from purely behavioural work in rodents to measuring or manipulating brain cells and circuits. You will have the opportunity to be trained to work safely and effectively across all aspects of our lab.
Q:What time commitment is expected?
4 hours per week
Q: What do you expect from interns/volunteers?
Our lab values are respect, integrity, safety, and excelllence. So, we expect you to treat others with respect, to carry out your research with integrity, to work safely, and to strive for academic and research excellence. We do not expect you to have prior research experience
Q: Can I attend your lab meetings?
Yes. We meet 1PM-2PM each Friday. Please email Gavan to arrange attendance.