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To use an understanding of neuroscience to improve teaching and learning in our schools, by providing specialised courses to teachers and other professionals. This course is currently under development: the program will be available early in 2006.
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To develop a course to train young scientists and improve the skills base in South Australian research, through cross-institutional training programs leading to PhDs. Planning for this course is progressing well.
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To improve communication with patient groups, special interest bodies and the general community, ensuring that the expert opinion of SANI members is shared widely, through public education.
A new target for drugs?
Many drugs act on specific proteins (“receptors”) located on the outside membrane of nerve cells. Recent work has identified a new receptor, corresponding to a truncated form of the “NK1” receptor (gel on right- “NK-1TR”). Two nerve cells in a sympathetic ganglion both responded to a transmitter that acts on the “NK1” receptor, but only #1 expresses the full receptor (shown in red). Cell #2 must use the truncated form (no red staining). This new receptor type may represent a target for a new class of drugs, although their effects are, as yet, hard to predict.
Source: Judy Morris, Flinders University.