Researcher

Scientia Professor Bernard Balleine

Biography

Bernard Balleine received his BA with first class honours and the University Medal from the University of Sydney in 1987 and his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK in 1992. Subsequently, he was elected to a Research Fellowship at Jesus College Cambridge and spent three years conducting post-doctoral research in behavioural neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology at Cambridge University. He was appointed Assistant...view more

Bernard Balleine received his BA with first class honours and the University Medal from the University of Sydney in 1987 and his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK in 1992. Subsequently, he was elected to a Research Fellowship at Jesus College Cambridge and spent three years conducting post-doctoral research in behavioural neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology at Cambridge University. He was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1995, Associate Professor in 2000, and Full Professor in 2004. He was elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2004 and, in 2005, was appointed Director of Research in the Brain Research Institute at UCLA. He was awarded an inaugural Australian Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council in mid-2009 and was appointed to a Professorial position at the University of Sydney in that year. In 2015 he was made a Senior Principal Research Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and subsequently an NIMH Senior Investigator in 2020. In 2016 he moved his laboratory to the University of NSW (UNSW Sydney) and was appointed a UNSW Scientia (Distinguished) Professor during that year.


My Grants

GNT1175420                                                                          1/1/20-31/12/2024

NHMRC Investigator Grant                                                   Direct costs: $1,914,609

Title: Action memory and executive dysfunction in the cortical-basal ganglia network.

This project will test the hypothesis that executive dysfunction reflects a deficit in a specialised ‘action memory system’ in the brain. I will use novel behavioural, circuit and cellular tools together with cutting edge neuroimaging to reveal changes in the networks, circuits and cells that mediate normal and abnormal action control.
Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

GNT1089270                                                                          1/1/15–31/12/2019

NHMRC Project Grant                                                                       Direct costs: AU$591,864

Title: Dysfunctions of decision-making and the cognitive control of action

In this proposal, we will investigate the relationship between DOR activity in NAc-S and the influence of predictive learning on choice between goal-directed actions, and assess changes in DOR-related functions induced by exposure to drugs of abuse.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

GNT1079561                                                                          1/1/15–31/12/2019

NHMRC Fellowship Funding                                    Direct costs: AU$850,000

Title: Translational studies in decision-making

The aim of this research fellowship is to assess decision processes in healthy rodent and human subjects, and in animal models of, and humans suffering from, specific psychiatric disorders to establish the functional changes in brain circuits mediating cognitive-emotional integration during decision-making.

Role: Balleine: Senior Principal Research Fellow

DP200103401                                                                         1/1/2020–31/12/2024

Australian Research Council                                                  Direct costs: AU$1,280,000

Title: The neural bases of decision-making

This discovery grant will contribute critical new knowledge on the learning, memory and emotional processes engaged during the acquisition and choice between goal-directed actions and the neural bases of these processes.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

DP160105070                                                                         1/1/16–31/12/2020

Australian Research Council                                                  Direct costs: AU$1,195,400

Title: PET imaging of learning-related plasticity in awake behaving rats

This project will combine an investigation of basic learning processes with functional PET imaging in awake behaving rats in order to answer critical questions about the neurobiological basis of learning and decision-making in the brain. We will observe whole-brain changes in dopamine neurotransmission as rats learn to predict motivationally relevant outcomes based on environmental cues and on their own actions.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

DP150104878                                                                         1/1/15–31/12/2019

Australian Research Council                                                  Direct costs: AU$1,065,800

Title: The neural bases of decision-making

This discovery grant will contribute critical new knowledge on the learning, memory and emotional processes engaged during the acquisition and choice between new behavioural strategies and the influence of neuropathology on this process.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

GNT1148244                                                                                      1/1/18–31/12/20

NHMRC Project Grant                                                                       Direct costs: AU$542,055

Title: The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in disorders of response inhibition

The objective of this project to investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in maintaining response inhibition in the face of stimulus events that predict primary reward.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

GNT1147207                                                                                      1/1/18–31/12/20

NHMRC Project Grant                                                                       Direct costs: AU$473,446

Title: Cognitive inflexibility in disorders of decision-making

The objective of this project is to investigate changes in cellular plasticity at dopamine D1 and D2 neurons in the striatum associated with exposure to drugs of abuse, most notably cocaine.

Role: Balleine: Chief Investigator (CIB)

 

GNT 1165346                                                                                     1/1/19–31/12/2022

NHMRC Project Grant                                                                       Direct costs: AU$540,000

Title: The prefronto-striatal circuit and disorders of action control

In this project we will investigate the role of intratelencephalic neurons in the prelimbic cortex on plasticity in dorsomedial striatum associated with the acquisition of new goal-directed actions.

Role: Balleine Chief Investigator (CIA)

 

GNT 1166008                                                                                     1/1/19–31/12/2022

NHMRC Project Grant                                                                       Direct costs: AU$528,000

Title: A novel G-protein coupled receptor-based memory mediating the cognitive control of action.

We will investigate the role of the basolateral amygdala and paraventricular thalamus in the changes in ventral striatum associated with predictive learning and that control of decision making. These changes are associated with the translocation of a g-protein coupled receptor.

Role: Balleine Chief Investigator (CIA)


My Qualifications

1988                BA Honours 1st class & University Medal – University of Sydney

1992                PhD – University of Cambridge, UK (Graduated Jan 1993)


My Awards

1987           University Medal, University of Sydney

                   Australian Psychological Society Prize

                   Thomson Prize for Psychology Honors

1989           Research Scholarship, Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission

College Scholarship, Churchill College, Cambridge.

1992           Research Fellowship, Jesus College, Cambridge.

1997           FIRST Award – National Institute of Mental Health

2003           Elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association

2008           Research Award, The Pavlovian Society

2009           Laureate Fellowship, Australian Research Council

2015           Senior Principal Research Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council

2017           Paxinos Prize, Australasian Neuroscience Society

2020           NHMRC Senior Investigator


My Research Activities

The smooth integration of cognitive and emotional processes is necessary for everyday decisions. Dysfunction in this integrative capacity accompanies many major psychiatric conditions, neurodegenerative disorders and addiction. We seek to understand the neural bases of this integration in decision-making using cutting edge behavioural, cellular, molecular and genetic tools to establish how the brain controls action selection, evaluation and choice. We hope to contribute critical new knowledge on the learning, memory, motivational and emotional processes engaged during decision-making generally, and particularly when engaged in the acquisition of new goal-directed strategies, how these change as actions become habitual and how they are influenced by neuropathology.

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Location

Level 4, Matthews Building

Contact

+61 435659949