Staff profile

Dr Tony G Paolini

Associate Professor, Reader

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Psychological Science
Department of Psychology

Biological Sciences 2 Building, room 121, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BSc Hons, MPsych, PhD UMELB.

Membership of professional Associations

MAPS, The Society for Neuroscience, Australian Neuroscience Society, Australian Psychological Society, General registration Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria.

Area of study

Psychology

Brief Profile

 During his PhD studies Dr Paolini gained an insight into the neural mechanisms of olfactory information transfer in the brain, under the supervision of Dr. John McKenzie at the Department of Physiology, The University of Melbourne. He was able to perform electrophysiological experiments in vivo. In particular intracellular recording and dye filling of neurons helped to explore neural mechanisms. These experiments have revealed the importance of basal forebrain structures in olfactory signal transmission, which help to explain the olfactory dysfunctions associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

After completion of his PhD, Dr Paolini was employed as a Research Fellow at the Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He began to investigate with Prof. Graeme Clark, the neural mechanisms underlying coding of sound information in the cochlear nucleus (CN). He was able to bring his knowledge and experiences in the olfactory fields into the area of auditory neuroscience. A primary goal of his research is to improve the Bionic Ear (Cochlear Implant) device by examining how the brain responds to electrical and brain stimulation.

In 2002, he was appointed as a full time Lecturer in the School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005 and Reader and Associate Professor in 2008. Here he lecturers in the Behavioural Neuroscience (BN) course and supervise postgraduate research. He has established and Heads a world class Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at La Trobe University to continue his investigations into both basic and clinically orientated research which has been supported by funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, Australian Research Council of Australia and The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation.

In 2009, Dr Paolini was appointed Director of the Graeme Clark Centre for Bionic Ear and Neurosensory Research (GCC_BENSR) at La Trobe.

Research interests

Neuroscience and neuropsychology

- to improve the Bionic Ear (Cochlear Implant) device by examining how the brain responds to electrical and brain stimulation

Recent Publications

Nayagam DAX, Clarey JC, Paolini AG (In Press) The Ventral Complex of the Lateral Lemniscus: A Review. In: Deafness, Hearing Loss and the Auditory System (Derick Fiedler and Rowland Krause); New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Barutchu A., Danaher J., Innes-Brown H., Shivdasani M.N., Crewther S. and Paolini A.G. Audiovisual Integration in Noise by Children and Adults. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 1st Sept, 2009)

Mulders W.H.A.M., Paolini A.G., Needham K. and Robertson D (in press) Synaptic Responses in Cochlear Nucleus Neurons Evoked by Activation of the Olivocochlear System. Hearing Research 256, 85-92   

Shivdasani M.N. Mauger S. J., Rathbone G. D. and Paolini A. G. (in press) Neural synchrony in ventral cochlear nucleus neuron populations is not mediated by intrinsic processes but is stimulus induced: implications for auditory brainstem implants. J. Neural Eng. (accepted 9th June, 2009)   

Abbott J.D., Kent S., Levay E.A., Tucker R.V., Penman J., Tammer A.H. and Paolini A.G. The effects of calorie restriction olfactory cues on conspecific anxietylike behaviour. Behav. Brain Res. 201: 305-310  

Govic A., Levay E. A., Kent S. and Paolini A.G. (2009) The Social Behavior of Male Rats Administered an Adult-onset Calorie Restriction Regimen. Physiology & Behavior, 96, 581-585   

Crea K.N., Shivdasani M.N., Argent R.E., Mauger S.J., Rathbone G.D., O’Leary S.J. and Paolini A.G. (in press) Acute cochlear nucleus compression alters tuning properties of inferior colliculus neurons. Audiology & Neurotology (accepted Jan 29, 2009)

Barret G.L., Reid C.A., Tsafoulis C., Zhu, W., Williams D.A., Paolini A.G., Trieu J. and Murphy M. (in press) Enhanced Spatial Memory and Hippocampal Long Term Potentiation in p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Knockout Mice. Hippocampus (accepted 7th Feb, 2009)

Govic A., Levay E. A., Hazi, A, Penman J., Kent S. and Paolini A.G. (2008) Alterations in male sexual behaviour, attractiveness and testosterone levels induced by an adult-onset calorie restriction regimen. Behavioral Brain Research 26;190(1):140-6  

Shivadasani M. N., Mauger S. J., Rathbone G. D. and Paolini A. G. (2008) Inferior colliculus responses to multichannel microstimulation of the ventral cochlear nucleus: Implications for auditory brainstem implants. Journal of Neurophysiology 99 (1): 1-13   

Youssoufian M., Couchman K., Shivdasani M. N., Paolini A. G. and Walmsley B. (2008) Maturation of auditory brainstem projections and calyces in the congenitally deaf (dn/dn) mouse. Journal of Comparative Neurology 506 (3): 442-451  

Govic A., Kent S., Levay E. A., Hazi, A, Penman J. and Paolini A.G. (2008) Testosterone, social and sexual behavior of perinatally and lifelong calorie restricted offspring. Physiology and Behaviour 9;94(3):516-22   

Levay E. A., Paolini A.G., Govic A., Hazi, A, Penman J. and Kent S. (2008) Anxiety-like behaviour in adult rats perinatally exposed to maternal calorie restriction. Behavioral Brain Research 22;191(2):164-72  

Talarico M., Abdilla G., Aliferis M., Balazic I., Giaprakis I., Stefanakis T., Foenander K., Grayden D.B. and Paolini A.G. (2007) Effect of age and cognition on childhood speech in noise perception abilities. Audiology & Neurotology, 12(1):13- 19  

Needham K and Paolini A.G. (2007) The commissural pathway and cochlear nucleus bushy neurons: an in vivo intracellular investigation. Brain Research 1134(1):113-21   

Levay E. A., Govic A., Penman J., Paolini A. G., and Kent S. (2007) Effects of adult-onset calorie restriction on anxiety-like behavior in rats. Physiology and Behavior 5;92(5): 889-96  

Leao R.N., Sun H, Svahn K., Berntson A., Youssoufian M., Paolini A.G., Fyffe R. and Walmsley B. (2006) Topographic organization in the auditory brainstem of juvenile mice is disrupted in congenital deafness. Journal of Physiology (London) 571.3 pp 563-578   

Needham K and Paolini A.G. (2006) Neural timing, inhibition and the nature of stellate cell interaction in the ventral cochlear nucleus. Hearing Research 216-217: 31-42  

Nayagam D., Clarey J.C. and Paolini A.G. (2006) Intracellular Responses and Morphology of Rat Ventral Complex of the Lateral Lemniscus Neurons In Vivo. Journal of Comparative Neurology 498, 295-315   

Nayagam D., Clarey J.C. and Paolini A.G. (2005) Powerful, onset inhibition in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus. Journal of Neurophysiology, 94: 1651-1654  

Paolini A.G., Clarey J.C., Needham K and Clark G.M. (2005) Balanced inhibition and excitation underlies spike firing regularity in ventral cochlear nucleus chopper neurons. European Journal of Neuroscience 21: 1236-1248   

Clarey J.C., Paolini A.G., Grayden D.B., Burkitt A.N. and Clark, G.M. (2004) Ventral cochlear nucleus coding of voice onset time in naturally spoken syllables. Hearing Research 190, 37-59.   

Grayden D.B., Burkitt A.N., Kenny O.P., Clarey J.C., Paolini, A.G. and Clark G.M. (2004) A cochlear implant speech processing strategy based on an auditory model. IEEE, ISSNIP.   

Paolini A.G., Clarey J.C., Needham K and Clark G.M. (2004) Fast inhibition altersfirst spike timing in auditory brainstem neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 92, 2615-21   

Shepherd R.K., Roberts L.A. and Paolini A.G. (2004) Long-term sensorineural hearing loss induces functional changes in the rat auditory nerve. European Journal of Neuroscience 20: 3131-3140