Group leader
Professor Timothy Bredy
Timothy BredyFear, memory, and brain adaptation
The Bredy lab investigates how fear-related memories are formed, stored, and updated in the brain to understand why these processes become disrupted in disorders, such as PTSD, anxiety, and phobias. A major focus of this work is fear extinction, essential for recovery from trauma and forms the foundation of many exposure-based therapies.
The lab investigate how epigenetic mechanisms regulate the neural plasticity required for learning and memory. Their research examines how dynamic changes in DNA structure, RNA modifications, and noncoding RNAs influence gene expression and cell function during fear learning and extinction. Examining these processes uncovers the biological mechanisms that enable the brain to adapt to experience and update previously formed memories.
Our research focus
A key area of discovery is the role of RNA in memory formation. The lab has identified novel populations of learning-related RNAs at neuronal synapses and revealed important functions for noncoding RNAs, including Gas5, in regulating fear extinction memory. They are investigating how chemical modifications to RNA shape neuronal communication and memory-related gene regulation, providing new insights into the molecular architecture of learning and behavioural adaptation.
By definining the molecular pathways that support adaptive learning, memory flexibility, and cognitive resilience, the team aim to identify new therapeutic targets for PTSD, anxiety disorders, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. This research seeks to advance the development of innovative RNA-based therapeutics to improve cognitive function and mental health outcomes
Latest news
- QBI researchers have discovered a DNA modification that enhances our ability to extinguish fear, a discovery that could help guide the development of new treatments for fear-related anxiety disorders.
- QBI neuroscientists have found that the brain's process for repairing DNA is also important for consolidating memories and allowing rapid brain adaptation, a discovery that challenges current thinking on the significance of DNA repair to the brain's ability to adapt to changes.
- Queensland Brain Institute student Esmi Zajaczkowski has won a 2018 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship.
- QBI’s Associate Professor Timothy Bredy has received two highly competitive grants for his research into understanding the epigenetics of fear-related learning and memory, particularly in anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress (PTSD).
- Prenatal brain development is a crucial period, and as new QBI research has found, even small alterations to the way brain cells develop can have significant effects later in life.
- A new study has found the mechanism used by a hidden gene to affect how the brain responds to stressful experiences, in a discovery that could eventually help control anxiety.
Pages
Memory: The Hidden Pathways That Make Us Human | World Science Festival
RNA Q&A
Cutting-edge technologies, such as long-read sequencing, are giving researchers, like Professor Timothy Bredy unprecedented insights into cells to better understand the functional roles of various classes of RNA.