Group leader
Professor Bruno van Swinderen
+61 7 334 66332
Bruno van Swinderen
b.vanswinderen@uq.edu.au
Our research
The van Swinderen lab investigates how brain states shape awareness, focusing on three fundamental questions: how general anaesthetics induce loss of consciousness, why sleep is necessary, and how the brain allocates attention.
Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, the lab bridges molecular, cellular and whole-brain scales through integrated genetic, behavioural and neurophysiological approaches.
Their research centres on three related states in which awareness is reduced, sleep, general anaesthesia and selective attention, providing a unified framework for understanding how brains regulate consciousness.
Research approach
By combining advanced genetic tools, electrophysiology, whole-brain imaging and quantitative behavioural analysis, the team examines how neural circuits prioritise information, maintain internal states and transition between conscious and unconscious processing. Through this multi-level approach, the lab aims to uncover conserved mechanisms of brain function, revealing how attention is controlled, how sleep supports brain health and how anaesthesia suppresses consciousness.
This research has potential to inform treatments for sleep disorders, improve anaesthetic safety, and enhance understanding of cognitive dysfunction across neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Latest news
- 3 November 2023
- 24 March 2022
- 27 November 2020
- 4 September 2018