Advancements in cognitive neuroscience have provided profound insights into the workings of the human brain and the methods used offer opportunities to enhance performance, cognition, and mental health. Drawing upon interdisciplinary collaborations in the University of California San Diego, Human Performance Optimization Lab, this talk explores the application of cognitive neuroscience principles in three domains to improve human performance and alleviate mental health challenges. The first section will discuss studies addressing the role of vision and oculomotor function in athletic performance and the potential to train these foundational abilities to improve performance and sports outcomes. The second domain considers the use of electrophysiological measurements of the brain and heart to detect, and possibly predict, errors in manual performance, as shown in a series of studies with surgeons as they perform robot-assisted surgery. Lastly, findings from clinical trials testing personalized interventional treatments for mood disorders will be discussed in which the temporal and spatial parameters of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are individualized to test if personalization improves treatment response and can be used as predictive biomarkers to guide treatment selection. Together, these translational studies use the measurement tools and constructs of cognitive neuroscience to improve human performance and well-being.

Talk 1. PET based biomarkers of treatment efficacy in temporal lobe epilepsy A critical aspect of drug development involves identifying robust biomarkers of treatment response for use as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials. However, these biomarkers also have the capacity to inform mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and therapeutic efficacy. In this webinar, Dr Bianca Jupp will report on a series of studies using the GABAA PET ligand, [18F]-Flumazenil, to establish biomarkers of treatment response to a novel therapeutic for temporal lobe epilepsy, identifying affinity at this receptor as a key predictor of treatment outcome. Dr Bianca Jupp is a Research Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience, Monash University and Lead PET/CT Scientist at the Alfred Research Alliance–Monash Biomedical Imaging facility. Her research focuses on neuroimaging and its capacity to inform the neurobiology underlying neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Talk 2. The development of a PET radiotracer for reparative microglia Imaging of neuroinflammation is currently hindered by the technical limitations associated with TSPO imaging. In this webinar, Dr Lucy Vivash will discuss the development of PET radiotracers that specifically image reparative microglia through targeting the receptor kinase MerTK. This includes medicinal chemistry design and testing, radiochemistry, and in vitro and in vivo testing of lead tracers. Dr Lucy Vivash is a Research Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience, Monash University. Her research focuses on the preclinical development and clinical translation of novel PET radiotracers for the imaging of neurodegenerative diseases.