Objectives and Priorities The Brain Dynamics Centre addresses the following national and international research priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health The Brain Dynamics Centre research and services will target the promotion of good mental health – including optimal performance in healthy individuals, as well as prevention and treatment for brain related illnesses.  The World Health Organization (WHO) stresses the fact that good mental health is not just the absence of a mental illness: "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." WHO also recognises the enormous burden of mental illness on the individual, family, and broader community. The Brain Dynamics Centre aims to contribute to the promotion and maintenance of good mental health across the lifespan, and across different contexts (occupational, relationship and educational). the Brain Dynamics Centre will also target prevention and early detection of brain related mental health problems across age groups. We recognize the central importance of a good start to life, and the minimisation of early life stress and trauma, in enhancing good mental health and minimising the incidence of mental illness. A healthy start to life: mental health promotion for children and adolescents The Brain Dynamics Centre will integrate its social, computational and neuroscientific disciplines to focus on a healthy start to life: The role of trauma: Brain development of babies and infants is critical to their future health in emotion, social and cognitive domains. The impact of trauma and stress is a critical factor in poor development, and later problems. the Brain Dynamics Centre's scientists have specific expertise in development early intervention and remediation programs, based on objective, evidence-based brain and psychological research. Skills enhancement: Core skills, such as psychosocial competency, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, interpersonal skills, empathy, and methods to cope with emotions are essential to the development of sound and positive mental health in children and adolescents. These skills may be reliably assessed – and enhanced with appropriate training. the Brain Dynamics Centre Is pioneering innovative and standardised methodology, which will be used to develop personalized assessment and training profiles to optimise skills that promote good mental health. Mental illnesses of younger age:  Brain related illnesses which affect young Australians, include atttentional disorders (affecting at least one child in every classroom), psychotic disorders (affecting 25,000 young Australians every year, and the largest single contributor to youth suicide), and the contribution of early trauma (a major factor in youth illness). The lack of currently available biological markers (biomarkers) means that reliable diagnosis and treatment is not possible. the Brain Dynamics Centre is using its uniquely standardized psychological, brain imaging and genetic measures to develop sensitive biomarkers of these illnesses, so that early detection, and eventually prevention, may be possible. These biomarkers will also provide the basis for: -           identifying predisposing factors for disease -           capturing early signs of illness for early intervention and treatment -           monitoring disease progression -           sound and objective treatment evaluations The working life: mental health promotion in employment and industry contexts The work place: the Brain Dynamics Centre gives s pecial emphasis to the importance of promoting and monitoring good mental health in the work place. the Brain Dynamics Centre's standardised psychological, brain imaging and genetic profile provides the first standardised platform for health monitoring in both the work and industry context, including the early detection of mental health problems. Importantly, this approach may be personalized and does not depend upon self-report (thereby eliminating potential ‘faking'). Research in these contexts will be translated into tools, products and services for standardised screening and assessment. the Brain Dynamics Centre will support these developments with its frontier technologies, such that it will ensure optimum efficiency and computerised automation of these screening tools. Aging well: Mental health promotion and the ageing population As with the younger age period, older age is marked by extremely rapid brain changes, due to maturational and degenerative factors. Aging Well and Productively: Ageing of the population is a highly desirable and natural aim of any society. By 2025 there will be 1.2 billion older people in the world, close to three-quarters of them in the developing world. But if ageing is to be a positive experience it must be accompanied by improvements in the quality of life of those who have reached - or are reaching - old age. the Brain Dynamics Centre's methodology will provide the framework for developing cognitive enhancement strategies, with a particular focus on memory enhancement. Mental illnesses of older age: the Brain Dynamics Centre is also targeting early screening and treatment for brain related illlnesses of the older age groups. The major risk factor for disorders such as Alzheimer's disease is older age. Costs due to Alzheimer's were 2.5% of the total Commonwealth health and age care budget in 2001/2 (total of $0.8bill.).With the sharp escalation in aging Australians this will reach 6.4% of the total budget by 2041/2 ($10.7bill.) - Commonwealth National Strategy for an Ageing Australia . For this reason, improvements in early screening and treatment are critical to our ability to provide for healthy aging. Prevention strategies The Brain Dynamics Centre has a particular focus on the important role of stress and trauma in triggering brain related mental health problems, and methods for early screening and prevention of trauma. One of the key factors in addressing brain related illnesses is prevention, particularly given their chronic nature. the Brain Dynamics Centre research will prioritise the development of preventative approaches to brain disorders, as well as cost-effective treatments that allow patients to resume a productive life.  The key first step in developing preventative strategies is the development of an objective, biological test for brain related illnesses. Such tests are currently lacking. The primary hurdle to developing such tests is that each group of researchers typically uses a different set of screening and assessment methods. Through the Network, the Brain Dynamics Centre researchers will have access to standardised diagnostic and assessment instruments– an important pre-requisite to national consistency in brain research, and the development of prevention strategies. Frontier Technologies and Brain Services Brain research increasingly relies on frontier technology development. the Brain Dynamics Centre is distinguished by leading experts in the development of sophisticated new techniques for managing, model and fusing brain data. These developments will also make a key contribution to the translation of the Brain Dynamics Centre research into brain-related services, tools and products. The Brain Dynamics Centre targets the following products, services and technology development Biomarkers for brain functions , which integrate brain technology and genomics Decision support : in industry, clinical and performance markets Personalised medicine , supported by smart information integration Frontier technologies for data acquisition, management and fusion, including neuroinformatics Frontier technologies for delivery of products and services Database informatics for smart information use and analysis New  human-computer interface tools for improving brain-related cognitive performance Commercial translation To date, key translations, which have relied on frontier technology developments, include: ASX float of Brain Resource Company ( www.brainresource.com ) 15 patents (of cutting-edge neurogenetics technologies) industry-linked development of novel sleep research methodologies A number of industry-linked pharmaceutical trials From the Brain Dynamics Centre research it is also expected that a framework for innovative integration and rapid growth of such technologies to achieve commercial outcomes will be obtained. See National Benefits section.

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