Centre for Neurogenic Communication Disorders Research

The Centre for Neurogenic Communication Disorders Research (CNCDR) has been established to promote and conduct research into communication disorders of neurological origin, and to investigate the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of these disorders.
 

 
 
Under the directorship of Professor Bruce Murdoch, the Centre has acquired an international reputation as a leader in this field.  The Centre has the most comprehensively equipped laboratory for the physiological analysis of the speech production mechanism in Australia and is one of the top three internationally.   The Centre has received in excess of $A5,ooo,ooo in research grants from a range of prestigious national and international funding agencies.
 
In addition to its research standing, the Centre is also internationally recognised for having led the development of new instrumentation for the assessment and treatment of motor speech dysfunction, including developing a range of transducer systems capable of measuring the functioning of the orofacial muscles, and a pressure-sensing electropalatographic system – a world first.  It is also a national leading centre for the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation technology in the treatment of neurogenic language disorders.  The Centre aims to continue its world class activities into the future. 
 
Current projects include:
  • Developing profiles of the speech mechanism in a range of neurological conditions including traumatic brain injury, stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, brain tumours, motor neuron disease and Huntington’s chorea;
  • Investigating the contribution of subcortical brain structures to language processing;
  • Determining the efficacy of revolutionary new techniques, such as biofeedback and transcranial magnetic stimulation, for neurogenic treatment purposes;
  • Evaluating the impact or surgical procedures on communicative function, including stereotactic neurosurgical procedures (pallidotomy and thalamotomy for Parkinsons’s Disease, and orthognathic surgery;
  • Disseminating research findings appropriately, and educating future speech pathologists in the treatment and rehabilitation of motor speech disorders.               
  • Investigating the effect of treatment for childhood cancer on speech / language function.

 

 

Centre for Neurogenic Communication Disorders Research section

CNCDR Team Profile

The dynamic CNCDR team consist of both national and international scholars. Director:

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