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Why are Boys More Susceptible to attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) than Girls?

Description 
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder in children, consisting of age-inappropriate symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Whilst the exact cause is unknown, it is clear that ADHD is much more common in boys than girls with a ratio of 4:1. We hypothesise that that the male specific Y-chromosome gene SRY is a factor involved in the susceptibility of boys to attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This project seeks to determine whether i) SRY levels are dysregulated in human and animal models of ADHD and ii) reducing SRY levels can attenuate the symptoms of ADHD in males, using a well-established rodent model of ADHD. Approaches include animal models of ADHD, iPSC model of ADHD, neurosurgery, behavioural neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and cellular and biology techniques (qRT-PCR, RNA seq).
Essential criteria: 
Minimum entry requirements can be found here: https://www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum
Keywords 
Sry, Attention, Dopamine, Brain Sex Differences, Sex chromosomes, Pre-frontal cortex, Hippcampus
School 
School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health / Hudson Institute of Medical Research » Psychiatry
Available options 
PhD/Doctorate
Masters by research
Honours
BMedSc(Hons)
Graduate Diploma
Short projects
Joint PhD/Exchange Program
Time commitment 
Full-time
Part-time
Top-up scholarship funding available 
No
Physical location 
Monash Health Translation Precinct (Monash Medical Centre)
Co-supervisors 
Prof 
Suresh Sundram

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