Neuroscience
Layer 5-pyramidal cell
Neuroscience research is one of the major strengths of the School of Biosciences with extensive expertise across the entire range of neuroscience disciplines. The 17 faculty members of the Neuroscience Group have research grants totaling £15M that support 24 post-doctoral fellows and 18 PhD students. The research interests of faculty members of the Neuroscience Group and faculty members of other research groups in the School of Biosciences who carry out research in the field of neuroscience are summarized with links to their individual web pages.
Neuronal Development
Dr Nick Allen investigates the mechanisms of neural differentiation of human and mouse embryonic stem cells with the aim of developing protocols to direct the differentiation of neural progenitors to acquire specific neural fates and phenotypes. Dr. Allen is a member of the Genetics Research Group
Professor Alun Davies investigates how neurotrophic factors and other growth factors affect the generation and survival of neurons and influence the establishment and modification of their connections in the developing nervous system.
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Professor David Carter investigates the mechanisms that regulate gene expression in neurons in response to physiological stimuli, and also during pathological states.
Professor Vincenzo Crunelli investigates the molecular, genetic and cellular mechanisms that operate in single neurons and neuronal networks of the thalamus and cortex during the expression of different stages of sleep and the generation of epileptic syndromes.
Professor Adrian Harwood investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of lithium to shed light on the biological basis of mood disorders and lead to improved therapeutics. Prof. Harwood is a member the Molecular Cell Biology Research Group.
Dr Guy Major investigates the fundamental computations carried out by small neural networks, including the generation of local spikes, plateau potentials and direction selectivity in single cortical pyramidal neuron dendrites.
Dr Tim Wells investigates the regulation of neuroendocrine and endocrine processes by metabolic status, with particular interest in the actions of ghrelin.
Dr Sean Wyatt investigates the mechanisms that lead to the acquisition of distinct functional phenotypes by different subsets of adult peripheral sensory neurons.
Dr David Cope investigates the contribution of GABAA receptors to physiological and pathophysiological processes in the central nervous system, highlighting the role of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in thalamic function.
Neurophysiology
Professor Tim Jacob investigates fundamental questions in human olfaction to understand how and why we detect odours, whether smell discrimination is innate and to what extent we use smell to communicate.
Dr Sarah Hall investigates the molecular mechanisms mediating ion chanel regulation by reversible protein phosphorylation and mechanisms underlying voume regulation.
Professor Paul Kemp investigates the molecular physiology, functional genomics and proteomics of ion channels in respiratory health and disease. Prof. Kemp is a member the Molecular Cell Biology Research Group.
Synaptic Plasticity, Learning and Memory
Dr Riccardo Brambilla investigates the roles of intracellular signalling pathways in learning and memory.
Professor Kevin Fox investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying sensory processing and synaptic plasticity in the barrel cortex.
Dr David McGonigle uses functional neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG and EEG) and behavioural techniques to study the function of the somatosensory system in both health and disease, the neural correlates of skill training and perceptual learning in sensory systems.
Professor Frank Sengpiel investigates developmental plasticity in the visual cortex and developmental disorders of vision.
Dr Kerrie Thomas investigates the molecular, cellular and neural processes that underlie long-term memory, particularly emotional memory.
Dr Alan Watson investigates the mechanisms of presynaptic inhibition in the spinal cord and studies the effects of ageing on spinal autonomic circuitry.
Neurodegeneration and the Ageing Nervous System
Professor Vladimir Buchman investigates the functional significance of synuclein proteins in the normal and degenerating nervous system. Prof. Buchman is a member of the Genetics Research Group
Professor Steve Dunnett and Professor Anne Rosser co-direct the Brain Repair Group whose mission is to develop cell based therapies for neurodegenerative disease, especially Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, based on primary fetal, progenitor and stem cell transplantation in the brain.
Dr. Richard Edden has developed new magnetic resonance based methods to distinguish NAAG from NAA and Glutamate and thereby study the role of NAAG in traumatic brain injury, stroke and schizophrenia.
Dr Rob Santer investigates the changes that occur with ageing in the autonomic nervous system and the underlying cellular mechanisms.