Elizabeth Tunbridge DPhil
Research Areas
Medical Sciences Division Themes
- Cell and Molecular Biology
- Behavioural Science
- Neuroscience
Neuroscience Sub-Themes
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Genes and Developmental Neuroscience
- Clinical Neuroscience
- Systems, Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience
Neuroscience Keywords
Techniques and Equipment
Group Members
- Dr Chris Barkus, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Sarah Farrell, DPhil student
- Katharina Stumpenhorst, DPhil student
- Anna Huber, DPhil student
Former Group Members
- Dr Linda Laatikainen
Collaborators
- Dr Sven Braeutigam, Department of Psychiatry
- Dr David Bannerman, Department of Experimental Psychology
- Dr Derek Blake, Cardiff University
- Prof Paul Harrison, Department of Psychiatry
- Dr Ole Paulsen, Department of Physiology, Human Anatomy and Genetics
- Dr Trevor Sharp, Department of Pharmacology
- Prof David Smith, Oxford Project to Investigate Memory in Ageing (OPTIMA)
- Dr Daniel Weinberger, Lieber Institute for Brain Development, US
| Web | Personal Website |
|---|---|
| Department | Department of Psychiatry |
| College | University College |
Liz Tunbridge
My research uses a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to investigate the mechanisms by which genes impact on brain function and psychiatric disorders, focusing in particular on catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). I have demonstrated that COMT inhibition modulates dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and improves performance on a PFC-dependent task of the type impaired in patients with schizophrenia, suggesting that COMT might be a useful therapeutic target for ameliorating cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. I am currently engaged in a number of ongoing projects which complement and extend these findings. (1) With my collaborators I am investigating the role of COMT in hippocampal function, using behavioural, neurochemical, electrophysiological and molecular techniques. (2) In research funded by the Royal Society, I am investigating the mechanism underlying a reported gene X environment interaction between COMT and cannabis use in precipitated psychosis and cognitive dysfunction. (3) My collaborators in the Department of Psychiatry and I are also investigating the effect of a COMT inhibitor (which I previously showed to influence PFC dopamine) on human brain activation patterns, using MEG.
Sources of Funding
- Royal Society Oct 2009- Sep 2014
- MRC Jan 2008- Dec 2011
- John Fell OUP Fund Sep 2007- Sep 2010
- University College, Oxford Sep 2006- Sep 2009
- MRC Sep 2005- Aug 2007
- National Institute of Mental Health Sep 2004- Aug 2005
- Wellcome Trust 4-Year PhD Programme Sep 2000- Aug 2004
Awards Training and Qualifications
- July 2007 Wyeth Award for Psychopharmacology, British Association for Psychopharmacology
- July 2005 AstraZeneca Clinical Poster Prize, British Association for Psychopharmacology
- Sep 2001- Sep 2004 DPhil, University of Oxford
- Sep 2000- Sep 2001 MSc in Neuroscience (Distinction), University of Oxford
- Sep 1996- Sep 2000 BSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology (First Class Hons), University of Bath
Selected Publications
- Sei Y, Ren-Patterson R, Li Z, Tunbridge E M, Egan M F, Kolachana B S, and Weinberger D R (2007) Neuregulin1-induced cell migration is impaired in schizophrenia: association with neuregulin1 and catechol-o-methyltransferase gene polymorphisms. Mol Psychiatry.
- Tunbridge E M, Lane T A, and Harrison P J (2007) Expression of multiple catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) mRNA variants in human brain. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet.
- Tunbridge E M, Weickert C S, Kleinman J E, Herman M M, Chen J, Kolachana B S, Harrison P J, and Weinberger D R (2007) Catechol-o-methyltransferase enzyme activity and protein expression in human prefrontal cortex across the postnatal lifespan. Cereb Cortex, 17(5):1206-12.
- Tunbridge Elizabeth M, Harrison Paul J, and Weinberger Daniel R (2006) Catechol-o-methyltransferase, cognition, and psychosis: Val158Met and beyond. Biol Psychiatry, 60(2):141-51.
- Tunbridge Elizabeth, Burnet Philip WJ, Sodhi Monsheel S, and Harrison Paul J (2004) Catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) and proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) mRNAs in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Synapse, 51(2):112-8.
- Tunbridge E M, Bannerman D M, Sharp T, and Harrison P J (2004) Catechol-o-methyltransferase inhibition improves set-shifting performance and elevates stimulated dopamine release in the rat prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci, 24(23):5331-5.
- Devlin Joseph T, Raley Josephine, Tunbridge Elizabeth, Lanary Katherine, Floyer-Lea Anna, Narain Charvy, Cohen Ian, Behrens Timothy, Jezzard Peter, Matthews Paul M, and Moore David R (2003) Functional asymmetry for auditory processing in human primary auditory cortex. J Neurosci, 23(37):11516-22.
- Harmer C J, Rogers R D, Tunbridge E, Cowen P J, and Goodwin G M (2003) Tryptophan depletion decreases the recognition of fear in female volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 167(4):411-7.
- Rogers Robert D, Tunbridge Elizabeth M, Bhagwagar Zubin, Drevets Wayne C, Sahakian Barbara J, and Carter Cameron S (2003) Tryptophan depletion alters the decision-making of healthy volunteers through altered processing of reward cues. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28(1):153-62.
