Tamar Makin
Associate Professor & Sir Henry Dale Fellow
I am a neuroscientist at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, heading the London Plasticity Lab. My main interest is in understanding the key drivers and limitations of reorganisation in the adult brain. My primary model for this work is studying individuals with a hand loss. A particular focus is on how habitual behaviour, such as prosthesis usage, shapes brain reorganisation. For this purpose, I integrate methods from the fields of neuroscience, experimental psychology and rehabilitation. I hope my research will enable clinicians to guide amputees and related clinical populations to take advantage of the benefits of brain reorganisation, rather than to suffer from their adverse effects.
I joined FMRIB in 2009, first as research fellow and later as a PI, to lead a research programme on brain plasticity associated with hand-loss. In 2016 I have moved with my lab (formerly known as Hand and Brain) to University College London. I maintain strong collaborative relationships with FMRIB, and in particular the Oxford Plasticity and Pain groups.
Key publications
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Deprivation-related and use-dependent plasticity go hand in hand.
Journal article
Makin TR. et al, (2013), Elife, 2
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Phantom pain is associated with preserved structure and function in the former hand area.
Journal article
Makin TR. et al, (2013), Nat Commun, 4
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Topographic representation of the human body in the occipitotemporal cortex.
Journal article
Orlov T. et al, (2010), Neuron, 68, 586 - 600
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Amputees "neglect" the space near their missing hand.
Journal article
Makin TR. et al, (2010), Psychol Sci, 21, 55 - 57
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Coding of visual space during motor preparation: Approaching objects rapidly modulate corticospinal excitability in hand-centered coordinates.
Journal article
Makin TR. et al, (2009), J Neurosci, 29, 11841 - 11851
Recent publications
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Revealing the neural fingerprints of a missing hand.
Journal article
Kikkert S. et al, (2016), Elife, 5
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Unmasking Latent Inhibitory Connections in Human Cortex to Reveal Dormant Cortical Memories.
Journal article
Barron HC. et al, (2016), Neuron, 90, 191 - 203
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Transfer of tactile perceptual learning to untrained neighboring fingers reflects natural use relationships.
Journal article
Dempsey-Jones H. et al, (2016), J Neurophysiol, 115, 1088 - 1097
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Investigating the Stability of Fine-Grain Digit Somatotopy in Individual Human Participants.
Journal article
Kolasinski J. et al, (2016), J Neurosci, 36, 1113 - 1127
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Investigating the Stability of Fine-Grain Digit Somatotopy in Individual Human Participants.
Journal article
Kolasinski J. et al, (2016), J Neurosci, 36, 1113 - 1127