The family of disorders known as ataxias can impair speech, balance and coordination, and have varying levels of severity. A team led by Dr Andrea Nemeth from NDCN has identified a new member of this group of conditions which is connected to Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 5 (SCA5). SCA5 is sometimes known as \u2018Lincoln ataxia,\u2019 because it was first found in the relatives of US President Abraham Lincoln.
Masud Husain has recently joined the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Dept of Experimental Psychology as Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience. He holds a Wellcome Trust Principal Fellowship.
Prof Glyn Humphreys, Department of Experimental Psychology, has been awarded a European Research Council Advanced Investigator Award of around \u20ac2.2m to support research into our understanding of perception and the degree to which it is influenced by personal social biases.
The role of hippocampal NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and NMDAR-dependant synaptic plasticity in long-term spatial memory remains unclear. Current thinking implicates hippocampal NMDARs as important in storing long-term spatial memory. However, a recent study from Bannerman et al., in Experimental Psychology, working with researchers from the Max Planck Institute and the University of Oslo, shows that hippocampal NMDARs are actually involved in the use of spatial knowledge in selecting between alternative responses. In the study, published in Nature Neuroscience, Bannerman et al. used Grin1\u2206DGCA1 transgenic mice, which lack NMDARs in dentate gyrus granule cells and dorsal hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells, in a series of spatial choice experiments
UK Biobank is an on-going prospective epidemiological study that has already collected genetics, blood, lifestyle information and other data from a cohort of 500,000 subjects, to be followed over coming decades. The \"UK Biobank Imaging Extension\", which aims to bring back 100,000 of the cohort for multimodal neuroimaging and cardiac MRI (amongst other measures), has just been given the go-ahead. This will be by far the largest neuro/cardiac imaging study carried out to date, and will add very rich phenotyping to the project
Oxford Neuroscience, together with Brain@McGill, has received the McCarthy Tetrault Award of Excellence for Partnership for the Oxford-McGill Neuroscience Collaboration. The award was part of the Quebec 50th Anniversary Awards of Excellence, held to celebrate collaboration between Quebec and the UK on the 50th Anniversary of the Quebec Government Office in London.
Prof Colin Blakemore, DPAG, has been awarded the Ralph W. Gerald Prize in Neuroscience by the Society for Neuroscience. Prof Blakemore was recognised for his work on how the visual system develops, providing fundamental insights in to neural mechanisms underlying developmental plasticity in the visual cortex. His contributions to the communication of science to the public were also acknowledged.
Previous studies have shown that cooperation of neuronal activity in the amygdala and hippocampus is crucial for emotional memory formation. Synchronization of theta frequency oscillations in the amygdala and hippocampus plays a key role in this coordination. Research suggests that GABAergic neurons are central in controlling theta frequency oscillations.
An exhibition of works produced in \u2018A Nervous Encounter,\u2019 a collaboration between the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit and students at Central St Martin\u2019s College of Art and Design, opened with a private viewing on 5th October. The opening night at the Old Fire Station was busy with a great atmosphere; scientists and artists mixed to discuss the works on displa
The annual Autumn School in Cognitive Neuroscience was held on 24th and 25th September at the University Department of Experimental Psychology. The event showcased research from the McDonnell Network for Cognitive Neuroscience, both at the University of Oxford and elsewhere, with a series of lectures. The Autumn School is supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation and Guarantors of Brain and was organised by Prof Andrew Parker.
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