behavioural neuroscience PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

Although initial discussions regarding bioelectricity and its role in the fundamental understanding of various cellular behaviours took place in the 1970s, the bioelectrical view of cells as a more general concept has remained limited to the fringes of biological research for five decades. Read more

The cerebellum is the largest sensorimotor structure in the brain and is crucial for motor coordination and learning. Little is known about how acetylcholine modulates cerebellar circuitry, and until our current work nothing was known about the role of cerebellar acetylcholine receptors in behaviour. Read more

One in five people worldwide suffer from some form of chronic pain, and only minority of patients gain adequate pain control with existing drugs. Read more

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition in which there are combinations of features such as impaired social-emotional reciprocity during interactions and impaired non-verbal communication. The cause of autism is complex, and is thought to be due to combinations of genetic and environmental factors. Most research has focussed on children. Read more

Increasing evidence suggests that speaking two or more languages has particular effects on the brain. Read more

nderstanding rodent behaviour is a critical step in basic and preclinical research on conditions such as ocular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety and depression. Read more

There is strong evidence that early intervention for autism improves social communication. This includes parent-mediated early intervention which trains… Read more

When people do two or more things at the same time, i.e. multitasking, they usually become slower and make more errors. One reason for this might be that multitasking demands additional control processes which coordinate the concurrent performance of two tasks. Read more

The working and social climate for the majority of people in UK has changed dramatically in recent months. Adapting to online working and socializing has added to the sources of potential stress in our lives. Read more

Diabetic neuropathy is a common secondary complication of diabetes mellitus which affects around 50% of all patients with diabetes - impacting on health, wellbeing and quality of life. Read more

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the commonest form of dementia for which currently there is no means of stopping or even slowing the disease. Read more

"Our recent work examines the influence of cortico-subcortical mechanisms on the bootstrapping of learning mechanisms over experiential and developmental timescales. Read more

Currently four out of the five pharmacological treatments used for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors aimed at boosting the amount of acetylcholine in the brain, with the fifth being an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Read more

An appropriate balance between excitatory and inhibitory neural processes in the brain underlies healthy psychological function. Two examples of conditions in which there is an imbalance are autism and ADHD. Read more