Neuroscience – (Ph.D.)

Research areas include: neuronal development; molecular and cellular neuroscience; neurophysiology; synaptic plasticity, learning and memory; and neurodegeneration and the ageing nervous system. We strive to integrate our research to provide a better understanding of the function of the healthy nervous system and the mechanisms leading to neurological disease states. A primary objective is to translate our knowledge into pharmacological and cell based therapies and improved clinical practise.

The Division is a member of the Cardiff Neuroscience Centre (CNC), which brings together research in neuroscience, psychology and psychiatric genetics and genomics. The Neuroscience Division also hosts the experimental MRI centre (EMRIC) and Brain Repair Group, and is a major participant in the Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD programme in Integrative Neuroscience.

Research areas:

* Neural differentiation of human and mouse stem cells
* Neurotrophic and growth factors in developing nervous system
* Gene regulation in response to physiological stimuli
* Molecular, genetic and cellular mechanism operating in sleep and in the generation of epileptic syndromes.
* Mood stabilizers and the cellular basis of bipolar mood disorder
* Advanced optical techniques for imaging dendritic spines and calcium dynamics
* Ghrelin and the regulation of neuroendocrine processes
* Functional differentiation of adult peripheral sensory neurons
* Neural circuits and olfactory discrimination in humans Ion channel regulation by protein phosphorylation
* Intracellular signalling in learning and memory
* Mechanisms of neuronal plasticity in the cerebral cortex
* Neuro-imaging of plasticity and sensory processing
* Plasticity in the developing visual system
* Molecular, cellular and neural processes of long-term and emotional memory
* The effects of ageing on spinal autonomic circuitry
* Synuclein function in the healthy and degenerating nervous system
* Ageing in the autonomic nervous system
* Cell based therapies for Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease.