Job vacancies- prion research, 1 Postdoctoral Electrophysiologist
and 1 Technician
Introduction to the group of John Jefferys
One of the more obvious aspects of the brain is that it contains complex networks of interconnected neurons. Our central interest is in working out how networks of neurons in the cortex and hippocampus work together to produce so-called emergent properties such as brain waves, both 40Hz (gamma) and 100-200Hz (high frequency or "phi") during normal behaviour, and the abnormally synchronous neuronal activity found during epilepsy and some prion diseases[WW61.htm - MISSING].
We have two broad aims in this programme of work: to unravel mechanisms of brain function (or how the brain works); and to work out what goes wrong during brain diseases with a view, in the long term, to developing new approaches to treatment.
Our main tools are electrophysiological. That is we use fine recording electrodes to detect the very small voltages and currents generated by individual neurons and small groups of neurons, usually maintained in tissue slices in vitro. These recordings are linked with anatomical, pharmacological and molecular data to give us a broad insight into the mechanisms of neuronal function.
Realistic computer simulations are an essential tool in bridging the different levels of analysis presented by the recordings we can make from single cells or pairs of cells and the emergent network properties we wish to explain. The computer simulations are performed by our colleague, Roger Traub, who is now Professor of Mathematical Neuroscience at Birmingham.
We also teach a part of one of the final year B.Med.Sci. Neuroscience courses on Neuronal Networks[WW94.htm - MISSING]
Our Interests:
- Epilepsy: basic mechanisms
- Prion Disease[WW61.htm - MISSING]: cellular mechanisms of altered brain function
- Brain Waves ("40Hz"): and high frequency oscillations - neuronal network mechanisms
- Gap junctions in high frequency oscillations.
We recently showed that gap junctions play
a key role in high frequency Brain Waves (200Hz) and that they also play
a role in shaping epileptic discharges
The members and their interests:
- Professor John Jefferys (Professor of Neuroscience)
- Miss Caroline Anderson - Epilepsy
- Dr Paul Barrow - Prion Disease
- Dr Martin Vreugdenhil - Epilepsy and gamma rhythms
- Dr Enrico Bracci - Gamma rhythms
- Dr Simon Gladwell - Epilepsy
- Mr Stephen Hack - Gamma rhythms
- Miss Heidi Statton - Epilepsy
- Dr John Fox - Gamma rhythms; based in Clinical Neurophysiology
- Dr Martic Bracewell; based in Clinical Neuroscience
- Mrs Brigid Green - Secretary ((+44/0) 121 414 7629; b.e.green@bham.ac.uk)
Former members:
- Dr Simon Colling - made career change into IT, July 1997
- Dr Ian Stanford - Brain Waves ("40Hz") - moved to the Department of Pharmacology October 1997
- Helen Doheny - Epilepsy - now working on gamma rhythms with Miles Whittington at Imperial College
- Dr Ruth Empson - Calcium imaging, epilepsy. now at Cerebros
- Dr Yuan-gen Li - Prion Disease - now working in IT
Current and recent Collaborators:
- Prof Roger Traub - Birmingham
- Professor John Collinge - Prion Disease Group, Imperial College, UK
- Mr Richard Walsh - Neurosurgery, Birmingham
- Dr Peter Barber - Pathology, Birmingham
- Dr Andreas Draguhn, Dr Deitmar Schmitz and Professor Uwe Heinemann - Institut fur Physiologie, Berlin, Germany
- Prof Hannah Monyer - Heidelberg
- Dr Miles Whittington - Imperial College School of Medicine at St Mary's, UK
- Dr Eberhard Buhl - MRC Neurochemical Anatomy Unit, Dept of Pharmacology, Oxford, UK
- Dr Jane Mellanby - Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford, UK
- Dr Karen Duff, New York, USA
- Prof M Celio - Switzerland
- Email us with any comments
- Postgraduate Opportunities - If you would like to join our group then please fill out Univeristy's Postgraduate Application Form, specifying Department of Neurophysiology, Division of Neuroscience, The Medical School along with your research interests in response to question 5
- Postdoctoral Opportunities - Please contact Professor John Jefferys directly
- Neuroscience groups and contacts outside Birmingham
