Supervisors

Stephen Brickley (Life Sciences)
Paul Chadderton (Bioengineering)
William Wisden (Life Sciences)

Over a quarter of a million people were diagnosed with dementia in the UK last year but basic scientific information on the nature of this cognitive loss is sadly lacking.  Human brain imaging studies have raised the possibility that communication between cortical regions deteriorates with age, but such studies are unable to provide any mechanistic insight into the nature of these changes.

However, a number of experimental tools are being developed that should enable high-resolution mapping of age-related changes in cortical connectivity both at the anatomical and functional level.

This studentship will apply expertise in novel viral delivery methods (Prof Wisden; Life Sciences), in vivo whole cell recording techniques (Dr Chadderton; Bioengineering), and functional synaptic mapping in vitro (Dr Brickley; Life Sciences) to generate high-quality data that will quantify anatomical and physiological changes in the ageing mouse brain at the level of individual synapses.

Student

Diana Lucaci