Anaesthesia, sleep and systems neuroscience

We are interested in several major problems in neuroscience:

1. Why do we sleep and how is sleep initiated and maintained?
2. What are the molecular and neuronal mechanisms underlying the loss of consciousness induced by general anaesthetics and sedatives?
3. How do healthy ageing, or dementia, affect sleep and neuronal connectivity?

We use a wide variety of techniques and model systems to investigate these problems. Our work involves the genetic modification of model organisms from fruit flies to mice, and systems neuroscience approaches to examine the molecules and circuitry involved in sleep, anaesthesia and healthy ageing. 

Our work is supported by the MRC, BBSRC, UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) and the Wellcome Trust. We have close links with the UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial and the Centre for Neurotechnology at Imperial.

Institutes, centres and initiatives

This Research Theme is associated to the following institutes, centres and initiatives:

• UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial
• Centre for Neurotechnology

Academic staff in this area