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Neuropharmacology

Neuropharmacology is the study of the effects of drugs on the nervous system, aiming to develop compounds to benefit humans with psychiatric and neurological disease

Human neural progenitor cells

Neuropharmacology is the study of the effects of drugs on the nervous system, with the goal of developing compounds that offer therapeutic benefit in humans with psychiatric and neurological disease. We believe that an understanding of a drug’s action requires an integrated knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the drug exerts its effects upon brain circuitry and ultimately human behaviour.

Consequently, the research conducted within the department encompasses many aspects of modern molecular and cellular neuroscience taking full advantage of modern research techniques such as opto-genetics, high-resolution cellular imaging, STEM cell biology and electrophysiology.



Groups within this theme

Our group studies the principles underlying synaptic circuit formation and plasticity. These processes are fundamental to normal brain function, and are implicated in disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and dementia.
Akerman Group
Anthony Group | Experimental Neuropathology
Anthony Group | Experimental Neuropathology
We are interested in synaptic transmission. We wish to understand the way in which synapses behave when functioning normally but also how they change during memory formation or when struck by diseases such as Schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s.
Emptage Group | Synaptic Pharmacology
We work to find molecular mechanisms that control the activity of nerve cells involved in cognitive processes such as learning and memory, motor behaviour and metabolism.
Minichiello Group | Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Our interests are in lysosome biology and how diseases result from lysosomal dysfunction. Our research spans basic cell biology, disease mechanism and therapy. We have successfully developed drugs that are in clinical use.
Platt Laboratory | Lysosomal and Sphingolipid Disorders
Our work focuses on understanding the organisation and function of certain neural pathways in the brain that are linked to psychiatric disorder. We are using this knowledge to help identify drugs to improve the treatment of psychiatric disorder.
Sharp Group | Neuropsychopharmacology Research
The Group investigates the role of micronutrients, especially B vitamins, in relation to functioning of the brain, in particular in prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia, and in the causation of obesity.
Smith Group | Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA) and B Vitamin Research Group
Co-ordinated neuronal activity is intrinsically linked with behaviour and malfunction of neuronal coordination results in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Timing is crucial for neuronal integration including events lasting from milliseconds up to several seconds. Much of the neuronal activity is rhythmic in the brain, as rhythmicity facilitates local and global interactions and enables the representation of temporal sequences.
Somogyi Group
Disorientation is a key early symptom of dementia, but why and how do people become disoriented? The Viney Group investigates neural circuit mechanisms underlying spatial orientation in the rodent and human brain. Our main focus of research is on the Papez circuit, a collection of subcortical and cortical brain areas important for spatial navigation, orientation, episodic memory, and cognition. We want to understand why parts of the Papez circuit show an early and selective vulnerability to Tau pathology and neurodegeneration.
Viney Group | Neuroanatomy & In Vivo Neurophysiology

Research Themes