School of Biosciences

Research Overview

Imaging Dendritic Function and Neural Network Activity in Cerebral Cortex

There is a technological revolution under way in neuroscience. New ‘biophotonics’ techniques such as two-photon microscopy and patterned two-photon neurotransmitter uncaging give us the ability to simultaneously record from and stimulate multiple neurons or multiple branches of individual neurons. This can be done both in brain slices and in intact animals.

We are using these optical techniques in conjunction with electrical recordings and computer modelling to investigate two related questions:

a. What are the computational roles of dendrites in the cerebral cortex?
b. How is information encoded in the cerebral cortex?

Research division

Neuroscience