Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit

This is an historical archive of the activities of the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit (MRC ANU) that operated at the University of Oxford from 1985 until March 2015. The MRC ANU established a reputation for world-leading research on the brain, for training new generations of scientists, and for engaging the general public in neuroscience. The successes of the MRC ANU are now built upon at the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford.

11th International Basal Ganglia Society Meetings (IBAGS)

14 Mar 2013

Members of the Magill and Bolam Basal Ganglia Labs attended the 11th International Basal Ganglia Society Meetings (IBAGS) in Eilat, Israel from the 3rd – 7th March 2013.  This is a triennial meeting that brings together all leading groups in the field of basal ganglia research.  The meeting consisted of daily symposia and poster sessions.

Pete Magill organised a symposium “Small in Number but Strong in Influence: the cell-type-specific contributions of striatal interneurons to local circuit function and beyond” in which Andrew Sharott gave a lecture "Relationships between the activities of identified striatal interneurons and cortical and thalamic afferents in vivo"

Paul Bolam gave a lecture, “Heterogeneity of the anatomical and physiological properties of thalamostriatal neurons arising in the central lateral and parafascicular nuclei of the thalamus” in a symposium entitled “Anatomy and functions of the thalamostriatal systems”.

Members of the groups presented the following posters:
  • Federica Vinciati, Andrew Sharott, Kouichi C. Nakamura & Peter J. Magill. "In vivo electrophysiological properties of neurochemically-identified striatal neurons in dopamine-intact and Parkinsonian rats"
  • Paul D. Dodson, Stephanie Janezic, Richard Wade-Martins, J. Paul Bolam & Peter J. Magill.  "Motor impairment, neurodegeneration and altered in vivo firing properties of dopaminergic neurons in a BAC-transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease"
  • Kouichi C. Nakamura, Andrew Sharott, Nicolas Mallet & Peter J. Magill. "Neuronal activity in the motor thalamus of dopamine-intact and Parkinsonian rats"
  • Maria Alger & J. Paul Bolam. "Glutamatergic input to subthalamic nucleus and dopaminergic neurones of the substantia nigra in the rat" 
  • Icnelia Huerta-Ocampo, Brita Robertson, Sten Grillner & J. Paul Bolam. "Distribution of dopaminergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic innervation of the lamprey striatum"
  • Icnelia Huerta-Ocampo, Juan Mena-Segovia & J. Paul Bolam. "Convergence of cortical and thalamic afferents onto individual direct and indirect medium-sized spiny striatal neurons"
  • Cristina Martinez-Gonzalez, Judith van Andel, J Paul Bolam & Juan Mena-Segovia. "Divergent motor projections from the pedunculopontine nucleus are differentially regulated in Parkinsonism"
  • Eleftheria K. Pissadaki & J. Paul Bolam. "The energy cost of action potential propagation in dopamine neurons: clues to susceptibility in Parkinson’s disease"
  • A. S. Souza, D. Dautan, I. Witten, K. Deisseroth, J. P. Bolam, & J. Mena-Segovia. "Functional characterization of the cholinergic modulation of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area"