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.

Congratulations to Linda & Chloe – joint winners of the Paton Prize

The Paton Prize is awarded each year to the student who gives the best transfer talk in the Department of Pharmacology at the end of their second year of doctoral studies, and is in memory of Professor Sir William Paton previous head of the Department.

In recognition of their excellent standard of presentation Linda Katona and Chloe Lim were awarded jointly the 2012 Paton Prize.

Linda Katona, of Peter Somogyi’s group, delivered a short presentation of her results entitled “GABAergic neurons in hippocampal network activity of freely moving rats”. She shares the prize with Chloe Lim, of Professor Chris Garland’s group, Department of Pharmacology. Chloe’s presentation was entitled “A novel signaling role for NAADP in vascular smooth muscle cells”.

Adjudicators were Dr Sarah Newey, Professor Helga Refsum and Professor Arthur Weston.

Gengyu Li “Nitric oxide modulates synaptic inhibition in the stratum lacunosum moleculare of the hippocampus“ and Michael Crump “Diverse firing of medial septal neurons and their hippocampal targets”, second year post-graduate students at the Unit also presented their results.