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.

Federica Vinciati awarded Paton Prize 2013

The MRC Unit was well represented in this year’s Paton Prize Talks, with three D.Phil. students (Federica Vinciati, Colin McNamara and Marie Dalzell) each giving a presentation about their ongoing thesis research.  Federica, a second-year student in the Magill Group, was jointly awarded this year’s Paton Prize for her presentation entitled “In vivo electrophysiological properties of neurochemically-identified striatal neurons in dopamine-intact and Parkinsonian rats”. 

The Paton Prize is named in honour of the late Professor Sir William Paton, former Head of the University Department of Pharmacology, and is awarded annually on the basis of general research excellence, the quality of presentation and the ability to deal with the adjudicators’ questions.