HIPPOCAMPAL-THALAMIC INTERACTIONS IN SLEEP AND MEMORY
Supervisors:
Prof Kate Jeffery, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, (University of Glasgow)
Dr Shuzo Sakata, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, (University of Strathclyde)
Summary:
This project will deploy cutting-edge neurobiological techniques in rats and mice in order to understand how brain structures coordinate their activity during sleep. This coordination is thought to be part of the process whereby experiences acquired during wakefulness become “worked over” later, and then sent to the neocortex to be organized and stored. This process is called memory consolidation and it is fundamentally important for survival. By the end of the project you will have acquired several important neurobiological techniques including electrophysiological recording, using a new methodology called Neuropixels, as well as the ability to analyse large amounts of neural data generated by this technology. You will also have experience of working with awake behaving animals and an understanding of the foundations of spatial cognition and memory. You will be well equipped to move either into a postdoctoral position delving further into neurobiology and/or psychology, or alternatively into industry, particularly drug discovery and neurotechnology.