School of Psychology

Behaviour and Neuroscience

Behavioural Neuroscience
The Behaviour and Neuroscience group investigates psychological and neural mechanisms underlying behaviour and psychiatric and neurological disease.
 

We study psychological and brain mechanisms underlying behaviour and psychiatric and neurological disease. We closely integrate research in human participants with research in rodent models. This allows us to translate detailed mechanistic insights from rodent models to people.

One aim is to understand the conceptual basis of normal behaviour, using associative theories to provide explanations of key phenomena such as learning, attention, recognition memory and timing. Another central goal is to explain the neural mechanisms underlying these effects.

A further important objective is to produce insights into the psychological symptoms and their neural mediation of a wide variety of pathological conditions, such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, addictive behaviours, stroke, and age-related cognitive impairment. 

We combine a wide range of methods, including:

  • behavioural testing in rodents and humans, preferentially using conceptually related assays across species
  • pharmacological and genetic manipulations of brain function in rodent models
  • translational neuroimaging
  • in vivo electrophysiology in rodent models

Research areas 

  • Associative mechanisms underlying drug-seeking behaviour, configural learning, timing behaviour and recognition memory, including in ageing and dementia
  • Spatial learning and memory
  • Translational analysis of cognitive impairments, including in schizophrenia, ageing and dementia
  • Devising new cognitive tests to detect early Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairments related to other disorders
  • Neuropharmacology and brain circuits underlying behaviour and cognition, including associative learning, in health and disorder, with a focus on dopaminergic and GABAergic mechanisms within a hippocampo-prefrontal-subcortical circuit
  • The role of circadian CLOCK genes in cognition 
  • Impact of chronic pain on cognition
  • Cerebral stroke and mechanisms of injury
  • Improved animal welfare and validity of rodent models of stroke
 

Collaboration

We collaborate across the university with colleagues in biosciences, life sciences, mathematics, pharmacy, and medicine. We also participate in several interdisciplinary university-wide research groups and initiatives, including:

In addition, we have active UK and international collaborations, including with industry partners.

 

Join us

If you are interested in working with us towards a PhD, please contact the group member who you wish to work with.
 

We offer projects through the BBSRC, ESRC and MRC  Doctoral Training Programmes. These programmes typically have deadlines between November and January for PhD projects starting in September of the following year.

Occasionally, funding may become available for specific PhD projects, which we will advertise on this page and on other suitable job pages.

We also welcome enquiries from candidates who have secured their own funding from other sources.

Research-led teaching

We mainly contribute to teaching in the areas of neuroscience, biological psychology and research methods on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the School of Psychology.

Group members

Researchers

 Associate Professor

Tobias Bast

 

 

 Associate Professor

Charlotte Bonardi

 

 

 Professor

Helen Cassaday

 

 
ClaireGibson

 Professor

Claire Gibson

 

 

 Professor

Mark Haselgrove

 

 
SandraLagator

 Research Associate

Sandra Lagator

 

 

 Associate Professor

Paula Moran

 

 

 Associate Researcher

Marie Pezze

 

 

 Associate Professor

Jasper Robinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
MelissaTrotman-Lucas

 Research Fellow

Melissa Trotman-Lucas

 

 
GonzaloUrcelay

 Assistant Professor

Gonzalo Urcelay

 

 

 Associate Professor

Emma Whitt

 

 
SobanawartinyWijeakumar

 Assistant Professor

Sobana Wijeakumar

 

 

 

 

PhD students

 

Alumni

 

 

School of Psychology

University Park
The University of Nottingham
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

For all enquires please visit:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/enquire