CompletedBrain & Nervous SystemCells, Biochemistry & Physiology

MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity

FunderMRC(part of UKRI)
Recipient organisationUniversity of Bristol
Funding£1.7M
PeriodJan 2008 — Dec 2012

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Every time you learn a new fact or recall a past event, your brain physically rewires itself at the junctions between neurons called synapses. The MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity studies the molecular machinery that makes this rewiring—known as synaptic plasticity—possible. This matters because the same mechanisms that allow healthy learning and memory can go wrong in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Without a clear picture of how synapses normally strengthen or weaken their connections, researchers cannot pinpoint what breaks in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, or epilepsy. The Centre aims to fill that fundamental gap: understanding the precise molecular steps that underlie plasticity. Because this is fundamental science, there is no immediate practical application. The work does not directly produce a drug or a diagnostic test. But a deeper understanding of how synapses store information could eventually guide treatments that restore or protect memory, or reveal why certain brain circuits malfunction in disease. Past fundamental discoveries in synaptic biology, for example, underpinned the development of drugs for depression and chronic pain. The Centre also invests heavily in public engagement, bringing this science into schools and public events to build wider understanding of how the brain works.

View original technical description
The work of the MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity is aimed at obtaining a fuller understanding of how synapses work. Information is stored in our brains by alterations in the efficiency of communication at synapses and the MRC Centre is interested in understanding the molecular processes involved in this plasticity. Thus synaptic plasticity is critical for the correct wiring of the brain during development and enables learning and memory to occur throughout life. Pathological alterations in these mechanisms are likely to contribute to neurological and psychiatric disease. We work to understand the processes that underlie these plasticity mechanisms and how they relate to learning and memory. The MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity is strongly committed to the public understanding of science. Indeed, its Director is a founder member of the European DANA Alliance for the Brain. MRC Centre scientists present public lectures, such as at the British Association, give talks in local schools and at open days, and communicate with the press on topical issues. The MRC Centre will continue to strongly support such activities. Members of the Centre also collaborate closely with Bristol Neuroscience (BN) in their public engagement activities, including providing and manning displays at events such as the biennial ?Science Alive? event (Bristol), Bioscience Kids (Glasgow) and Science in the Gardens (Sheffield). One researcher within the MRC Centre has been made a Fellow of the Researchers in Residence Scheme and is currently doing a placement with a local secondary school.

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Researchers

Eric Thomas (Co-Investigator)Graham Collingridge (Principal Investigator)

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Original classification

Research Grant

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