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Cragg Group

Monoamine transmission: from mechanisms to movement

Dopamine neurons and dendrites in SN and VTA

The neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain is critical to how we choose our everyday actions, by signaling our motivations and selecting appropriate movements. When dopamine function is disrupted, a range of psychomotor disorders can result that include addiction disorders and Parkinson’s disease.

Our work explores how dopamine function is governed and dysregulated through study of dopamine transmission in real-time.

In a range of parallel and intersecting projects, we are exploring:

  • Mechanisms on dopamine axons that govern dopamine output
  • Circuits that govern dopamine transmission
  • Dopamine signalling dysfunctions in Parkinson’s disease
  • How drugs of addiction modify dopamine signals
  • How dopamine controls behaviour

Please get in touch if you’d like to find out how to join the lab.

 

Cragg Group Announcements

February 2021 - we are currently recruiting for a Post-doctoral Research Scientist and a graduate Research Assistant to join us on a 3-year project funded by the MRC. See the links for more information and how to apply.

Deadline for applications is March 1st!

 

Please read our pledge to support inclusivity, diversity and equality here.

Our team

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Selected publications

Cragg Group News

Striatal immunofluorescence signals for astrocyte marker S100β and neuronal marker NeuN

Sites of early dysfunction in Parkinson's identified

A new collaborative study from the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre led by Prof Stephanie Cragg and Dr Bradley Roberts has revealed that GABA transporters on astrocytes, the brain's lesser known yet critically important cells, support dopamine release and are sites of early dysfunction in parkinsonism.

Caution when looking at cell recycling in Parkinson’s

Our Researchers at the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre have shown that cell recycling in Parkinson’s may play a more complex role than previously thought.

New light shed on what controls our motivated actions

The release of dopamine in the brain plays a key role in determining how we respond when we perceive a potential reward or benefit. But so far little has been understood about the mechanism behind this. A new collaborative paper from Prof Stephanie Cragg's Group and Prof Ed Mann published in Nature Communications has uncovered a dominant regulator of the dynamics of dopamine output.

More news

Dopamine Club

Welcome to the Dopamine Club!

Dopamine Club is an informal, lab meeting-style forum that brings dopamine researchers together from across the University to exchange and discuss our different perspectives on dopamine.

About us

Dopamine Club was founded in 2014 to bring together dopamine researchers within the University and promote interactions towards the common goal of understanding dopamine function.

Core contributors

Anyone is welcome to attend, organise and participate in Dopamine Club meetings and we'd like it to be as interactive as possible so if you want to be involved please get in touch (stephanie.cragg@dpag.ox.ac.uk, or any of the other contributing groups).

Meeting format

Meetings are held termly, usually on Monday of 8th week, in DPAG. Meetings are chaired by different labs on a rotating basis.

Forthcoming meetings

Video Abstract

Pauses in Cholinergic Interneuron Activity Are Driven by Excitatory Input and Delayed Rectification With Dopamine Modulation

Related research themes

We host a number of internationally recognised neuroscience groups, with expertise in a wide range of experimental and computational methods.
Neuroscience