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Cragg Group

Monoamine transmission: mechanisms, microcircuits and 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
  • Dysregulation in dopamine and related neuromodulators in Parkinson’s disease
  • How drugs of addiction modify dopamine signals
  • Circuits that control behaviour

Please get in touch if you’d like to join the lab, and see current recruitment opportunities below.

 

Cragg Group Announcements

**We are recruiting!** Interested in joining us? Please see our current adverts:
- Post-doctoral Research Scientist for an MRC-funded project, closing date June 6th
- Research Assistant to join our ASAP-funded collaboration, applications closing date June 20th
See job links for more information and how to apply.

May 2022 - We are delighted to begin our new Wellcome Trust-funded collaboration with Profs Richard Wade-Martins, Peter Magill, Birgit Liss and Josef Kittler 

April 2022 - Welcome to new lab member Daniel Rial!

February 2022 - Welcome to our new ASAP Project Manager Claudia Mendes!

January 2022 - Welcome to new lab member Ross McLeod!

November 2021 - We are delighted to begin our new major international research project supported by Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) with Mark Howe (Boston University), Dinos Meletis (Karolinska Institutet), Richard Wade-Martins (Oxford) and Peter Magill (Oxford)

October 2021 - Welcome to new lab members Callum Sumpter, Bethan O'Connor, Shinil Raina, and returning members Lucille Duquenoy and Jess Livesey!

 

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

Our team

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Selected publications

Cragg Group News

Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre awarded £3.8 million to reveal the role of calcium in Parkinson’s

A collaborative research team led by the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre (OPDC) has been awarded a £3.8 million Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award to study the function of calcium in dopamine neurons, and how this is plays a role in Parkinson’s. Their research will help explain how and why dopamine neurons are vulnerable in the disease and look at how they may be preserved.

My Primary School Visit for Science Week

On 2 March 2022, Dr Katherine Brimblecombe visited two primary school classes (ages 8-11) as part of their “Science week”. Read her interview to learn more about public engagement with school children in the local Oxford community.

L-R Lorraine Dyson (OPDC), Dr Brent Ryan (OPDC), Mark Jennings (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Martin Cowell (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Gary Shaughnessy (Parkinson’s UK), Caroline Rassell (Parkinson’s UK), Paul Mayhew-Archer (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Sally Bromley (Parkinson’s UK), Jonathan Bromley (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Dr Charmaine Lang (OPDC), Dr Katherine Brimblecombe (OPDC), Kevin McFarthing (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Maria Claudia Caiazza (OPDC), Nigel Hamilton (Parkinson’s UK Oxford). Missing from photo: Professor Richard Wade-Martins (OPDC), Professor Michele Hu (OPDC) , Professor Stephanie Cragg (OPDC), David Dexter (Parkinson’s UK), Simon Rinaldi (University of Oxford), Pen Keyte (Parkinson’s UK Oxford), Jessica Welch (OPDC), Jamil Razzaque (OPDC), Professor Gabriele de Luca (University of Oxford), Dr Gina Hadley (University of Oxford).

OPDC researchers welcome Parkinson’s UK and the Oxford Branch committee

Researchers from the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre (OPDC) recently hosted Caroline Rassell, Parkinson’s UK Chief Executive; David Dexter, Associate Research Director; Trustee Board members, Gary Shaughnessy (Chair) and Sally Bromley; together with members of the Parkinson’s UK Oxford Branch committee, for a visit to showcase the research being carried out in Oxford.

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

We host a number of internationally recognised ...