Information encoding in the brain
Although we know approximately how sensory input is routed through different brain areas, each extracting distinct aspects of the percept, the neuronal language used to represent sensory experiences and the mechanisms whereby these experiences are stored in memory remain elusive.
Our aim
Our group tries to unravel the neural coding strategies employed in the representation of sensory stimuli and memory storage. We combine electrophysiological recordings with single- and multi-photon imaging and stimulation to monitor and manipulate complex neuronal activity during behaviour in mice. Our ultimate aim is to discover fundamental neural coding principles underlying perception and memory.
Ongoing Projects
Our current research is broadly focused on three projects:
-
Role of interneurons in somatosensory perception.
We study how different types of inhibitory interneurons are optimised for controlling neural codes. -
Role of hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex in associative memory.
We study the interplay of hippocampus and sensory cortices with the retrosplenial cortex during the formation and retrieval of associative memories. -
Tool development.
We develop novel approaches for recording and manipulating the function of large populations of neurons.
Core Team Members
-
Michael Kohl
Early Career Research Fellow, University Research Lecturer
-
Ana Bottura de Barros
Postgraduate Student
-
Severin Limal
Postgraduate Student
-
James Rowland
DPhil candidate in systems neuroscience
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge funding from:
Alzheimer's Research UK - Oxford Network
The Human Frontier Science Programme
Join Us
Work with us:
If you share our interest in the link between brain activity and behaviour, get excited by neural circuits, and have a strong background in two-photon imaging and neurobiology, come join us! Email us to find out more.
Study with us:
Do you love neural circuits and would like to play with lasers and amplifiers? Join us for a FHS, MSc or DPhil project! Click here to Email us and get in touch to find out more about available projects and funding. We are affiliated with lots of Oxford's Doctoral Training Programmes, including the Wellcome Trust DPhil / MSc in Neuroscience, OXION , Systems Biology and the Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP.
Collaborators, Project Students and Visitors
We are lucky to be able to work with many inspiring researchers that are not core team members. With them, we share expertise, resources, reagents, personnel, and, occasionally, conference accommodation...
Lab News
- May/18: Natural History Museum Late Night
Our stall, “A Mind to Move”, illustrated how the brain generates movements and how the underlying mechanism is conserved across species. - May/18: Welcome Afrah and Mitch
Afrah Shibu and Mitchell Mealing join the lab for their FHS projects. Afrah will study laminar-specific neural coding principles in somatosensory processing and Mitch will investigate intrinsic connectivity in the retrosplenial cortex. Welcome both! - Mar/18: Brain Awareness Week
Together with the Butt Lab we host a stall in the Natural History Museum explaining Brain Evolution and Electrophysiology.