Bethan O'Connor

My work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Cragg group focuses on investigating the impact that dopamine transporters have on dopamine axon activation and dopamine release in the striatum, and how the function of these transporters might converge with that of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. To do this, I use a combination of approaches in ex vivo brain slices, such as fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to measure dopamine release, and genetically-encoded fluorescent sensors for measuring changes in axonal membrane potential. This work is a continuation of research done during my PhD in the Cragg group, which I completed in 2025. 

Prior to joining the Cragg group, I was a research assistant in Dr. Rodrigo España’s group at Drexel University, where I was involved in a range of projects relating to how changes in dopamine signalling modulate cocaine self-administration behaviour. Before this, I completed by BSc (Hons) in Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Leicester. There, I undertook research in Dr. Andrew Young’s group, investigating how the regulation of striatal dopamine by muscarinic acetylcholine receptors might be altered in the sub-chronic phencyclidine model of schizophrenia.