Graham Collingridge

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
Professor, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, University of Bristol

EDUCATION:
He obtained a degree in Pharmacology at the University of Bristol, and a PhD at the University of London.

MEMBERSHIPS:
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
• Fellow of the Royal Society

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Synaptic plasticity is the main process by which our brains are able to store information. This property is therefore crucial for learning and memory and other cognitive functions. We are particularly interested in two forms of synaptic plasticity that involve an increase (e.g. long-term potentiation, LTP) or a decrease (e.g. long- term depression, LTD) in the efficiency of synaptic transmission.

Our research focuses on the molecular basis of synaptic plasticity. Specifically, we study glutamate receptors and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors, working mainly on synapses in the hippocampus. Receptors for glutamate can be classed into four main groups, NMDA, AMPA, kainate and mGlu: GABA has two types of receptor, GABAA and GABAB.

We have established many key features of these receptors and their roles in LTP and LTD. By elucidating the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity at a molecular level we can begin to understand how we are able to learn and remember, and how these processes are altered in conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease and epilepsy.

HOME PAGE
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/synaptic/research/pi/glc/