MRC TS Award: Dynamic Neuromodulation

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Brief neural rhythms, coordinated across multiple brain regions, control our everyday actions from reaching for a glass of water to making decisions. Dysfunction of this fundamental neural property has been linked to common conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia, which impact more than one million people across the UK. Understanding the role of neural coordination in health and disease is key for the development of effective therapies.My research programme uses brain stimulation to establish the role of neural coordination in Parkinson's disease and Essential Tremor. During my Career Development Award, I worked towards:Theme 1: Establishing how the current state of a disease circuit influences the most effective stimulation strategy.Theme 2: Determining how selectively modulating neural coordination impacts goal-directed behaviour.Theme 3: Establishing the mechanisms through which our brains naturally control neural coordination.Theme 4: Determining whether it is possible to regulate neural coordination with brain stimulation by mimicking mechanisms through which our brains naturally control coordination.We have made good progress with Themes 1-3 and (a) implemented experimental tasks to better understand the link between symptom severity and movement, (b) built realistic computational models that capture the mechanisms underlying Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease and (c) developed invasive and non-invasive stimulation strategies to reduce tremor and influence goal-directed behaviour. Due to several mitigating circumstances, we are still at the beginning stages of Theme 4 and require additional time. The Transition Support Award will be used to support this important body of work and consolidate my intermediate fellowship by supporting a key member of my team and protecting my research time.