Job ID: 121350

Contribution of insula activity to control of tic-like movements and other behaviours relevant to Tourette’s syndrome: integrative neuroscience studies in rats

Position: Ph.D. Student

Deadline: 10 January 2025

Employment Start Date: 1 October 2024

Contract Length: 4 years

City: Nottingham

Country: United Kingdom

Institution: University of Nottingham

Department: Psychology

Description:

Project outline

Human brain imaging studies have linked activity of the insula brain region to action/movement control and motor tics – repetitive movements that resemble normal movements but are produced outside the normal context of these movements and are characteristic of Tourette’s.

However, such studies cannot tell us if insula activity causes tics.

In rats, the insula is similarly organised to humans and we can study tic-like movements and other Tourette’s-related behaviours. Therefore, studies in rats, where we can combine experimental brain manipulations with behavioural and neurophysiological measurements, allow us to determine if changes in insula activity cause Tourette’s-related behavioural changes.

In this project, the student will combine manipulations of insula activity in rats, using intracerebral drug microinfusions, with behavioural, electrophysiological and translational neuroimaging measurements in rats.

The project will reveal insula contributions to movement control and other behaviours relevant to Tourette’s and inform the development of new treatments, including non-invasive neuromodulation approaches. The student will spend 3 months with Neupulse, a neurotechnology start-up focusing on neuromodulation devices, where they will learn about translating and commercialising research findings. The translational neuroimaging studies in rats will be completed with our collaborators at the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology (Magdeburg, Germany).

Additional information

This fully funded PhD project is offered through the MRC AIM (Advanced Interdisciplinary Models) DTP (Doctoral Training Programme) and is in partnership with the industry partner Neupulse.

For information on how to apply, please see: https://more.bham.ac.uk/mrc-aim/phd-opportunities/

For any inquiries regarding the project, please contact the first supervisor: Tobias Bast, tobias.bast@nottingham.ac.uk