The Brain Mapping Unit of the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry has opened a new research laboratory on the city’s Downing Site.
The Brain Mapping Unit of the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry has opened a new research laboratory on the city’s Downing Site.
The move will encourage collaborative work with other research groups to increase neuroscientific understanding.
Professor Peter Jones, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, welcomed guests to the official opening of the Brain Mapping Unit in the Sir William Hardy Building on Friday 8 April.
“This new facility provides a link between the clinical work we do at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the scientific research disciplines at the heart of the University," said Professor Jones. "Scientifically this is an important day for Psychiatry here, bringing us closer to our collaborative partners.”
The Brain Mapping Unit uses statistical analysis and large digital images of brain function to explore the effects of drugs, the process of ageing and neurological disorders such as depression, mania, autism and schizophrenia. New mathematical tools for analysing images of human brain function will be developed and applied. The Brain Mapping Unit was set up in 1999 by Professor Ed Bullmore and has grown rapidly since then, from its base at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
The £327,000 refurbishment of the former Biochemistry rooms was designed by Cambridge-based Nicholas Ray Associates. Working closely with the heads of department, they have created a highly specific research environment that is married to working and presentation methods.
The opening was sponsored by Janssen-Cilag Ltd, who have also assisted Dr Paul Fletcher of the Brain Mapping Unit with the prestigious MacCurdy Lectures.
Dr Fletcher is a psychiatrist interested in investigating the way the frontal lobes contribute to psychological function and well being. His work in the Brain Mapping Unit uses a combination of behavioural studies, drug administration and functional brain imaging to explore the nature of frontal lobe function. He aims to be able to apply the insights gained from studies with healthy people in order to understand changes in frontal lobe function in mental illness, particularly schizophrenia.
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