He graduated from University College with a BSc degree in Chemistry, Zoology and Physiology, followed by Special Physiology, and from St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College with a PhD in Pharmacology. He is a past editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology, the Journal of Physiology, Neuron and Trends in Neuroscience and is currently an editor of Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Nerve cells communicate through electrical signals termed action potentials.
These are generated through the transient opening of voltage-gated sodium channels in the outer membrane. These set up membrane ionic currents whose function is to regulate the frequency and pattern of the action potential discharges. This form of selective tuning is important in such mental functions as arousal and memory retrieval. With the aid of long-term grants from the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, we are studying the effects of transmitters and drugs on these controlling currents. The currents are measured by electrophysiological techniques in single neurones in isolated preparations of the mammalian peripheral and central nervous system and in isolated nerve cells and cell lines in tissue culture.