Mick Craig, D.Phil, MSci

Post-doctoral research assistant (BBSRC)
2011 - present, D.Phil student 2006-2011

Biography

My undergraduate degree was an MSci (Hons) Neuroscience, which I obtained in 2006 from the University of Glasgow. I spent a year doing an industrial placement working in the drug metabolism & pharmacokinetics department at Merck, Sharp & Dohme in Harlow, sunny Essex. After my degree, I began a 4-year Wellcome Trust PhD with the Oxford Ion Channels Initiative (OXION) where I embarked on two mini-projects with Prof David Sattelle and Dr Mathias Dreger, before beginning my DPhil project with Dr Louise Upton & Dr Ole Paulsen, in autumn 2007.

Research

The role of slow GABAergic inhibition during the cortical slow oscillation.

The main focus of my research has been studying cortical UP and DOWN states, which are a prominent feature of the slow oscillation. During slow-wave (non-dreaming) sleep, neurons throughout the cortex synchronously oscillate between periods of depolarisation and high synaptic activity (UP states) and hyperpolarised periods of quiescence (DOWN states). This slow oscillation is believed to be important for the transfer of new memories to long-term storage.

I study the slow oscillation using two in vitro models: acute slices containg either the barrel cortex or the entorhinal cortex. Using a combination of patch-clamp recordings and optogenetics, I study how slow GABAergic inhibition can contribute to the end of the UP state, and how interneurons behave during both UP and DOWN states. I am also interested in studying whether thalamic inputs into the cortex can induce a state transition.

Computer geekery

I also do various programming jobs in the lab, from developing new algorithms to detect UP and DOWN state transitions through to making new hardware talk to our electrophysiological rigs, where data capture is generally achieved using in-house solutions.

Publications

Papers

Watch this space!

Abstracts

Craig MT, Upton AL, Paulsen O.
Persistent activity in the neocortex: role of GABA-B receptors in terminating the up state
FENS Abstr. vol 5, 130.17, 2010.

Craig MT, Ho S, Upton AL, Paulsen O.
Real-time detection of persistent activity: A novel method of membrane noise analysis
Program No. 322.12. 2009 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Chicago, IL: Society for Neuroscience, 2009. Online.

Craig MT, Upton AL, Paulsen O.
Development of an in vitro model of UP and DOWN states in the mouse barrel cortex
British Neurosci. Assoc. Abstr., Vol 20, P13.01 2009.

Craig MT, Rashid-Doubell R, Paulsen O, Upton AL.
Diversity of GABAergic neurons in layer I of the rodent neocortex.
FENS Abstr. vol 4, A089.06, 2008.

Craig M, Pym L, Buckingham S, Sattelle D.
The effects of the amyloid peptide (AB1-42) and fragments on recombinant human neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
British Neurosci. Assoc. Abstr., Vol 19, P57.12 2007.