We study how the brain changes when we learn, as we get older, or when we recover damage such as stroke. We use brain imaging to monitor brain change and we aim to develop new approaches to facilitate learning, recovery and healthy ageing.
Our brains adapt whenever we learn a new skill, such as juggling. Our brains also adapt as we get older, or following damage such as stroke. Changes in our lifestyle, like taking up exercise, can also affect our brains. Understanding how the brain adapts to change can help us to design new rehabilitation treatments, to promote healthy ageing, or to enhance learning.
The FMRIB Plasticity Group is a multidisciplinary research group using advanced brain imaging techniques to monitor brain change. We also use training programmes and brain stimulation to try to influence brain change.
PlasticityDefinition: the adaptability of an organism to changes in its environment.
Our team
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Heidi Johansen-Berg
Head of FMRIB and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience
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Melanie Fleming
Postdoctoral Research Assistant
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Malte Kaller
DPhil Student
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Sanne Kikkert
DPhil Student
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James Kolasinski
Stevenson Junior Research Fellow
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Tamar Makin
Associate Professor & Sir Henry Dale Fellow
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Jacinta O'Shea
Principal Investigator
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Pierre Petitet
DPhil Student
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Nancy Rawlings
WIN Centre Manager
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Cassandra Sampaio Baptista
Postdoctoral researcher
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Zeena Sanders
Research Assistant
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Tom Smejka
Research Assistant
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Gershon Spitz
NHMRC Early Career Fellow
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Charlotte Stagg
Wellcome Trust / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow
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Piergiorgio Salvan
Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Neuroscience and Education
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Yun Ying Huang
DPhil student
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