Mark Wallace

Biography

Jan. '10-present Senior Investigator Scientist, MRC Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham. Physiological basis of neural changes producing tinnitus. Oct. '00--Dec. '09 Investigator Scientist, MRC Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham. Structure and function of the auditory brain in guinea pigs and humans. Oct. '97- Oct. '00 Research Fellow, MRC Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham. Connections and physiological properties of guinea pig auditory cortex. July '90--Aug '97 Lecturer in Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Aberdeen. Studying connections of the auditory cortex and the role of nitric oxide in neuropathology. Sep. '86--Jun. '90 Assistant Researcher, Dept of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine. Neurochemical pathways of the mouse brainstem and intrinsic connections of the cat auditory cortex. Jan. '85--Aug. '86 Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, Anatomisk Institut (Neurobiology), University of Aarhus, Denmark, Neurochemical pathways in the mouse brainstem and cerebral cortex. Mar. '83--Dec. '84 SERC Research Fellow, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology St Andrews University. Histochemical study of the mouse brainstem. Sept. '79--Feb. '83 Research Scholar in Institute of Physiology, Glasgow University.  

Research Interest

He is currently involved in basic research into the structure and function of a key part of the auditory brain (the inferior colliculus) which is an almost obligatory relay for auditory information ascending from the ear to the thalamus and neocortex. The group he is in have recently identified and characterised a previously unknown type of cell in the inferior colliculus that has local axonal terminals that form basket-like endings around adjacent neurons. These apparently have the same function as the well-known inhibitory basket cells of the cortex and may have a role in binding together the activity of groups of adjacent neurons that are thought to be involved in the formation of auditory objects by the brain. He is also involved in studying the human auditory cortex to learn more about its laminar and columnar organization and how these two aspects of cortical function differ between different cortical areas. His main area of current research is in understanding more about the biological basis of tinnitus. Tinnitus is associated with an irritating ringing in the ears that is present even in the absence of any external source. It affects 10 - 15% of the population and is sufficiently serious in about 1% of the population that it adversely impacts on their quality of life. His current research involves both the use of a guinea pig model of tinnitus and clinical subjects some of whom have had tinnitus for many years. The group have developed a method for identifying tinnitus through examining changes in the acoustic startle shown by ear flicks in response to a brief loud click.