UK Research and Innovation today announced the launch of a Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics that aims to develop new and improved medical device-based treatments for brain conditions including tremor.

The National Tremor Foundation will collaborate with leading researchers from across the country as they undertake the centre’s grand research challenge.

The research team will investigate 'neural dynamics’, the complex and changing patterns of activity across networks of nerve cells in the brain that underlie behaviour. They will study how neural dynamics arise in health and are disturbed in brain conditions. The team will exploit knowledge of neural dynamics as they develop novel interventions and neurotechnology – ranging from brain implants to non-invasive and wearable devices – that could improve how the brain and body functions.

Professor Peter Magill, Director of the new centre, from the University of Oxford, said:

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with The National Tremor Foundation as we seek to harness neural dynamics to transform device-based therapies for tremor and other brain conditions.

Our research approach is focused on patients. To make medical devices a part of every-day care for people with tremor, we need interventions and technologies that provide greater clinical benefits and are also accessible, scalable and cost-effective. We also know that one size will not fit all. Everyone’s lived experience with tremor conditions is different. So, it’s important that we tailor treatments to meet diverse requirements and priorities. The NTF brings a wealth of expertise and practical help for involving and engaging people in our research, helping to ensure it tackles the most important healthcare needs in the right ways to give greatest benefit.”

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