Mr Martin Gillies

My current role is as a research assessor in a trial of deep brain stimulation for chronic post stroke pain. This is an assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial. This trial has the aim of generating high quality evidence for the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in neuropathic pain, and using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to improve surgical practice for neuropathic pain. This trial is being generously funded by the Jon Moulton Charity Trust.

My main research interest is the electrophysiology of the human brain, supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences. Functional neurosurgery offers unique access to the human brain in that local field potentials can be recorded from structures deep in the brain whilst patients perform tasks. These recordings complement scalp electroencephalography in that they offer greater spatial resolution, and fMRI in that they offer greater temporal resolution. These local field potentials can be studied in relation to cognition and autonomic functions amongst others.

I also have an interest in high intensity focused ultrasound, working with the High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) group headed by Professor David Cranston, and the use of living human brain tissue for in vitro experimentation, a collaboration involving neurosurgeons and biomedical academics in the university.