Emeritus Professor John Bradshaw

Most Significant Contributions to this Research Field (2008)

In 1990 I set up a neuropsychology research unit, initially to study disorders of attention following stroke (unilateral neglect or hemi-inattention) and disorders of movement in the neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.  To that end I developed a range of novel devices; these included a programmable serial choice reaction time device (now adopted for a major international multi-site study into Huntington's disease), a vibrotactile choice reaction time device to extend the classic Posner paradigm into the tactual modality (thereby permitting the dissociation of hand and hemispace by the use of crossed arms, and the dissociation of overt and covert orientation of attention by the use of gaze direction and valid/invalid precues), a computerised system for measuring upper-limb kinematics under various spatio-temporal contingencies , a computerised "cranks" system for measuring continuous bimanual coordination, a device for quantifying synkinetic overflow between the two hands under conditions  of steady or dynamic pressure in one hand, and, finally, a whole range of cognitive tasks.  Of the latter, perhaps the most important is our staged "arrows" task which assesses aspects of inhibitory dyscontrol and is now being used in brain imaging.  In addition to cognitive and upper limb aspects, we have also been studying lower limb coordination (gait), articulatory and phonatory control, premovement potentials (Bereitschafts potentials), along with the use of PET and fMRI brain imaging, diffusion tensor imaging and functional connectivity, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and eye-movement (saccade and smooth pursuit) control. Our original work with neurodegenerative disorders of the basal ganglia/frontostriatal system (Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases) soon extended to dystonia, Alzheimer's disease and Friedreich ataxia, and to neurodevelopmental disorders of the frontostriatal system - Tourette's and Williams syndromes, obsessive-compulsive and  attention- deficit-hyperactivity disorders, schizophrenia, autism (and, separately, Asperger's disorder), addictive behaviours, inhibitory dyscontrol with violent offending, and depression (melancholic vs. nonmelancholic). Since 1990 I have authored or co-authored 4 major monographs (another in 1989), 17 invited book chapters and 211 journal articles.  The latter include 2 in Nature, 1 in Science, 8 in Brain, 14 in J. Neurol. Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 13 in Movement Disorders, and 6 in Experimental Brain Research.