Hugh Bostock is a neuroscientist who is renowned for his studies of axons — long, thin nerve fibres that carry electrical signals to and from different parts of the body. All our sensations depend on sensory axons carrying nerve impulses to the brain, and all our movements depend on motor axons carrying impulses to our muscles.
His pioneering techniques have improved our understanding of the electrical properties of nerve membranes and their alterations in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and chronic pain conditions. He has focused on the role of ion channels in axons — the membrane molecules responsible for electrical excitability — and developed painless, non-invasive methods to study them in patients.
Hugh has published 125 scientific papers in his field. He is currently Emeritus Professor at University College London where he is a member of the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders. He also works closely with the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology of the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
Subject groups
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Multicellular Organisms
Physiology incl biophysics of cells (non-clinical)
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Health and Human Sciences
Clinical physiology, Medical instrumentation
