Associate Professor John Reynolds, Our People, Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand

Professor John Reynolds’ primary focus is on learning and movement generation processes in the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex.

In the basal ganglia, the emphasis is on unraveling the normal role of dopamine in learning and memory in vivo. Normal functioning of this process is critical to our ability to learn and perform new skills. The dysfunction of cells in the substantia nigra and striatum underlies the pathophysiology of brain disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, respectively. This research involves a variety of techniques including electrophysiological recording, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry and operant behaviour.

Current collaborations include local groups in the University of Otago Departments of Physiology (Hyland lab), Psychology (Abraham lab), Chemistry (Tan and Jameson labs), Biochemistry (Dearden lab) and Anatomy (Parr-Brownlie and Oorschot labs), and national and international groups in Sheffield (Prof Peter Redgrave), and Okinawa (Professors Jeff Wickens and Gordon Arbuthnott).

Recently, his lab has begun to investigate synaptic plasticity processes in the cerebral cortex, taking a translational approach to their application for recovery from stroke, with collaborators at the University of Otago (Shemmell lab), the University of Auckland (Associate Professor Bronwen Connor), the University of Western Australia (Professor Chris Lind) and in Chicago (Dr Kuei-Yuan Tseng).

Find out more about Professor Reynolds’ research

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Publications

Reynolds, J. N. J., Avvisati, R., Dodson, P. D., Fisher, S. D., Oswald, M. J., Wickens, J. R., & Zhang, Y.-F. (2022). Coincidence of cholinergic pauses, dopaminergic activation and depolarisation of spiny projection neurons drives synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Nature Communications. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28950-0

Boddington, L. J., Gray, J. P., Schulz, J. M., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2020). Low-intensity contralesional electrical theta burst stimulation modulates ipsilesional excitability and enhances stroke recovery. Experimental Neurology, 323, 113071. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2019.113071

Zhang, Y.-F., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Cragg, S. J. (2018). Pauses in cholinergic interneuron activity are driven by excitatory input and delayed rectification, with dopamine modulation. Neuron, 98(5), 918-925. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.04.027

Fisher, S. D., Robertson, P. B., Black, M. J., Redgrave, P., Sagar, M. A., Abraham, W. C., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2017). Reinforcement determines the timing dependence of corticostriatal synaptic plasticity in vivo. Nature Communications, 8, 334. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00394-x

Reynolds, J. N. J., Hyland, B. I., & Wickens, J. (2001). A cellular mechanism of reward-related learning. Nature, 413, 67-70.

Journal - Research Article

Reynolds, J. N. J., Hyland, B. I., & Wickens, J. (2001). A cellular mechanism of reward-related learning. Nature, 413, 67-70.

Journal - Research Article

Gandhi, K., Barzegar-Fallah, A., Banstola, A., Rizwan, S. B., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2022). Ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier disruption for drug delivery: A systematic review of protocols, efficacy, and safety outcomes from preclinical and clinical studies. Pharmaceutics, 14, 833. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14040833

Journal - Research Article

Banstola, A., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2022). The sheep as a large animal model for the investigation and treatment of human disorders. Biology, 11, 1251. doi: 10.3390/biology11091251

Journal - Research Other

Barzegar-Fallah, A., Gandhi, K., Rizwan, S. B., Slatter, T. L., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2022). Harnessing ultrasound for targeting drug delivery to the brain and breaching the blood–brain tumour barrier. Pharmaceutics, 14(10), 2231. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14102231

Journal - Research Other

Banstola, A., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2022). Mapping sheep to human brain: The need for a sheep brain atlas [Mini review]. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 961413. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.961413

Journal - Research Other

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Reynolds, J. N. J., Hall, M., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2022). High-definition transcranial infraslow pink-noise stimulation can influence functional and effective cortical connectivity in individuals with chronic low back pain: A pilot randomized placebo-controlled study. Neuromodulation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.08.450

Journal - Research Article

Nakano, T., Rizwan, S. B., Myint, D. M. A., Gray, J., Mackay, S. M., Harris, P., Perk, C. G., Hyland, B. I., Empson, R., Tan, E. W., … Reynolds, J. N. J., & Wickens, J. R. (2022). An on-demand drug delivery system for control of epileptiform seizures. Pharmaceutics, 14, 468. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14020468

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Reynolds, J. N. J., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2022). High-definition transcranial infraslow pink noise stimulation for chronic low back pain: protocol for a pilot, safety and feasibility randomised placebo-controlled trial. BMJ Open, 12, e056842. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056842

Journal - Research Other

Woolrych, A., Vautrelle, N., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Parr-Brownlie, L. C. (2021). Throwing open the doors of perception: The role of dopamine in visual processing. European Journal of Neuroscience, 54, 6135-6146. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15408

Journal - Research Article

Reynolds, J. N. J., Tan, E. W., Hyland, B. I., Jameson, G. N. L., Myint, M. M. A., Mackay, S. M., & Wickens, J. R. (2021). Acoustic driven drug delivery systems. (11260126). United States.

Intellectual Property

Mohammad, Y., Barzegar Fallah, A., Reynolds, J. N. J., Boyd, B. J., & Rizwan, S. B. (2020). Steric stabilisers govern the colloidal and chemical stability but not in vitro cellular toxicity of linoleoylethanolamide cubosomes. Colloids & Surfaces B, 192, 111063. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111063

Journal - Research Article

Mackay, S. M., Myint, D. M. A., Easingwood, R. A., Hegh, D. Y., Wickens, J. R., Hyland, B. I., Jameson, G. N. L., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Tan, E. W. (2019). Dynamic control of neurochemical release with ultrasonically-sensitive nanoshell-tethered liposomes. Communications Chemistry, 2, 122. doi: 10.1038/s42004-019-0226-0

Journal - Research Article

Stiles, L., Reynolds, J. N., Napper, R., Zheng, Y., & Smith, P. F. (2018). Single neuron activity and c-Fos expression in the rat striatum following electrical stimulation of the peripheral vestibular system. Physiological Reports, 6(13), e13791. doi: 10.14814/phy2.13791

Journal - Research Article

Mujoo, H., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Tucker, I. G. (2018). A real-time in vitro assay to evaluate the release of macromolecules from liposomes. Drug Testing & Analysis, 10(6), 1025-1032. doi: 10.1002/dta.2332

Journal - Research Article

Boddington, L. J., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2017). Targeting interhemispheric inhibition with neuromodulation to enhance stroke rehabilitation. Brain Stimulation, 10(2), 214-222. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.01.006

Journal - Research Article

McDonald, F. M., Reynolds, J. N. J., Bixley, A., & Spronken-Smith, R. (2017). Changes in approaches to learning over three years of university undergraduate study. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(2), 65-79. doi: 10.20343/teachlearninqu.5.2.6

Journal - Research Article

Matheson, N. A., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2017). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). In J. Vonk & T. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior. (pp. 1-4). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_445-1

Chapter in Book - Research

Redgrave, P., Vautrelle, N., Overton, P. G., & Reynolds, J. (2017). Phasic dopamine signaling in action selection and reinforcement learning. In H. Steiner & K. Y. Tseng (Eds.), Handbook of basal ganglia structure and function. (2nd ed.) (pp. 707-723). London, UK: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802206-1.00034-9

Chapter in Book - Research

Tang, A. D., Hong, I., Boddington, L. J., Garrett, A. R., Etherington, S., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Rodger, J. (2016). Low-intensity repetitive magnetic stimulation lowers action potential threshold and increases spike firing in layer 5 pyramidal neurons in vitro. Neuroscience, 335, 64-71. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.08.030

Journal - Research Article

Smith, L. M., Parr-Brownlie, L. C., Duncan, E. J., Black, M. A., Gemmell, N. J., Dearden, P. K., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2016). Striatal mRNA expression patterns underlying peak dose L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in the 6-OHDA hemiparkinsonian rat. Neuroscience, 324, 238-251. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.03.012

Journal - Research Article

Bednark, J. G., Reynolds, J. N. J., Stafford, T., Redgrave, P., & Franz, E. A. (2016). Action experience and action discovery in medicated individuals with Parkinson's disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 427. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00427

Journal - Research Article

Matheson, N. A., Shemmell, J. B. H., De Ridder, D., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2016). Understanding the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on neuronal circuits. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 10, 67. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00067

Journal - Research Article

Sykes, M., Matheson, N. A., Brownjohn, P. W., Tang, A. D., Rodger, J., Shemmell, J. B. H., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2016). Differences in motor evoked potentials induced in rats by transcranial magnetic stimulation under two separate anesthetics: Implications for plasticity studies. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 10, 80. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00080

Journal - Research Article

Wilson, M. T., Fung, P. K., Robinson, P. A., Shemmell, J., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2016). Calcium dependent plasticity applied to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation with a neural field model. Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 41(1), 107-125. doi: 10.1007/s10827-016-0607-7

Journal - Research Article

Mujoo, H., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Tucker, I. G. (2016). The influence of bile salts on the response of liposomes to ultrasound. Journal of Liposome Research, 26(2), 87-95. doi: 10.3109/08982104.2015.1019515

Journal - Research Article

Hinow, P., Radunskaya, A., Mackay, S. M., Reynolds, J. N. J., Schroeder, M., Tan, E. W., & Tucker, I. G. (2016). Signaled drug delivery and transport across the blood-brain barrier. Journal of Liposome Research, 26(3), 233-245. doi: 10.3109/08982104.2015.1102277

Journal - Research Article

Sizemore, R. J., Zhang, R., Lin, N., Goddard, L., Wastney, T., Parr-Brownlie, L. C., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Oorschot, D. E. (2016). Marked differences in the number and type of synapses innervating the somata and primary dendrites of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, striatal cholinergic interneurons and striatal spiny projection neurons in the rat. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 524(5), 1062-1080. doi: 10.1002/cne.23891

Journal - Research Article

Oswald, M. J., Schulz, J. M., Kelsch, W., Oorschot, D. E., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2015). Potentiation of NMDA receptor-mediated transmission in striatal cholinergic interneurons. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 9, 116. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00116

Journal - Research Article

Evans, M. C., Clark, V. W., Manning, P. J., De Ridder, D., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2015). Optimizing deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens in a reward preference rat model. Neuromodulation, 18(7), 531-541. doi: 10.1111/ner.12339

Journal - Research Article

Parr-Brownlie, L. C., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2015). Basal ganglia. In K. Rogers (Ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica. (Online ed.) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com

Chapter in Book - Research

Fisher, S. D., Gray, J. P., Black, M. J., Davies, J. R., Bednark, J. G., Redgrave, P., Franz, E. A., Abraham, W. C., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2014). A behavioral task for investigating action discovery, selection and switching: Comparison between types of reinforcer. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 398. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00398

Journal - Research Article

Barry, M. D., Boddington, L. J., Igelström, K. M., Gray, J. P., Shemmell, J., Tseng, K. Y., Oorschot, D. E., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2014). Utility of intracerebral theta burst electrical stimulation to attenuate interhemispheric inhibition and to promote motor recovery after cortical injury in an animal model. Experimental Neurology, 261, 258-266. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.05.023

Journal - Research Article

Fisher, S. D., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2014). The intralaminar thalamus: An expressway linking visual stimuli to circuits determining agency and action selection. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 115. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00115

Journal - Research Article

Brownjohn, P. W., Reynolds, J. N. J., Matheson, N., Fox, J., & Shemmell, J. B. H. (2014). The effects of individualized theta burst stimulation on the excitability of the human motor system. Brain Stimulation, 7(2), 260-268. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2013.12.007

Journal - Research Article

Wilson, M. T., Goodwin, D. P., Brownjohn, P. W., Shemmell, J., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2014). Numerical modelling of plasticity induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 36(3), 499-514. doi: 10.1007/s10827-013-0485-1

Journal - Research Article

Nakano, T., Chin, C., Myint, D. M. A., Tan, E. W., Hale, P. J., Krishna M, B. M., Reynolds, J. N. J., … Dani, K. M. (2014). Mimicking subsecond neurotransmitter dynamics with femtosecond laser stimulated nanosystems. Scientific Reports, 4, 5398. doi: 10.1038/srep05398

Journal - Research Article

Clements, K. M., Devonshire, I. M., Reynolds, J. N. J., & Overton, P. G. (2014). Enhanced visual responses in the superior colliculus in an animal model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their suppression by D-amphetamine. Neuroscience, 274, 289-298. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.05.054

Journal - Research Article

Nakano, T., Chin, C., Myint, D. M. A., Tan, E. W., Hale, P. J., Reynolds, J. N. J., Wickens, J., & Dani, K. M. (2014). Femtosecond laser stimulated nanosystems for neuroscience applications. Proceedings of the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO): Applications and Technology: Symposium on Novel Light Sources and Photonic Devices in Optical Imaging I. Optical Society. doi: 10.1364/CLEO_AT.2014.ATu2P.6

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

Schulz, J. M., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2013). Pause and rebound: Sensory control of cholinergic signaling in the striatum. Trends in Neurosciences, 36(1), 41-50. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2012.09.006

Journal - Research Article

Bednark, J. G., Reynolds, J. N. J., Stafford, T., Redgrave, P., & Franz, E. A. (2013). Creating a movement heuristic for voluntary action: Electrophysiological correlates of movement-outcome learning. Cortex, 49(3), 771-780. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.12.005

Journal - Research Article

Oorschot, D. E., Lin, N., Cooper, B. H., Reynolds, J. N. J., Sun, H., & Wickens, J. R. (2013). Synaptic connectivity between rat striatal spiny projection neurons in vivo: Unexpected multiple somatic innervation in the context of overall sparse proximal connectivity. Basal Ganglia, 3, 93-108. doi: 10.1016/j.baga.2013.04.001

Journal - Research Article

Clements, K. M., Smith, L. M., Reynolds, J. N. J., Overton, P. G., Thomas, J. D., & Napper, R. M. (2012). Early postnatal ethanol exposure: Glutamatergic excitotoxic cell death during acute withdrawal. Neurophysiology, 44(5), 376-386. doi: 10.1007/s11062-012-9308-7

Journal - Research Article

Schulz, J. M., Oswald, M. J., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2011). Visual-induced excitation leads to firing pauses in striatal cholinergic interneurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(31), 11133-11143. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0661-11.2011

Journal - Research Article

Schulz, J. M., Pitcher, T. L., Savanthrapadian, S., Wickens, J. R., Oswald, M. J., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2011). Enhanced high-frequency membrane potential fluctuations control spike output in striatal fast-spiking interneurones in vivo. Journal of Physiology, 589(17), 4365-4381. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.212944

Journal - Research Article

Redgrave, P., Vautrelle, N., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2011). Functional properties of the basal ganglia'sre-entrant loop architecture: Selection and reinforcement. Neuroscience, 198, 138-151. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.060

Journal - Research Article

Goldberg, J. A., & Reynolds, J. N. J. (2011). Spontaneous firing and evoked pauses in the tonically active cholinergic interneurons of the striatum [Review]. Neuroscience, 198, 27-43. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.08.067

Journal - Research Article

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