Robert Banks

Within the broad area of neuroscience my work centres on the mammalian muscle spindle, a mechanoreceptor that occurs in voluntary muscles and responds to length and changing length of the muscles, providing information to the central nervous system for use in controlling muscle activity. Knowledge of its structure and function is important at various levels ranging from the molecular biology of ion channels to the nature of control systems, and in various fields from basic physiology to clinical applications such as nerve repair and rehabilitation. I am currently collaborating with Dr. M. Hulliger of Calgary on the consequences of a pyridoxine-induced large-fibre sensory neuropathy on the sensory innervation of muscle and motor control; and with Dr. Guy Bewick of Aberdeen on the role of synaptic-like vesicles in the sensory endings of mechanoreceptors.