Richard G. M. Morris DPhil, CBE, FRSC

Professor Morris shares the €1m euro Brain Prize with fellow neuroscientists Tim Bliss and Graham Collingridge. Their discoveries have paved the way for a better understanding of complex brain conditions that affect millions of people around the world. These include autism, schizophrenia, depression, chronic pain, epilepsy, and addiction. The research is also helping to understand dementia and normal age-related memory loss. The three neuroscientists have independently and collectively shown how connections between brain cells can be strengthened through repeated stimulation - a process called long-term potentiation (LTP).

In 1986, Richard Morris used a new method he had developed to show that LTP was necessary for rats and mice to learn to find their way around a new environment. This began a long program of research to establish the role of LTP in memory. The findings have revolutionized our understanding of how memories are formed, retained, and lost. Professor Morris said that much of the work on LTP has been driven by a curiosity about how the brain stores memories. However, it is inevitable that knowledge of these basic mechanisms will help develop treatments for symptoms of memory loss and dementia, which are becoming increasingly prominent in our aging society.