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Professor John Reynolds is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago. He earned his MBChB in 1994 and PhD in Neuroscience in 2000 from the University of Otago, with a doctoral thesis titled Effects of substantia nigra stimulation on synaptic plasticity in the corticostriatal pathway. After several years practicing medicine, he pursued an academic career and was appointed full professor in 2016. In 2017, he became the first Director of the Health Sciences First Year programme, following his role as convener for a Human Body Systems paper. Reynolds leads the Basal Ganglia Research Group, focusing on synaptic plasticity in the striatum and cerebral cortex using techniques such as electrophysiological recording, electrochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and operant behaviour. His research investigates natural patterns of brain cell activity in normal and disordered brains, particularly changes in circuitry after Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Current projects include developing in vivo on-demand drug delivery systems using focused ultrasound for conditions like Parkinson’s, epilepsy, brain cancers, and stroke recovery, as well as neuromodulation for tinnitus and stroke rehabilitation.
Reynolds has authored influential publications, including A cellular mechanism of reward-related learning (Nature, 2001), Reinforcement determines the timing dependence of corticostriatal synaptic plasticity in vivo (Nature Communications, 2017), Pauses in cholinergic interneuron activity are driven by excitatory input and delayed rectification, with dopamine modulation (Neuron, 2018), Coincidence of cholinergic pauses, dopaminergic activation and depolarisation of spiny projection neurons drives synaptic plasticity in the striatum (Nature Communications, 2022), and The integration of top-down and bottom-up inputs to the striatal cholinergic interneurons (Current Neuropharmacology, 2024). He has received the Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Award and the inaugural Rutherford Discovery Fellowship. Reynolds serves as President of the International Basal Ganglia Society, former Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand, and Associate Director of Brain Research New Zealand. He teaches Medicine III Nervous System Anatomy, NEUR202, and ANAT335.
A University of Otago-led study reveals how pairing lights with rewards strengthens neural pathways in the superior colliculus, bridging classical and operant conditioning to support skill learning.
University of Otago researchers reveal how pairing light flashes with rewards strengthens neural pathways in the superior colliculus, linking reward learning processes with implications for brain disorders.
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