Richard Graham Michael Morris, (born 27 June 1948), is a British

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial ...

. He is known for developing the

Morris water navigation task The Morris water navigation task, also known as the Morris water maze (not to be confused with '' water maze''), is a behavioral procedure mostly used with rodents. It is widely used in behavioral neuroscience to study spatial learning and me ...

, for proposing the concept of synaptic tagging (along with Uwe Frey), and for his work on the function of the

hippocampus The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek , ' seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, ...

. He is the director of the Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems (

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

) and the Wolfson Professor of Neuroscience at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Since 1994 he has been a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and since 1997, he has been a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Morris was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 2007. Morris, together with Tim Bliss ( Francis Crick Institute) and

Graham Collingridge Graham Leon Collingridge (born 1 February 1955) is a British neuroscientist and professor at the University of Toronto and at the University of Bristol. He is also a senior investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sina ...

(

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

) were named as winners of the 2016 Brain Prize for their discoveries about the way synaptic connections in the hippocampus are strengthened by stimulation. The process, known as

long-term potentiation In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. These are patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons ...

(LTP), forms the basis of the ability to learn and to remember. He was elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences in April 2020.

Education

Morris received his BA in natural science from

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

and

D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1973. He was a lecturer at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

from 1977 to 1986 where he developed the Morris water navigation task. He moved to the

in 1986.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Richard Graham Michael 1948 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Sussex British neuroscientists Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century biologists 21st-century biologists