Research groups
Colleges
Websites
-
Personal webpage
Personal webpage
-
Dementia Research Oxford
Oxford University webpage
-
Neurological Conditions Theme, BRC
Biomedical Research Centre
Biography
Masud is Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. He co-leads the Dementia Theme of the Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and is Editor-in-Chief of Brain. Together with Cornelia van Duijn, he leads Dementia Research Oxford.
Between 2013-23 he held a Principal Fellowship at Oxford, awarded by The Wellcome Trust. He is a Professorial Fellow at New College. Previously he was Professor of Clinical Neurology at UCL & The National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, London and Deputy Director of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Masud read Physiological Sciences / Medicine (1981-84) at Oxford before completing his PhD here in 1987. He held a Harkness Fellowship and was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT, prior to returning to Oxford to finish his clinical degree. After Neurology training in London, he held a joint appointment as Consultant Neurologist and Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow (2000-12), first at Imperial College, then at UCL.
Awards
- Graham Bull Prize in Clinical Science, Royal College of Physicians London
- Elizabeth Warrington Prize, British Neuropsychological Society.
- Fellow of Academy of Medical Sciences
- Fellow of American Academy of Neurology
- Fellow of European Academy of Neurology
Masud Husain
MA DPhil BMBCh FRCP FMedSci FAAN FEAN
Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience
- Professorial Fellow, New College
- Co-lead, Dementia Theme, Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
- Co-lead, Dementia Research Oxford
- Editor-in-Chief, Brain
Memory and motivation in health and dementia
Research Summary
My research focuses on
- Memory in healthy individuals and patients with memory disorders
- Motivation and apathy in healthy people and patient groups
We're funded by The Wellcome Trust and the NIHR Oxford Health BRC.
We see patients in the Cognitive Disorders Clinic at the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Cognitive Neuropsychology Centre, Dept of Experimental Psychology.
Our research on fundamental mechanisms underlying attention, working memory and motivated decision-making in healthy people is conducted in our research centres at the Dept of Experimental Psychology and the West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital.
Key publications
-
The computational cost of active information sampling before decision-making under uncertainty.
Petitet P. et al, (2021), Nat Hum Behav
-
Cerebrovascular risk factors impact frontoparietal network integrity and executive function in healthy ageing.
Veldsman M. et al, (2020), Nat Commun, 11
-
Neuroscience of apathy and anhedonia: a transdiagnostic approach.
Husain M. and Roiser JP., (2018), Nat Rev Neurosci, 19, 470 - 484
-
Changing concepts of working memory.
Ma WJ. et al, (2014), Nat Neurosci, 17, 347 - 356
-
Dynamic shifts of limited working memory resources in human vision.
Bays PM. and Husain M., (2008), Science, 321, 851 - 854
-
Functional role of the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas.
Nachev P. et al, (2008), Nat Rev Neurosci, 9, 856 - 869
-
Abnormal temporal dynamics of visual attention in spatial neglect patients.
Husain M. et al, (1997), Nature, 385, 154 - 156
Recent publications
-
Investigating the impact of electroconvulsive therapy on brain networks and sleep: an observational study protocol.
Kafashan M. et al, (2025), BMJ Open, 15
-
On the responsibilities of intellectuals and the rise of bullshit jobs in universities.
Husain M., (2025), Brain, 148, 687 - 688
-
Behavioural changes in frontotemporal dementia and their cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates.
Rouse MA. et al, (2025), Brain
-
Impact of APOE, Klotho, and sex on cognitive decline with aging.
Shibata K. et al, (2025), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 122
-
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions disrupt learning to reward others.
Gueguen M. et al, (2025), Brain
-
Listening into hippocampal hyperexcitability in Alzheimer's disease.
Husain M., (2025), Brain, 148, 347 - 348
-
Defining brain fog across medical conditions
Denno P. et al, (2025), Trends in Neurosciences
-
Impulse Control Disorders and Effort-Based Decision-Making in Parkinson's Disease Patients with Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation.
Amstutz D. et al, (2025), Mov Disord Clin Pract
-
Performance and validation of a digital memory test across the Alzheimer's disease continuum.
Toniolo S. et al, (2025), Brain Commun, 7
-
NHS Health Check attendance is associated with reduced multiorgan disease risk: a matched cohort study in the UK Biobank
McCracken C. et al, (2024), BMC Medicine, 22