Alexander Smith

I am interested in cognitive neuroscience and psychopharmacology, particularly in the context of developing better tools and treatments for those suffering from depression.

My DPhil focusses on anhedonia, a common symptom of many psychiatric illnesses, particularly depression.  Furthermore, it is a challenging symptom to treat with the current treatment options available.

I am approaching the challenge by developing a greater understanding of anhedonia, through reward and aversive processing, fractionating it into liking, wanting and learning about reward and aversive stimuli. 

Then, examine the effects of various pharmacological probes on the various aspects of reward and aversive processing. With the ultimate goal to contribute to the development of more effective and tolerable treatments for future generations.

My work is in the context of experimental medicine, using behavioural and neuroimaging  (fMRI) approaches.

I am also a registrar in general adult and old age psychiatry in Oxford.