I am currently studying the role of the motor system in sleep: how waking neuronal patterns can be replayed during sleep to aid offline consolidation of procedural learning.  I have designed and carried out in-vivo, in-vitro, psychophysics and computational modelling studies in rodents, non-human primates and humans.   

Academic employment history

2015-present:	Postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience, Newcastle University, Andrew Jackson lab
2014-2015:	Postdoctoral researcher, Newcastle University, Stuart Baker lab

 

Education and training

2012-2014:	Trainee doctor, National Health Service Newcastle hospitals
2010-2012:	MB/BChir (clinical medicine), Cambridge University
2007-2010:	PhD Neuroscience (intercalated MB/PhD programme), Cambridge University
2003-2006:	BA (preclinical medicine, physiology), Cambridge University

I am currently carrying out simultaneous long-term single-unit and field potential recordings from the primary motor cortex and the cerebellum during free behaviour and during sleep.  These experiments are designed to elucidate how the putative internal model in the cerebellum interacts with the rest of the motor system to learn and produce coordinated skilled movements.  

Teaching experience

2006-2009:	Teaching undergraduate physiology and neuroscience in small group settings.
2012-2013:	Bedside teaching of clinical medical students.
2016-2018:	Supervision of project and master students in the lab.

• Kurz A, Xu W, Wiegel P, Leukel C, Baker SN. Non-invasive Assessment of Superficial and Deep Layer Circuits in Human Motor Cortex. Journal of Physiology 2019, 597(12), 2975-2991.
• Susilaradeya D, Xu W, Hall T, Galán F, Alter K, Jackson A. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Dynamics in Movement Intermittency. eLife 2019, 8, e40145.
• Xu W, de Carvalho D, Jackson A. Sequential neural activity in primary motor cortex during sleep. Journal of Neuroscience 2019, 1408-1418.
• Xu W, Baker SN. In Vitro Characterisation of Intrinsic Properties and Local Synaptic Inputs to Pyramidal Neurons in Macaque Primary Motor Cortex. European Journal of Neuroscience 2018, 48(4), 1976-2097.
• Xu W, Baker SN. Timing Intervals Using Population Synchrony and Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience 2016, 10, 123.
• Xu W, Jones S, Edgley SA. Event time representation in cerebellar mossy fibres arising from the lateral reticular nucleus. J Physiol 2013, 591(4), 1045–1062.
• Xu W, Edgley SA. Cerebellar Golgi cells in the rat receive convergent peripheral inputs via a lateral reticular nucleus relay. Eur J Neurosci 2010, 32(4), 591–597.
• Xu W, Edgley S. Climbing fibre-dependent changes in Golgi cell responses to peripheral stimulation. J Physiol 2008, 586(20), 4951–4959.
• Chen Z, Hothi SS, Xu W, Huang CL. Conduction velocities in amphibian skeletal muscle fibres exposed to hyperosmotic extracellular solutions. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2007, 28(4), 195-202.
• Usher-Smith JA, Xu W, Fraser JA, Huang CL. Alterations in calcium homeostasis reduce membrane excitability in amphibian skeletal muscle. Pflugers Arch 2006, 453(2), 211-221.