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Prof Dimitri Kullmann

Summary

I studied Physiological Sciences (undergraduate Medicine) at Oxford University and obtained a DPhil in the laboratory of Julian Jack before resuming my clinical studies at St Thomas' Hospital (London). I then alternated between research in synaptic trasnsmission  (including a couple of years with Roger Nicoll, UCSF) and postgraduate medical training in London until I established my own laboratory at the Institute of Neurology in 1992.

Research Summary

My interests span the fundamental mechanisms of synaptic transmission, the computational properties of small neuronal circuits, and alterations in neuronal and circuit excitability in epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The core methods in my lab are in vitro electrophysiology and pharmacology, but we also apply confocal and two-photon laser scanning microscopy, computational simulations, molecular genetic methods, and heterologous expression of mutated ion channels.

My laboratory has contributed to the discovery of silent synapses, glutamate spillover, presynaptic GABAA receptors in the cortex, human epilepsy caused by K+ and Ca2+ channel mutations, tonic inhibition in the hippocampus, and Hebbian and anti-Hebbian LTP in hippocampal interneurons.

One of our goals is to understand how phenomena that we have studied at the cellular level (synaptic, extra-synaptic and non-synaptic signalling, different types of long-term potentiation) interact to regulate the excitability of small neuronal circuits. We are also integrating our studies on hippocampal circuit function with knowledge of how interneurons and principal cells fire during different behaviours. This is being approached with a synthesis of experiments and computational simulations. We also aim to apply our recent insights into the cellular consequences of inherited mutations of ion channels (channelopathies) to develop new ways to diagnose and treat neurological diseases.

Research Activities

  • Clinical, genetic and cell biology studies of hereditary movement disorders: dystonia, Huntington’s disease, Hereditary spastic paraplegia
  • Experimental epilepsy
  • Function of single synapses
  • Molecular mechanisms of cell surface receptor function
  • Neuronal and synaptic signalling and disorders
  • Regulation, alternative splicing and modulation of ion channels changes in development and neurological disorders
  • The basis for relating synaptic mechanisms to the network activity and ultimately to behaviour

Recent Publications

Displaying 50 most recent publications. For the full list please visit UCL Discovery

  1. Moreau AW,Kullmann DM (2013) NMDA receptor-dependent function and plasticity in inhibitory circuits. Neuropharmacology. 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.03.004.
  2. Finlayson S,Spillane J,Kullmann DM,Howard R,Webster R,Palace J,Beeson D (2013) Slow channel congenital myasthenic syndrome responsive to a combination of fluoxetine and salbutamol. Muscle Nerve, 47(2), 279 - 282. 10.1002/mus.23534.
  3. Spillane J,Hirsch NP,Kullmann DM,Taylor C,Howard RS (2013) Myasthenia gravis - treatment of acute severe exacerbations in the intensive care unit results in a favourable long-term prognosis. Eur J Neurol. 10.1111/ene.12115.
  4. Pavlov I,Kaila K,Kullmann DM,Miles R (2013) Cortical inhibition, pH and cell excitability in epilepsy: what are optimal targets for antiepileptic interventions? J Physiol, 591(Pt 4), 765 - 774. 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.237958.
  5. Tomlinson SE,Rajakulendran S,Tan SV,Graves TD,Bamiou DE,Labrum RW,Burke D,Sue CM,Giunti P,Schorge S,Kullmann DM,Hanna MG (2013) Clinical, genetic, neurophysiological and functional study of new mutations in episodic ataxia type 1. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 10.1136/jnnp-2012-304131.
  6. Akam TE,Kullmann DM (2012) Efficient "communication through coherence" requires oscillations structured to minimize interference between signals. PLoS Comput Biol, 8(11), e1002760. 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002760.
  7. Gardiner AR,Bhatia KP,Stamelou M,Dale RC,Kurian MA,Schneider SA,Wali GM,Counihan T,Schapira AH,Spacey SD,Valente EM,Silveira-Moriyama L,Teive HA,Raskin S,Sander JW,Lees A,Warner T,Kullmann DM,Wood NW,Hanna M,Houlden H (2012) PRRT2 gene mutations: from paroxysmal dyskinesia to episodic ataxia and hemiplegic migraine. Neurology, 79(21), 2115 - 2121. 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182752c5a.
  8. Gardiner AR,Bhatia KP,Stamelou M,Dale RC,Kurian MA,Schneider SA,Wali GM,Counihan T,Schapira AH,Spacey SD,Valente E-M,Silveira-Moriyama L,Teive HAG,Raskin S,Sander JW,Lees A,Warner T,Kullmann DM,Wood NW,Hanna M,Houlden H (2012) PRRT2 gene mutations From paroxysmal dyskinesia to episodic ataxia and hemiplegic migraine NEUROLOGY, 79(21), 2115 - 2121.
  9. Tomlinson SE,Bostock H,Grinton B,Hanna MG,Kullmann DM,Kiernan MC,Scheffer IE,Berkovic SF,Burke D (2012) In vivo loss of slow potassium channel activity in individuals with benign familial neonatal epilepsy in remission Brain, 135(10), 3144 - 3152.
  10. Spillane J,Kullmann DM,Beeson D,Howard RS (2012) AN UNUSUAL CASE OF CONGENITAL MYASTHENIC SYNDROME: THE MECHANISM FOR TREATMENT RESPONSE JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY, 83(3). 10.1136/jnnp-2011-301993.214.
  11. Spillane J,Hirsch NP,Kullmann DM,Howard RS (2012) DIAPHRAGMATIC WEAKNESS FOLLOWING THYMECTOMY: DUE TO MYASTHENIA GRAVIS OR PHRENIC NERVE INJURY? JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY, 83(3). 10.1136/jnnp-2011-301993.212.
  12. Spillane J,Taylor C,Hirsch NP,Kullmann DM,Howard RS (2012) MYASTHENIC CRISIS IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: A 10-YEAR REVIEW JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY, 83(3). 10.1136/jnnp-2011-301993.213.
  13. Oren I,Kullmann DM (2012) Mapping out hippocampal inhibition. Nat Neurosci, 15(3), 346 - 347. 10.1038/nn.3056.
  14. Akam T,Oren I,Mantoan L,Ferenczi E,Kullmann DM (2012) Oscillatory dynamics in the hippocampus support dentate gyrus–CA3 coupling. Nat Neurosci, 15(5), 763 - 768. 10.1038/nn.3081.
  15. Kullmann DM (2012) The Mother of All Battles 20 years on: is LTP expressed pre- or postsynaptically? J Physiol, 590(Pt 10), 2213 - 2216. 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221127.
  16. Ermolyuk YS,Alder FG,Henneberger C,Rusakov DA,Kullmann DM,Volynski KE (2012) Independent regulation of Basal neurotransmitter release efficacy by variable Ca²+ influx and bouton size at small central synapses. PLoS Biol, 10(9), e1001396. 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001396.
  17. Kullmann DM,Moreau AW,Bakiri Y,Nicholson E (2012) Plasticity of Inhibition Neuron, 75(6), 951 - 962.
  18. Tomlinson SE,Bostock H,Grinton B,Hanna MG,Kullmann DM,Kiernan MC,Scheffer IE,Berkovic SF,Burke D (2012) In vivo loss of slow potassium channel activity in individuals with benign familial neonatal epilepsy in remission. Brain, 135(Pt 10), 3144 - 3152. 10.1093/brain/aws241.
  19. Mehta S,Szawarski P,Swayne OB,Kullmann DM,Howell DC (2012) N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibody-mediated encephalitis. Br J Hosp Med (Lond), 73(8), 472 - 473.
  20. Spillane J,Hayward M,Hirsch NP,Taylor C,Kullmann DM,Howard RS (2012) Late recurrent thymoma in myasthenia gravis: a case series. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 83(10), 1030 - 1031. 10.1136/jnnp-2012-302865.
  21. Ruiz AJ,Kullmann D (2012) Ionotropic receptors at hippocampal mossy fibres: roles in axonal excitability, synaptic transmission and plasticity Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 6(112). 10.3389/fncir.2012.00112.
  22. Vivekananda U,Hirsch NP,Kullmann DM,Alvarez D,Phadke R,Howard RS (2012) Vasculitis of the central and peripheral nervous system mimicking brain death. Clin Neurol Neurosurg, 114(4), 399 - 401. 10.1016/j.clineuro.2011.10.043.
  23. Spillane J,Higham E,Kullmann DM (2012) Myasthenia gravis. BMJ, 345, e8497.
  24. Mantoan L,Wykes R,Schorge S,Walker MC,Kullmann DM (2011) OPTOGENETIC INHIBITION OF EPILEPTIC ACTIVITY EPILEPSIA, 52, 42 - 42.
  25. Mantoan L,Kullmann DM (2011) Evaluating first seizures in adults in primary care. Practitioner, 255(1743), 25 - 3.
  26. Gilbert GJ,Graves TD,Kullmann DM (2011) Nongenetic factors influence severity of episodic ataxia type 1 in monozygotic twins. Neurology, 76(5), 490. 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182068ea0.
  27. Kullmann DM,Lamsa KP (2011) Interneurons go plastic. Neuropharmacology, 60(5), 711. 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.02.001.
  28. Le Duigou C,Holden T,Kullmann DM (2011) Short- and long-term depression at glutamatergic synapses on hippocampal interneurons by group I mGluR activation. Neuropharmacology, 60(5), 748 - 756. 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2010.12.015.
  29. Le Duigou C,Kullmann DM (2011) Group I mGluR agonist-evoked long-term potentiation in hippocampal oriens interneurons. J Neurosci, 31(15), 5777 - 5781. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6265-10.2011.
  30. Spillane JE,Hanna MG,Kullmann DM (2011) Synaptic mechanisms in P/Qdeficient neuromuscular junctions NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS, 21, S15 - S15.
  31. Spillane JE,Hirsch NP,Kullmann DM,Reddy U,Taylor C,Howard R (2011) Myasthenic crisis in the intensive care unit - a ten year review NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS, 21, S15 - S15.
  32. Kullmann DM (2011) Interneuron networks in the hippocampus. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 21(5), 709 - 716. 10.1016/j.conb.2011.05.006.
  33. Reid CA,Kullmann DM (2011) GABAA receptor mutations in epilepsy (commentary on Lachance-Touchette et al.). Eur J Neurosci, 34(2), 235 - 236. 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07792.x.
  34. Wykes RC,Heeroma JH,Kullmann DM,Walker MC,Schorge S (2011) LENTIVIRAL-MEDIATED OVEREXPRESSION OF THE POTASSIUM CHANNEL KV1.1 AS A TREATMENT FOR FOCAL NEOCORTICAL EPILEPSY EPILEPSIA, 52, 9 - 9.
  35. Kullmann DM (2011) What's wrong with the amygdala in temporal lobe epilepsy? Brain, 134(Pt 10), 2800 - 2801. 10.1093/brain/awr246.
  36. Fletcher EV,Kullmann DM,Schorge S (2011) Alternative splicing modulates inactivation of type 1 voltage-gated sodium channels by toggling an amino acid in the first S3-S4 linker. J Biol Chem, 286(42), 36700 - 36708. 10.1074/jbc.M111.250225.
  37. Pavlov I,Scimemi A,Savtchenko L,Kullmann DM,Walker MC (2011) I(h)-mediated depolarization enhances the temporal precision of neuronal integration. Nat Commun, 2, 199. 10.1038/ncomms1202.
  38. Kullmann DM,Lamsa KP (2011) LTP and LTD in cortical GABAergic interneurons: emerging rules and roles. Neuropharmacology, 60(5), 712 - 719. 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2010.12.020.
  39. Tai YF,Kullmann DM,Howard RS,Scott GM,Hirsch NP,Revesz T,Leary SM (2010) Central nervous system histoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient. J Neurol, 257(11), 1931 - 1933. 10.1007/s00415-010-5629-x.
  40. Spillane J,Beeson DJ,Kullmann DM (2010) Myasthenia and related disorders of the neuromuscular junction. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 81(8), 850 - 857. 10.1136/jnnp.2008.169367.
  41. Irani SR,Bera K,Waters P,Zuliani L,Maxwell S,Zandi MS,Friese MA,Galea I,Kullmann DM,Beeson D,Lang B,Bien CG,Vincent A (2010) N-methyl-D-aspartate antibody encephalitis: temporal progression of clinical and paraclinical observations in a predominantly non-paraneoplastic disorder of both sexes. Brain, 133(Pt 6), 1655 - 1667. 10.1093/brain/awq113.
  42. Zuberi SM,Eunson LH,Spauschus A,De Silva R,Tolmie J,Wood NW,McWilliam RC,Stephenson JB,Kullmann DM,Hanna MG (2010) A novel mutation in the human voltage-gated potassium channel gene (Kv1.1) associates with episodic ataxia type 1 and sometimes with partial epilepsy (vol 122, pg 817, 1999) BRAIN, 133, 1569 - 1569. 10.1093/brain/awn181.
  43. Schorge S,Matthews E,Kullmann DM,Hanna MG (2010) VOLTAGE SENSOR CHARGE LOSS ACCOUNTS FOR MOST CASES OF HYPOKALEMIC PERIODIC PARALYSIS Reply NEUROLOGY, 74(3), 269 - 270.
  44. Ruiz AJ,Campanac E,Scott R,Rusakov D,Kullmann D (2010) Presynaptic GABAA receptors enhance glutamatergic transmission and facilitate LTP induction at hippocampal mossy fibre synapses.
  45. Kullmann DM,Spillane J (2010) History central to diagnosing myasthenia gravis Practitioner, 254(1732), 15 - 18.
  46. Graves TD,Rajakulendran S,Zuberi SM,Morris HR,Schorge S,Hanna MG,Kullmann DM (2010) Nongenetic factors influence severity of episodic ataxia type 1 in monozygotic twins. Neurology, 75(4), 367 - 372. 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181ea9ee3.
  47. Kullmann DM,Vincent A (2010) N-methyl-D-aspartate limbic encephalitis: Diagnosis should respect well-recognized criteria Reply CRIT CARE MED, 38(7), 1615 - 1616. 10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181e285aa.
  48. Tomlinson SE,Tan SV,Kullmann DM,Griggs RC,Burke D,Hanna MG,Bostock H (2010) Nerve excitability studies characterize Kv1.1 fast potassium channel dysfunction in patients with episodic ataxia type 1. Brain, 133(Pt 12), 3530 - 3540. 10.1093/brain/awq318.
  49. Rajakulendran S,Labrum RW,Graves TD,Tomlinson S,Eunson LH,Davis MB,Schorge S,Kullmann DM,Hanna MG (2010) PAW31 Clinical and genetic spectrum of the episodic ataxias: the UK perspective. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 81(11), e32. 10.1136/jnnp.2010.226340.59.
  50. Rajakulendran S,Schorge S,Kullmann DM,Hanna MG (2010) Dysfunction of the Ca(V)2.1 calcium channel in cerebellar ataxias. F1000 Biol Rep, 2. 10.3410/B2-4.

Biography

I studied Physiological Sciences (undergraduate Medicine) at Oxford University and obtained a DPhil in the laboratory of Julian Jack before resuming my clinical studies at St Thomas' Hospital (London). I then alternated between research in synaptic trasnsmission  (including a couple of years with Roger Nicoll, UCSF) and postgraduate medical training in London until I established my own laboratory at the Institute of Neurology in 1992.

Qualifications

  • 1990: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians
  • 1990: Member of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians
  • 1986: Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, University of London
  • 1984: Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
  • 1979: Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Balliol College, Oxford

Keywords

  • Biophysics
  • Brain
  • Brain slice physiology
  • Calcium
  • Calcium imaging
  • Cell culture
  • Coma and persistent vegetative state
  • Computational methods
  • Computational modeling
  • Computational modelling
  • Computational models
  • Disorders of neuromuscular junction transmission
  • Electrophysiological recording techniques
  • Electrophysiology
  • Epilepsy
  • Epilepsy
  • Exocytosis
  • Fluorescence microscopy techniques
  • G-protein coupled receptors
  • Gait and balance disorders
  • Genetic manipulation (including knockout/knockin)
  • Genetics
  • Headache
  • Hippocampus
  • Interneurons
  • Intracellular recording
  • Ion channels
  • Memory
  • Migraine
  • Mouse
  • Multi-photon imaging
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Networks Neural Circuits/Networks
  • Neural signalling
  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuromuscular junction
  • Neuron
  • Neurophysiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Optical imaging
  • Paraneoplastic syndromes
  • Patch-clamp recording
  • Pharmacology
  • Plasticity
  • Signalling
  • Single-channel recording
  • Synaptic plasticity
  • Synaptic transmission, mechanisms of epilepsy, inherited mutations of ion channels
  • Viral vectors