Neuroscience in our society

Our research

Neuroscience is transforming how we understand development, ageing, illness, disability, behaviour and health. These advances have important implications beyond the laboratory and clinic. They shape how people understand themselves and others, how institutions respond to neurological differences, how care and support are organised, and how scientific evidence is translated into policy and practice.

The Neuroscience in our Society Pillar connects researchers from across the University of Sheffield who are interested in the social, ethical, cultural and policy dimensions of neuroscience. We are concerned with how neurological, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions are experienced across the life course; how social disadvantage and structural inequalities affect access to recognition, care and support; and how research can be developed in partnership with individuals, communities, practitioners and policymakers.

Our work draws on a wide range of approaches, including social science, arts and humanities, clinical and biomedical research, participatory methods, ethnography, visual and creative methods, policy analysis and cross-national comparison. Through these approaches, we aim to support more inclusive, equitable and effective responses to neurological differences, neurological conditions and brain health.

Neuro-inclusivity and responsive systems

We explore how health, education, employment, care, crime and justice systems recognise and respond to neurodivergent people and people with neurological conditions. This includes attention to inclusive practice, access to diagnosis and support, reasonable adjustments, institutional barriers, and the ways in which social disadvantage and structural inequalities shape who receives support, and when.

This area of work asks how systems can become more responsive to neurological differences, and how research can contribute to fairer and more effective forms of care, support and participation.

Neurodegeneration, ageing and living well

We are interested in the social dimensions of neurodegenerative conditions and brain health, including motor neuron disease, dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke and vascular contributions to cognitive change. This includes research on lived experience, care and support, family life, communication, quality of life, prevention, ageing well and the wider societal implications of neurological change.

By connecting biomedical, clinical, social and cultural perspectives, this work seeks to understand not only the mechanisms of neurological conditions, but also their impact on people, families, communities and services.

Life course, inequality and intervention

Neurological and neurodevelopmental trajectories are shaped by social environments as well as biology. We are interested in how disadvantage, inequality and institutional responses influence experiences across the life course, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood and later life.

This includes questions about the timing and targeting of interventions, the role of early support, and how social, cultural and economic contexts shape the opportunities people have to live well with neurological difference or neurological conditions.

Ethics, communication, policy and creative methods

Neuroscience raises important ethical, legal and policy questions. We examine how neuroscience evidence is communicated, interpreted and used by individuals, communities, professionals and policymakers. This includes questions about consent, capacity, responsibility, stigma, public understanding, policy development and the translation of research into practice.

We are also interested in arts-based, participatory, visual and ethnographic approaches to research in health and social contexts. These methods are not only ways of collecting data. They are also important tools for equity, accessibility, communication and co-production.

Working across the University

The Neuroscience in our society pillar seeks to connect expertise across neuroscience, medicine and population health, social sciences, arts and humanities, engineering, policy and practice. Relevant activity includes work in translational neuroscience, neurodegeneration, vascular brain health, autism, disability studies, care and social care, creative health, dementia, law, justice, social policy and participatory research.

Examples include the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, the Sheffield Autism Research Laboratory, iHuman, CIRCLE, the Centre for Care, BRIDGES for Dementia Network+, Muses Mind Machine, and wider work across law, education, information studies, engineering, arts and humanities.

Partner with us

We welcome conversations with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, community organisations, cultural partners and people with lived experience who are interested in the connections between neuroscience, society, care, culture, policy and everyday life.