Dr Südhof: 'We understand maybe one or two per cent of what happens in the brain'

How could research into the brain's chemistry lead to tackling diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and autism? What promising developments are there at the moment?

A lot of money has been wasted on clinical trials that have failed, because we don’t understand diseases like Alzheimer's or autism. If you don’t understand it, you don’t know how to treat it. And then every attempt at remedial treatment is basically a guess and these are very expensive guesses.

Have you seen changes in how research is funded?

I have seen dramatic changes and I believe many of these changes are wrong. Many funds will be misdirected and wasted if the science funding is not dedicated to scientists based on merit and realistic assessments of what can be done. Many scientists overpromise in order to get more money and we need ways of containing this as it will inevitably lead to disappointment

What role should the European Union play in stimulating research?

There is a tremendous role for the European Union to play because the European Union has become one of the most important funders of European research. It has a crucial role as its funding will have a major role in determining what type of science is advancing.