Professor Jon Stone (MB ChB FRCP PhD)

Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Professor of Neurology

Background

  • Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery – University of Edinburgh
  • Neurology Training – Newcastle and Edinburgh
  • PhD on Functional Limb Weakness, University of Edinburgh (2005)
  • Consultant Neurologist (NHS Lothian)
  • Honorary Professor (2018-) (Honorary Senior Lecturer 2005, Honorary Reader 2016)
  • NRS Career Research Fellow (2012-)
  • Founder of UK-FNS – UK wide research group for functional disorders
  • Advisor to DSM-5 and ICD-11 classification systems
  • Jean Hunter Prize for Nervous Diseases (2014- RCPE), Biemond Prize (2014 – Amsterdam Neurological Society), Thomas Clouston Prize (2017 -RCPE)
  • Founder of www.neurosymptoms.org –self help information for patients with functional disorders - 60,000 hits per month – translated in to 12 languages by neurologists and psychiatrists
  • Plenary lecture invitations to annual global meetings of Movement Disorders Society, American Academy of Neurology and World Federation of Neurology
  • Presidents Medal, Royal College of Psychiatrists (2017)
  • Adjunct Professor of Functional Disorders in Neurology, University of Southern Denmark, (2019-23)
  • Founding Secretary of the new Functional Neurological Disorder Society (www.fndsociety.org). (2019)

  • Ted M Burns Award for Humanism in Neurology by the American Brain Foundation for his work in FND (2020)

  • Lord Walton Lecture Prize - Association of British Neurologists (2022)

Qualifications

1992 MB ChB Medicine, University of Edinburgh

1996 MRCP (UK)

2006 PhD (UK)

2006 FRCP (UK)

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, FRCP

Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, MRCP (UK) 

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Current PhD students supervised

Caoimhe McLoughlin

Veronica Cabreira

Past PhD students supervised

Dr Jeannette Gelauff PhD - Jointly with University of Groningen (Prof Marina Tijssen-Konig and Prof Judith Rosmalen) - Awarded 2020

Dr Ingrid Hoeritzaeur PhD - Awarded 2020

Dr Laura McWhirter PhD - Awarded 2022

Research summary

Functional disorders are one of the commonest reason for patients to see a neurologist. They include problems such as Dissociative (non-epileptic) seizures, functional movement disorders (such as tremors, spasms or jerks) and functional limb weakness.

Functional Neurological Disorders (which is sometimes abbreviated to FND) are genuine and often disabling. They relate to a disorder of nervous system functioning but not brain disease. Other terms used to describe these hidden and stigmatised disorders include conversion disorder and psychogenic disorders.

The Edinburgh team carries out clinical research on a wide range of functional disorders, looking at how common they are, why and how they happen and trialling physical and psychological treatments.

Research aims and areas of interest

  • Clinical Studies of Functional Neurological Disorders including Functional Movement Disorder, Dissociative (Non-Epileptic) Seizures and Functional Urinary Retention
  • Developing and trialling new treatments including internet based treatment, physiotherapy and psychological therapies
  • Investigating the neurological and psychological mechanisms of functional disorders using modalities such as fMRI, MEG and neuropsychological studies
  • Promotion of local and global policies to increase patient information, raise public awareness in the media, reduce stigma, provide better training, service, research and classification structures

Research group members

  • Prof Alan Carson - Neuropsychiatry - Group co-leader
  • Dr Laura McWhirter - Neuropsychiatry - PhD Research Fellow - Functional Cognitive Disorder
  • Dr Ingrid Hoeritzauer - Neurology - Scan Negative Cauda Equina/ Urinary Retention in Functional Disorders
  • Sarah McRae- Neurophysiotherapy  
  • Veronica Cabreira - Functional Cognitive Disorder
  • Caoimhe McLoughlin - Stigma in FND

Collaborators

  • Mark Edwards, Professor of Neurology, - Functional Movement Disorders, Physio4FMD trial
  • Glenn Nielsen, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, St Georges Hospital London- Physiotherapy for Functional Movement Disorders, Physio4FMD Trial
  • Marina de Koning-Tijssen, Professor of Neurology, Neurology, Groningen- Internet based education for functional movement disorders
  • Laura Goldstein, John Mellers, Markus Reuber, and others (Institute of Psychiatry, Sheffield)- CODES trial (cognitive behavioural therapy for dissociative (non-epileptic) seizures), codestrial.org

Sources of funding

  • National Institutes of Health Research (CODES trial. Physio4FMD trial)
  • European Union (ETUDE PhD ITN)

Knowledge exchange

The FND groups work was awarded the highest possible rating (4 star) for IMPACT in the REF 2021 exercise

Current project grants

• ITN Fellowship Program. ETUDE – 956673 – A 4 million Euro EU grant to establish a network of PhDs working on Functional Disorders. Two PhD’s awarded to our Edinburgh Functional Disorder Research group to start Sep 2021

• Physio4FMD -Physiotherapy for Functional Motor Disorders - A multicentre UK trial NIHR 2017 (£1,085,426). I am co-applicant and core member of trial team involved in systematic review, writing consensus recommendations and developing the successful grant application.

• CODES - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Dissociative Non-Epileptic Seizures - NIHR -2013. A multicentre trial (£2,344,509). ISRCTN05681227. PI of Host centre. Co-applicant and core member of trial team.

2. CODES - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Dissociative Non-Epileptic Seizures - NIHR -2013. A multicentre trial (£2,344,509). ISRCTN05681227. PI of Host centre. Co-applicant and core member of trial team.

Past project grants

• ABN Fellowship for Ingrid Hoeritzauer - The Clinical Features and Prognosis of Scan Negative Uro-Neurological Disorders - ABN/Guarantors of Brain (~£210,549) (2015-2018). I am Ingrid's PhD supervisor and wrote this fellowship application with her

• Unexplained Motor Symptoms – a case control study. Chief Scientist Office CSO -K/OPR/2/2/D379. 1999-2002. Project Grant. (£169,000)

• fMRI in conversion disorder – a pilot study. Chief Scientist Office. CSO CZG/4/2/29 2001-2. Project Grant (£7,500)

• Scottish Neurological Symptoms Study 2: Treatment Development Project – MRC Strategic Grant no G0300876, Project Grant (£233,353) 2004-6

View all 273 publications on Research Explorer