Vaughan specializes in recording from single nerve fibres via tungsten microelectrodes inserted into the peripheral nerves of awake human subjects, and is known internationally as a world expert in recording the firing properties of human sympathetic neurones in health and disease, and as a leading investigator in human sensorimotor control. He has active collaborations with many groups in Australia, Sweden and the USA and has attracted postdoctoral scientists from Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Australia. For over ten years Vaughan has been examining the changes in control of the autonomic nervous system following human spinal cord injury, extending his research into the study of pain and its effects on the autonomic and somatic nervous systems, using brain imaging techniques (fMRI) to study the processing of pain. Prof. Macefield was also a leading consultant regarding the development of the NeuroAmpEx extracellular amplifier, designed and manufactured by ADInstruments.