Fumitaka Osakada

Four-dimensional optical technologies for revealing and manipulating highly specific neural circuits

Research Director

Fumitaka Osakada

Collaborator

Keisuke Isobe

Senior Scientist Center for Advanced Photonics RIKEN

Outline

The brain is a complex and dynamic structure composed of heterogeneous neuronal populations synaptically connected with each other. Our goal is to understand how neural circuits perform computations that generate perception and memory. We aim to reveal the structure and function of neural circuits, dissect circuit computations, and manipulate neuronal activities of circuit components at the individual cell level during sensation and behavior, by developing four-dimensional optical methods combined with genetic and viral technologies.

Erina Kuranaga

Establishment of technologies for “all-optical mechanobiology” and its application to developmental biology.

Research Director

Erina Kuranaga

Collaborator

Yasushi Okada	Professor The University of Tokyo
Erina Kuranaga	Professor The University of Kyoto
Tatsuo Shibata	Team Leader Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research RIKEN
Tomonobu M Watanabe	Team Leader Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research RIKEN

Outline

Mechanobiology is an emerging field of science that focuses on how physical forces influence biological processes over time. Its potential application includes developmental engineering and regenerative medicine. However, mechanobiological studies of cells in tissues or in vivo have been difficult due to the lack of non-invasive methods for measurement and perturbation. In this project, we aim to establish “all-optical mechanobiology” by developing the optical techniques to measure and manipulate the mechanical properties of the cells and to observe their biological responses.

Masayuki Matsumoto

Elucidation and reconstruction of dopamine functions by optogenetic approaches in nonhuman primates

Research Director

Masayuki Matsumoto

Collaborator

Masahiko Takada	Researcher Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior Kyoto University
Satomi Chiken	Assistant Professor National Institute for Basic Biology National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Outline

Dysfunctions of the dopamine system cause multiple impairments such as motor, cognitive and motivational impairments as seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. In this research, we develop optogenetic methodologies that can manipulate the activity of the dopamine system in the monkey brain as a model for similar systems in the human brain. Using the optogenetic methodologies, we then elucidate the mechanism how the dopamine system regulates diverse functions in the primate brain. We also develop optogenetic approaches to reconstruct functions of the impaired dopamine system in monkey models. This research provides more mechanistic accounts of symptoms in neurological/psychiatric disorders with dopaminergic dysfunctions, and new approaches to treat the disorders.

Michisuke Yuzaki

New optogenetic tools to decipher synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory in vivo

Research Director

Michisuke Yuzaki

Collaborator

Itaru Hamachi	Professor Graduate School of Engineering Kyoto University
Shinji Matsuda	Associate Professor Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering The University of Electro-Communications

Outline

Neuronal activity-induced changes in the efficacy of synapses, known as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), are observed in diverse neural circuits and thought to underlie the storage of information acquired during learning. However, whether LTP/LTD at specific synapses is directly and causally linked to learning and memory in vivo remains incompletely understood. In this proposal, we will address this question by developing new optogenetic tools that can directly and reversibly regulate LTP/LTD in vivo.