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Kengaku Lab
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The lab explores how the brain is built, by studying how neurons migrate and how dendrites take shape.
AboutAbout the lab
Unraveling brain development through neurons on the move.
The Kengaku Lab studies how neurons (nerve cells) migrate, shape themselves, and build neural circuits during brain development.
In the developing brain, neurons migrate out of the proliferative layer to form layers, extend axons and dendrites, and form synapses with specific partners.
By combining molecular biology, live-cell imaging, and mechanobiology, the lab aims to understand the principles of normal brain development and neural circuit formation.
The lab is based at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and is in charge of the neural development field of the Division of Integrated Life Sciences, Graduate School of Biostudies. Students join the lab from graduate school.
Key terms
- Dendrite
- A branching extension of a neuron that receives signals from other neurons
- Purkinje cell
- A neuron in the cerebellum with a dense, fan-shaped dendritic arbor
- Mechanobiology
- A field that studies how forces acting on cells, and forces generated by cells, are involved in biological phenomena
ResearchResearch themes
The cerebellar cortex and hippocampus have simpler and clearer structures than the cerebral cortex, and a great deal of knowledge about their neural circuits has accumulated. The lab uses these two regions as its main models, reconstitutes developmental phenomena in culture, and studies them with techniques such as high-resolution live imaging.
How dendrite shape forms
The lab built a culture system in which the development of dendrites in cerebellar Purkinje cells can be observed continuously for more than a week, and clarified the principles of their formation through quantitative and mathematical analysis. It is now investigating how neural activity affects dendrite development and the molecular mechanisms involved.
How neurons migrate
Using organotypic culture and real-time imaging, the lab observes cerebellar granule cells migrating through the cortex over long periods. It found that the migrating nucleus not only moves forward but also rotates and deforms, and it is now investigating what the "forces" acting on migrating neurons actually are.
New imaging-based analysis systems
Using the imaging facilities at the iCeMS analysis center, the lab is pioneering live imaging techniques to observe and analyze dynamic cell movements in the developing brain. It also takes an interdisciplinary approach that combines mechanobiology, advanced optical microscopy, and materials chemistry.
MembersFaculty
The Kengaku Lab's members include faculty, researchers, secretaries, and PhD and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMineko Kengaku
- Program-Specific Assistant Professor (Research Base)Kenichi Toma
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