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Toyoshima Lab
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The lab observes the entire brain of a nematode to uncover how behavior emerges.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing the whole brain at work
The Toyoshima Lab studies how neural circuits process information and give rise to behavior.
Using the small, transparent nematode C. elegans as a model, the lab observes neural activity in living animals.
It combines whole-brain imaging with a 4D microscope and simulation based on mathematical modeling.
The lab aims to understand, at the systems level, the entire process from receiving information from the environment to producing behavior.
Key terms
- Nematode (C. elegans)
- A model organism widely used in neuroscience and developmental biology. Its body is transparent, and the connections between its neurons are known.
- Whole-brain imaging
- Observing the activity of neurons in the brain simultaneously across the whole brain, rather than only a part of it.
- Mathematical model
- A framework that expresses a phenomenon in mathematical equations so that it can be reproduced or predicted through computation.
NewsLab news
Paper published in Genes to Cells
Paper published in Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Paper published in Genes to Cells
Paper published in PLOS Computational Biology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab's goal is to uncover the operating principles of information processing in the brain and neural circuits. It comprehensively measures the dynamics of neural activity and behavior, and quantitatively examines the relationship between the two.
*Illustrative imageWhole-Brain Imaging
Worms are confined in microfluidic channels, and the activity of the entire central nervous system is observed simultaneously with a 4D microscope. The lab has also developed image analysis methods for extracting neural activity from volumetric videos.
*Illustrative imageSimultaneous Measurement of Neural Activity and Behavior
Using a tracking 4D microscope combined with a motorized stage, the lab follows freely moving worms while measuring whole-brain neural activity, and investigates the activity patterns associated with behavior.
*Illustrative imageMathematical Modeling and Simulation
The lab built a model that reproduces the activity of oxygen-sensing neurons across a wide range of oxygen concentrations, and developed a comprehensive mathematical model that reproduces experimental data from sensing through to navigation behavior.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Toyoshima Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, doctoral and master's students, technical staff, and secretaries.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorToyoshima YuPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorYutaro UeokaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Adult Caenorhabditis elegans” Zeynep F. Altun, wormatlas.org / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Whole-Brain Imaging: “Varbuss” Heiti Paves / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Simultaneous Measurement of Neural Activity and Behavior: “C elegans DIC s”
（作者情報なし・CC BY-SA 3.0） / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Mathematical Modeling and Simulation: “Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) clip art” MA Hanson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kuroda Lab): “Insulin Structure” Webridge / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Suzuki Lab): “Illumina HiSeq 2500” Konrad Förstner / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tsunoda Lab): “IBM Quantum System One” OJB Quantum / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Frith Lab): “DNA double helix 45” Jerome Walker,Dennis Myts / Public domain (cropped)
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