LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Ohki Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab seeks to uncover how the brain sees by studying the activity of neurons.
AboutAbout the lab
How the brain sees, from neural circuits
The lab, the Department of Integrative Physiology, studies how the brain processes visual information.
It uses methods such as two-photon calcium imaging, which allows neuronal activity to be observed in living animals, and optogenetics.
This approach can record the activity of thousands of neurons simultaneously, and the lab uses it to investigate neural circuits in the visual cortex.
The lab aims to clarify how neural circuits in the mammalian visual cortex process information.
Key terms
- Cerebral cortex
- The part that covers the surface of the brain. It is responsible for functions such as processing information that arrives from the eyes and ears.
- Two-photon calcium imaging
- An observation method in which light is shone into the brain of a living animal, causing active neurons to light up so that they can be distinguished one by one.
- Optogenetics
- A method in which light-responsive proteins are introduced into neurons, and neuronal activity is then controlled by shining light on them.
ResearchResearch themes
The cerebral cortex receives information from the external world and processes it to acquire complex response selectivity. The lab investigates what neural circuits carry out this information processing, using new methods including two-photon excitation imaging.
*Illustrative imageInvestigating neural circuits in the visual cortex
In the visual cortex of the cerebral cortex, the lab investigates how neurons are connected to one another and how those circuits operate, examining both their function and their structure.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of neural circuits in the visual cortex
The lab investigates how neural circuits in the visual cortex are formed as the animal develops. It has reported the mechanism by which the visual network of the mouse is built up hierarchically.
*Illustrative imageInformation representation by neuronal populations
Two-photon excitation imaging can record the activity of thousands of neurons simultaneously. Using this technique, the lab investigates how populations of neurons represent information about the external world.
MembersFaculty
The members of the lab consist of faculty, project researchers, academic specialist staff, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKenichi OhkiPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorSatoru Kondo
- LecturerTomonari Murakami
- Assistant ProfessorTakayuki Hashimoto
- Project Assistant ProfessorNana Nishio
- Project Assistant ProfessorYuta Fukuda
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Ohki Lab
Matsuzaki LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicinePrefrontal cortex, decision making, motor learning circuits,…
Okabe LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicineFormation and maintenance of central nervous system neural n…
Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicineNeurotransmitter imaging, super-resolution microscopy, chemi…
Ishikawa LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicineGenomic pathology, AI-based pathological image analysis, and…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Cortical Minicolumn” Quorumetrix / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Investigating neural circuits in the visual cortex: “Layer V Pyramidal cell from mouse visual cortex” Quorumetrix / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Development of neural circuits in the visual cortex: “Кортикальный нейрон новорожденной мыши in vitro” Sergb95 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Information representation by neuronal populations: “GFP Neurons” ManuelSchottdorf / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞分子生理学教室
（松崎政紀研究室） ): “Common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) Rio 2015” Aatu Dorochenko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (神経細胞生物学教室
（岡部繁男研究室） ): “Neuron in tissue culture” GerryShaw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (細胞分子薬理学教室
（広瀬謙造研究室） ): “Chemical synapse schema cropped” user:Looie496 created file; Illustrator: Christy Krames, MA, CMI, for US National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (衛生学教室
（石川俊平研究室） ): “Gastric adenocarcinoma” Nephron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.