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Animal Resources (Aiba Lab)
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The lab studies brain function and the mechanisms of disease using genetically modified mice and marmosets.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how the brain works with genetically modified mice
The Division of Animal Resources studies advanced functions of the mammalian body, such as how the brain works and how cancer arises.
The lab creates its own knockout and transgenic mice to clarify how genes function in the living body.
It focuses in particular on synaptic plasticity, activity-dependent neural development, and the mechanisms of memory and learning.
The lab is also using genome editing to create disease models in the marmoset, a small monkey.
Key terms
- Knockout mouse
- A mouse in which a specific gene has been inactivated. It is used to study the role of that gene in the whole body.
- Synaptic plasticity
- The property by which the strength of transmission at synapses, the junctions between neurons, changes with experience. It underlies memory and learning.
- Genome editing
- A technology that cuts DNA at a targeted site to introduce mutations into a gene or to rewrite it.
NewsLab news
Paper on marmosets carrying a mutation in SETD1A, a risk gene for schizophrenia, published in Journal of Neurochemistry
Development of a new marmoset model of fragile X syndrome carrying a mutation in the Fmr1 gene
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to understand individual-level biological functions, such as brain function, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and development, at the molecular level. By creating and analyzing its own knockout and transgenic mice, it clarifies how genes function in vivo.
*Illustrative imageThe role of the glutamate receptor mGluR1
The lab uses genetically modified mice to study the role of mGluR1, a glutamate receptor involved in synaptic plasticity, memory, and learning. It examines at which stages mGluR1 is required for motor learning and synapse elimination, and also comprehensively analyzes the protein complexes that bind to mGluR1.
*Illustrative imageThe role of mTOR in the brain and neurological diseases
The lab studies the role in the brain of mTOR, which acts at the center of cellular energy metabolism. It creates genetically modified mice in which mTORC1 is constantly active and investigates the links to neurological diseases such as epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases.
*Illustrative imageThe role of Rac in remodeling the cell's cytoskeleton
The lab studies Rac, a protein involved in remodeling the cytoskeleton of cells. Using mice in which Rac1 is deleted only in specific locations, it examines the links to the formation of synapses and of the neural networks that connect the left and right sides of the brain.
*Illustrative imageCreating mutant animals with genome editing
The lab is developing technology to efficiently create mutant mice using genome editing. It is also creating resources useful for neuroscience and disease models in the common marmoset, a small primate.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Division of Animal Resources are faculty members, doctoral students, and master's students.As of 2025
- ProfessorAtsu AibaPublications ↗
- LecturerYuichi HiraokaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorHarumi Nakao
- Assistant ProfessorShoko Noda
- Assistant ProfessorRyo Saito
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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: “Researcher holding a lab mouse - Crimean Federal University - ANDY7392” Andrey Chernogorodov / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The role of the glutamate receptor mGluR1: “Purkinje neuron cell bodies in a mouse cerebellum fold - Ksena Longrin” Morne Arin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The role of mTOR in the brain and neurological diseases: “Mouse Brain Coronal (NIH BioArt )” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- The role of Rac in remodeling the cell's cytoskeleton: “MEF microfilaments” Y tambe / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Creating mutant animals with genome editing: “Callithrix jacchus in Parque Bondinho Pão de Açúcar, Rio de Janeiro” Wilfredor / CC0 (cropped)
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