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Oral Physiology Lab
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An oral physiology lab that explores how the brain regulates eating behavior and the sense of taste.
AboutAbout the lab
Studying the science of eating well.
The Oral Physiology Lab studies how oral functions such as eating behavior and taste relate to the brain (the central nervous system).
Using electrophysiology and neuroscience methods, the lab investigates how the brain regulates feeding behavior, vomiting, taste, and learning.
Using conditioned taste aversion, the learning process through which taste likes and dislikes arise, as a model, the lab also seeks to clarify how taste experiences relate to the expression of anxiety and fear.
The lab also values joint research with clinical departments.
Key terms
- Electrophysiology
- The study of how nerve cells and other cells work, by measuring the tiny electrical signals they produce.
- Conditioned taste aversion
- A form of learning in which feeling ill after a certain taste leads to disliking that taste. It serves as a model for studying how likes and dislikes arise.
- c-Fos
- A protein produced when a neuron becomes active. It serves as a marker showing which parts of the brain were active.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the physiological functions of the mouth and body, mainly from the standpoints of electrophysiology and neuroscience. It aims to clarify how oral functions, including feeding behavior, relate to the brain.
*Illustrative imageIon channels and receptors
Using thin slices of rat brain (brain slices), the lab examines neural connections, neurotransmitters, responses to drugs, the roles of ion channels and receptors, and the regulation of the activity of individual neurons.
*Illustrative imageReading emotion from behavior
To clarify how sensation and function in the jaw, face, and mouth relate to emotion-driven behavior, the lab analyzes operant behavior.
*Illustrative imageBrain cells involved in learning
Using immunohistochemistry, the lab identifies neurons in the brain involved in learning, with the production of the protein c-Fos as a marker.
*Illustrative imageHow the brain processes taste information
Using neuroscience methods, the lab studies the pathways that carry taste information from the tongue through the brainstem to the cerebral cortex and limbic system, and how they coordinate with the neural circuits that generate eating behavior.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Oral Physiology Lab include faculty, research fellows, and graduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMakoto Funahashi
- Associate ProfessorTadashi Inui
- Assistant ProfessorTomohiko Yoshizawa
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Microscope for Electrophysiological Research and Recording Equipment” Robert Cudmore from Marseille, France / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Ion channels and receptors: “Patch Clamp Rig classic” Michael George / CC BY-SA 2.0 de (cropped)
- Reading emotion from behavior: “Skinner boxes 01” Luis Dantas / Public domain (cropped)
- Brain cells involved in learning: “Coronal section of a mouse brain stained with Hematoxylin & LFB” Bmouzon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How the brain processes taste information: “Fluorescently labeled, DAPI-stained cell nuclei in a mouse coronal brain section” Syed07 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (口腔機能解剖学教室): “Gl.submandibularis” Rollroboter / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (口腔顎顔面外科学教室): “US, Tanzanian medical professionals conduct dental surgery during Justified Accord )” U.S. Army SETAF-AF by Pfc. Alva Gonzalez / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (高齢者歯科学教室): “Full dentures” Tiia Monto / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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