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Molecular Behavioral Physiology Lab (WPI-IIIS)
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A lab investigating sleep, wakefulness, and the circadian clock through neuropeptides in the brain.
AboutAbout the lab
Dive into the mechanisms of wakefulness
The Molecular Behavioral Physiology Lab studies sleep and wakefulness, feeding behavior, the circadian clock, and emotion and affect through the actions of neuropeptides in the brain.
Using genetically modified mice, the lab investigates from the molecular and cellular levels while aiming to understand functions at the level of the whole organism.
It also works to clarify the functions of neuropeptides such as orexin, and studies neurons that put mice into a hibernation-like state.
On the lab's website, it is introduced as the "Sakurai/Hirano Lab," a lab of the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS).
Key terms
- Orexin
- A neuropeptide produced by neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain. It is involved in maintaining wakefulness and controlling feeding behavior
- Neuropeptide
- A type of substance in the brain that mediates communication between neurons. It is involved in controlling feeding, sleep, emotion, and metabolism
- Circadian rhythm
- A rhythm with a period of about one day, seen in many biological phenomena such as the sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, endocrine function, and metabolism
NewsLab news
Professor Takeshi Sakurai received the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Research Category) for fiscal 2025
A master's student received the Outstanding Thesis Award
Assistant Professor Arisa Hirano received the 34th Tsukuba Encouragement Prize
Assistant Professor Arisa Hirano received the University of Tsukuba 2023 BEST FACULTY MEMBER award
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates sleep and wakefulness, the circadian clock, feeding behavior, and emotion and affect through the actions of neuropeptides in the brain. Using genetically modified mice, it approaches these questions from the molecular and cellular levels while aiming to understand functions at the level of the whole organism.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms controlling sleep and wakefulness
Sleep is thought to be a process that the brain actively carries out to maintain its own functioning. Focusing on orexin, the lab studies the connections among the hypothalamus, brainstem, and cerebral cortex as well as the neurochemicals in the brain, aiming to clarify the overall picture of this control.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of the circadian clock
The lab studies how circadian rhythms, which have a period of about one day, are generated by clock neurons in the brain. It analyzes the functions of neuropeptides in clock cells, and conducts analyses using mice in which clock genes are modified in a site-specific manner.
*Illustrative imageHibernation-like hypometabolic state
The lab discovered that exciting a group of neurons in part of the mouse hypothalamus (Q neurons) greatly lowers body temperature and metabolism for several days. It is now working to clarify how this state occurs and to find ways to stimulate Q neurons artificially.
*Illustrative imagePhysiological roles of novel neuropeptides
The lab studies the actions of neuropeptides such as orexin, Neuropeptide B/W, and QRFP using genetically modified mice. While approaching these from the molecular and cellular levels, it always aims to understand functions at the level of the whole organism.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Molecular Behavioral Physiology Lab consist of faculty, researchers, technical staff, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and secretaries.As of 2025
- ProfessorTakeshi Sakurai
- Assistant ProfessorArisa Hirano
- Assistant ProfessorYoan Cherasse
- Assistant ProfessorShingo Soya
- Assistant ProfessorYuki Saito
- Assistant ProfessorTohru Takahashi
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: “Dog sleeping in a dog bed” Tomwsulcer / CC0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms controlling sleep and wakefulness: “Sleeping-girl” rachel CALAMUSA at the Wayback Machine / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of the circadian clock: “Biological clock human-nn” User:Soulkeeper / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Hibernation-like hypometabolic state: “Eptesicus nilssonii hibernating” Magne Flåten / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Physiological roles of novel neuropeptides: “Biphalin molecule spacefill” Jynto (more from this user) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (適応生理学(WPI-IIIS)): “Jsc2023e050554” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (睡眠神経科学
（WPI-IIIS） ): “Sleeping cat 04” Bluemix / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (分子神経生物学): “Rattus norvegicus silver nitrate stained and pseudocolored cortical neurons” Micromural123 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (睡眠生理学
（WPI-IIIS） ): “Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder” Uguccioni G, Pallanca O, Golmard J, Dodet P, Herlin B, Leu-Semenescu S, Arnulf I / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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