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Comparative Neuroscience (WPI-IIIS) Lab
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The lab uses mice and ants to investigate biological phenomena such as sleep and learning.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how sleep and learning work and how ants diversify their phenotypes
The Shi-Iino Lab uses mice and ants to study biological phenomena including the sleep-wake cycle, learning and decision-making, and phenotypic diversification.
In mice, the lab investigates the minimal molecular and neural units responsible for sleep and wakefulness, and seeks to determine how well conserved they are by comparing them with other species.
In ants, which are social insects, the lab examines the process by which genetically uniform individuals diversify their phenotypes through acquired changes.
The lab also uses data science and mathematical models to search for the principles underlying complex biological phenomena.
Key terms
- Synaptic plasticity
- The property by which the strength of transmission at synapses, the junctions between neurons, changes depending on circumstances
- Epigenetics
- Mechanisms that change how genes function without changing the DNA sequence itself
- Phenotype
- The characteristics that actually appear in an organism, such as body shape and behavior
- Social insects
- Insects, such as ants, that live in groups
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies mice and ants to investigate the mechanisms of the sleep-wake cycle, the phenotypic diversification of genetically uniform ants, and how animals learn from experience to choose their behavior. In addition to experiments, it uses data science and mathematical models, aiming to uncover the principles underlying complex biological phenomena.
*Illustrative imageExploring the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness in mice
Using mice, the lab aims to identify the minimal molecular and neuroscientific units responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, and to clarify how well conserved they are by comparing them with other species. Keywords: synaptic plasticity, optogenetics, gene editing, and epigenetics.
*Illustrative imageExploring phenotypic diversification in ants
Using ants, which are social insects, the lab investigates the mechanisms by which genetically uniform individuals diversify their phenotypes through acquired changes. Keywords: sociality, gene editing, mass spectrometry, electrophysiology, and epigenetics.
*Illustrative imageUnderstanding life through data science
Life is a system in which tens of trillions of cells interact in complex ways. The lab aims to study this system through the analysis of multimodal data and the construction of mathematical models, and to uncover the principles behind it. Keywords: machine learning, differential equations, time-series analysis, and bioinformatics.
*Illustrative imageHow the brain learns and makes decisions
By combining experiments in which mice make choices to obtain rewards with models that describe behavior mathematically, the lab studies how animals learn and how they choose. It measures the activity of brain cells and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, aiming to clarify how experience is used in subsequent choices.
MembersFaculty
The Shi-Iino Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellows, doctoral and undergraduate students, technical staff, and secretaries.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorShoi Shi
- Assistant ProfessorYusuke Iino
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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: “Ant colony on brickwork Istanbul 2023” Furkan Akkurt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Exploring the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness in mice: “Black-mouse-trio-in-cage-2” Commissioned by Understanding Animal Research / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Exploring phenotypic diversification in ants: “Pavement ants battling on sidewalk” Chetvorno / CC0 (cropped)
- Understanding life through data science: “CSIRO ScienceImage 11313 The CSIRO GPU cluster at the data centre” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- How the brain learns and makes decisions: “Dopamine 3D ball” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (麻酔科学): “Clinicians in Intensive Care Unit” Calleamanecer / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子
行動生理学 （WPI-ⅢS） ): “Dog sleeping in a dog bed” Tomwsulcer / CC0 (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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