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Kuroda Lab
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A lab that explores the parent–child bond through the brain and behavior.
AboutAbout the lab
Where in the brain does the parent–child bond arise?
The Kuroda Lab studies the brain mechanisms of affiliative sociality, which underpins parent–child relationships and close relationships in families, workplaces, and communities.
Using mice, the lab examines the neural circuits that control social behaviors such as parenting, offspring attachment to parents, altruistic behavior, and aggression.
In human studies, the lab takes the "transport response," in which babies become calm when they are carried, as a clue and is developing approaches that help stop crying and put babies to sleep.
The lab is also conducting machine learning research that predicts an infant's state from data such as heart rate.
Key terms
- Affiliative sociality
- The tendency to bind members of a society together and to build relationships of living together
- Transport response
- A response in which offspring become calm when carried by a parent. It is seen in both humans and mice
- Attachment behavior
- Behavior in which offspring recognize their parents, follow them, and send signals to maintain the bond
NewsLab news
Summer lab tours held
Project Associate Professor Osakada received the Encouragement Award of the Japan Neuroscience Society
Paper on changes in body weight and behavior during placental formation published
Released the iOS and English versions of "SciBaby," an app that supports infant crying and sleep
Project Associate Professor Osakada received the Young Scientists' Prize of the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the brain mechanisms of affiliative sociality, which underpins parent–child relationships and close relationships in families, workplaces, and communities. It pursues both neural circuit research in mice and research on human infants.
*Illustrative imageNeuroscience of Parent–Child Relationships
The lab investigates the brain mechanisms of behaviors that arise from parent and offspring acting on each other, such as nursing. Using mutant mice, histological analysis, and gene expression analysis, it identifies which brain regions' activity is required for the behavior.
*Illustrative imageParental Care in Mammals
Among the affiliative social behaviors that bind members of a society together, the lab focuses on the parent–child relationship common to all mammals. It studies the neural mechanisms of parental care behaviors such as nursing, warming, nest building, and carrying offspring.
*Illustrative imageOffspring Attachment to Parents
Offspring maintain their bond with their parents through attachment behaviors: recognizing them, following them, and sending signals. The lab examines the "transport response," in which offspring become calm when carried by a parent, in both humans and mice, and has characterized it as a primitive attachment behavior.
*Illustrative imageSoothing Crying and Putting Babies to Sleep
The lab found that crying babies stop crying while they are being carried, for example when held and walked. Electrocardiogram analysis has also confirmed that five minutes of walking while holding a baby not only stops crying but also promotes sleep.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kuroda Lab are faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, researchers, JSPS Research Fellows, and technical support staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorKuroda KumiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKseniia ProkofevaPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorTakuya OsakadaPublications ↗
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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: “Warholian Hippocampi” AlmudenaFM / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Neuroscience of Parent–Child Relationships: “Mus musculus” kcthetc1 / CC0 (cropped)
- Parental Care in Mammals: “Oxitocina3D” MindZiper / CC0 (cropped)
- Offspring Attachment to Parents: “Cat carrying kitten (cropped)” Flickr user Margo Akermark with subsequent trivial cropping by AnonMoos / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Soothing Crying and Putting Babies to Sleep: “Moscow, Moskva River, Brateyevo, Russia” Vyacheslav Argenberg / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (廣田研究室): “White lab mice near” Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (刑部祐里子研究室): “Arabidopsis thaliana kz07” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (増田研究室): “Cyanobacteria guerrero negro” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (清尾研究室): “Синтезатор олигонуклеотидов колоночный” Mfomich / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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