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Kawaguchi Lab
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The lab explores how the brain and nervous system work, focusing on synapses.
AboutAbout the lab
Memory and learning arise from changes in synapses.
The Neurobiology Lab (Kawaguchi Lab) studies synapses, the junctions where neurons pass information to one another, with the aim of uncovering the basic principles by which the brain and nervous system function.
The lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity, in which the way synapses transmit information changes depending on how they are used, and how this plasticity alters information processing in neural circuits and animal behavior.
Experiments using cultured neurons, brain slices, and mice are combined with simulations of mathematical models.
Key terms
- Synapse
- The junction between one neuron and another, where information is passed on.
- Synaptic plasticity
- The property by which how readily a synapse transmits information changes depending on how it is used.
- Patch clamp
- A method for measuring the electrical activity of a cell by pressing a thin tube against it.
ResearchResearch themes
To uncover the basic principles by which the brain and nervous system function, the lab studies synapses, which transmit information between neurons, and their plasticity.
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MembersFaculty
The members of the Neurobiology Lab are faculty members, doctoral and master's students, undergraduates, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShin-ya Kawaguchi
- Assistant ProfessorHimawari Hirai
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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.
- Top image: “Neurons (Purkinje cells)” Lennart Rikk / CC0 (cropped)
- Synaptic Plasticity and Behavior: “Electron micrographs of synaptic contacts (arrows) of OFF bipolar cells with midget and parasol ganglion cells” Tsukamoto Y and Omi N / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kyoto University Institute for the Evolution of Human Behavior (Masayuki Matsumoto) Lab): “PSM V27 D081 Upper aspect of monkey brain” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
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- Related lab (Biological Structural Chemistry Lab): “Glycine and glutamate bound Human GluN1a-GluN2D NMDA receptor - Glutamate receptor ionotropic, NMDA 1 - 8E96” Chou, T.-H., Furukawa, H. / CC0 (cropped)
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