LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Brain Function Development and Regeneration Lab (Itaru Imayoshi)
Machine-translated · View original
This lab uses light-based technologies to study how neurons are born and mature in the mouse brain.
AboutAbout the lab
Using light to uncover brain development, maturation, and plasticity.
The Brain Function Development and Regeneration Lab (the Imayoshi Lab) uses mice as an experimental model to study the mechanisms of brain development, maturation, plasticity, and regeneration.
The lab belongs to both the Brain Function Development and Regeneration field in the Graduate School of Biostudies and the Stem Cell Deconstruction field in the Institute for Life and Medical Sciences.
Undergraduates can do their graduation research through the Earth and Life Environment course of the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, and the lab accepts graduate students in the Division of Systemic Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies.
Key terms
- Neural stem cell
- A cell that can renew itself while also producing many types of brain cells, including neurons
- Optogenetics
- A technique that uses light-responsive proteins to control the activity of cells or genes by shining light on them
- Neurogenesis
- The birth of new neurons (nerve cells) in the brain
NewsLab news
Lab paper accepted to eLife
Lab paper accepted to Front. Neural Circuits
Lab paper accepted to J Biomed Opt
ResearchResearch themes
The lab works on the regulation of neural stem cells, neurogenesis in the postnatal and adult brain, optical technologies for controlling gene expression, analysis of fine-grained animal behavior, and the development of genetically modified mice and viral vectors.
*Illustrative imageProliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells
The lab discovered that the level of a factor that determines cell fate oscillates with a period of several hours inside neural stem cells. It is also developing technologies that use light to control this expression pattern and switch cells between proliferation and neuronal differentiation.
*Illustrative imageNeurons born in the adult brain
It has become clear that neurogenesis continues throughout life, even in the adult brain. The lab has developed mice in which newly generated neurons can be specifically targeted for genetic manipulation, and aims to understand the full picture of these neurons and their functions and to apply this knowledge to improving brain function.
*Illustrative imageControlling gene activity with light
Extending the ideas of optogenetics to gene expression, the lab develops light-responsive transcription factors and builds technologies that control gene expression according to where and in what pattern light is applied. It also develops devices and methods for delivering light.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring fine-grained animal behavior
Focusing on memory and learning tasks, the lab develops new methods to extract features of fine-grained behavioral patterns in animals and analyze them statistically. This work also connects to research on the brain mechanisms that give rise to individual differences and individuality.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Imayoshi Lab are faculty members, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and research students.
- ProfessorItaru Imayoshi
- Associate ProfessorGUY Adam Tsuda
- Associate ProfessorMasayuki Sakamoto
- Program-Specific Associate ProfessorMayumi Yamada
- Assistant ProfessorYusuke Suzuki
- Assistant ProfessorShinji Nagasaki
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Brain Function Development and Regeneration Lab (Itaru Imayoshi)
Takagi LabFaculty of Integrated Human Studies, School of Integrated Human StudiesSurface science, nanoscience, low-dimensional materials scie…
Solid Earth Science (Mamoru Kato) LabFaculty of Integrated Human Studies, School of Integrated Human StudiesGeneral natural sciences / solid earth scienceVision Science LabFaculty of Integrated Human Studies, School of Integrated Human StudiesVision science, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, v…Motor Control and Learning Lab (Shota Hagio)Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, School of Integrated Human StudiesMotor control science, computational neuroscience, motor lea…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Neuron Classification” BruceBlaus / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells: “Neuron - Nerve Cell 04” Doctor Jana / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Neurons born in the adult brain: “Gray739-emphasizing-hippocampus” Henry Vandyke Carter / Public domain (cropped)
- Controlling gene activity with light: “Military laser experiment” US Air Force / Public domain (cropped)
- Measuring fine-grained animal behavior: “MorrisWaterMaze” Samueljohn.de / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takagi Lab): “Scanning tunnelling microscope ( )” UCL Mathematical and Physical Sciences from London, UK / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Solid Earth Science (Mamoru Kato) Lab): “Seismogram on historical seismometer at Institute of Geophysis of the Czech Academy of Science (19)” Petr Brož (Czech Academy of Science) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.