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Molecular and Cellular Physiology Lab
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A physiology lab that explores how taste and throat sensations help maintain the body's functions.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering how the body senses changes inside and outside itself
The Molecular and Cellular Physiology Lab studies how the human body senses changes in its internal and external environment and keeps its own state constant.
Much about the senses remains unexplained, and sensory cells that have not yet been discovered are thought to exist.
Using mammals as subjects, the lab aims to clarify the principles of new senses and apply them to medicine and physiology.
The lab was newly established in January 2026 as a lab of the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University.
Key terms
- Taste bud
- A cluster of taste-sensing cells found on the tongue and elsewhere. It acts as a sensor that distinguishes the chemicals in food.
- Channel synapse
- A mechanism that sends signals to nerves by releasing a neurotransmitter through ion channels in the cell membrane. The term was coined by this lab.
- Homeostasis
- The tendency to keep body temperature, blood pressure, and other conditions constant even when the environment outside or inside the body changes.
NewsLab news
Discovery of the neurons responsible for sensing drinking water published in Current Biology
Prof. Taruno received the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize
Lab launched as Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine
ResearchResearch themes
Behaviors such as eating, drinking, and swallowing are finely regulated in response to changes inside and outside the body, but much remains unknown about the sensory mechanisms underlying them. The lab aims to clarify the network of senses that supports homeostasis.
*Illustrative imageHow Taste Is Sensed, from Cells to the Brain
The lab investigates how the taste buds on the tongue detect chemicals, using measurement and manipulation of taste cell activity, single-cell analysis, and behavioral analysis.
*Illustrative imageExploring the Function of Channel Synapses Broadly and in Depth
Taste cells release the neurotransmitter ATP through ion channels rather than synaptic vesicles. The lab investigates how these "channel synapses" work and how they are formed.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorAkiyuki Taruno
- Program-Specific LecturerKengo Nomura
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: “Taste bud esp” NEUROtiker / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How Taste Is Sensed, from Cells to the Brain: “Digestive system - Taste buds -- Smart-Servier” Laboratoires Servier / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Exploring the Function of Channel Synapses Broadly and in Depth: “AMPA reseptörü” Batuhanayci / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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