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Brain Functional Morphology Lab (Center for Anatomical Studies)
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An anatomy lab that uses glial cells as a lens to study brain development, aging, and neurological disease.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the brain, from development to aging, through glia.
The Brain Functional Morphology Lab studies the development, plasticity, and age-related changes of the nervous system, with a focus on glial cells.
The lab also aims to clarify the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and of diseases that cause involuntary movements, in which parts of the body move regardless of one's will, and to develop new treatments for them.
The lab is in charge of teaching systematic human anatomy in the School of Medicine and also supports clinical anatomy work at the Kyoto University Clinical Anatomy Laboratory.
It is a new field that began in April 2024 when Prof. Takebayashi took up his post, and it is the only lab within the Center for Anatomical Studies.
Key terms
- Glial cells
- Cells in the brain and nerves that support and protect neurons. They include oligodendrocytes.
- Oligodendrocytes
- Glial cells that wrap around neuronal axons and form the sheath (myelin) that allows signals to travel faster
- Involuntary movements
- Movements in which part of the body moves on its own, regardless of one's will
NewsLab news
Graduate student's paper published in Experimental Neurology
Graduate student receives an Excellence Award at the Myelin Research Meeting
Graduate student's paper published in Neurobiology of Disease
ResearchResearch themes
The lab believes that understanding how the nervous system develops, adapts, and changes with age can also help people live better lives. It studies changes in the nervous system with a focus on glial cells, and its research aims to turn knowledge of the mechanisms behind neurological diseases caused by glial abnormalities or involuntary movements into new treatments.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment, aging, and plasticity of the nervous system
The lab is currently studying how Ddx20, a factor that binds to Olig2, contributes to the development, maturation, and functional maintenance of the nervous system through RNA metabolism.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of diseases that cause involuntary movements
The lab examines the neural circuits of model mice that show involuntary movements, with the aim of restoring function. In mice carrying a mutation in the Dystonin gene, it has shown that motor abnormalities arise from degeneration of sensory neurons.
*Illustrative imageSearching for new therapeutic targets
The lab creates model mice for motor neuron disease, oligodendrocyte dysfunction, and diseases in which myelin is not formed properly, and studies their pathology in order to develop new treatments.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Brain Functional Morphology Lab are faculty, technical staff, project staff, graduate students, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorHirohide Takebayashi
- Associate ProfessorNorihisa Bizen
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: “Oligodendrocyte (NIH BioArt 397)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Development, aging, and plasticity of the nervous system: “Oligodendrocytes” Oleg Tsupykov / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of diseases that cause involuntary movements: “Dystonia laterocollis” Powercycler / CC0 (cropped)
- Searching for new therapeutic targets: “Nervous system - Oligodendrocyte 2 -- Smart-Servier” Laboratoires Servier / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Oncology Lab): “R-CHOP infusion (R,C,H,O components)” Retired electrician / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ophthalmology Lab): “Optical Coherence Tomography of optic nerve and surrounding retina” Bobjgalindo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Developmental Pediatrics Lab): “Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics ( )” N509FZ / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Education Lab): “The Ruth and Conrad Morris Medical Simulation Center, Ariel University, Israel” Lewis4482000 / CC0 (cropped)
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