Approaching brain function through studying development of nervous systems

Faculty

Research Summary

The brain circuitry is made up of an enormous number of neurons. It is constructed by sequential developmental steps, involving neuronal differentiation, migration, axon guidance, and synaptogensis. The resulting wiring patterns determine the characteristics of animals’ behavior and mental activities. Although the brain maintains a certain degree of plasticity, the core element is almost fixed and non-rewireable after the completion. We focus on this rigid feature of the brain by attempting to reveal the rules of neural development and to understand how the wiring design shapes brain function.

Selected Publications

Hirata T, Tohsato Y, Itoga H, Shioi G, Kiyonari H, Oka S, Fujimori T, Onami S. NeuroGT: A brain atlas of neurogenic tagging CreER drivers for birthdate-based classification and manipulation of mouse neurons. Cell Reports Methods. 2021 May 25; 1(3):100012.

Zhu Y, Hirata T, Mackay F, Murakami F. Chemokine receptor CXCR7 non-cellautonomously controls pontine neuronal migration and nucleus formation. Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 16;10(1):11830.

Hatanaka Y, Hirata T. How Do Cortical Excitatory Neurons Terminate Their Migration at the Right Place? Critical Roles of Environmental Elements. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Oct 23;8:596708.

Hirata T, Shioi G, Abe T, Kiyonari H, Kato S, Kobayashi K, Mori K, Kawasaki T. A Novel Birthdate-Labeling Method Reveals Segregated Parallel Projections of Mitral and External Tufted Cells in the Main Olfactory System. eNeuro. 2019 Nov 20;6(6):ENEURO.0234-19.2019.