Laboratory for Memory and Learning
Laboratory Head
Masao ITO
(M.D., Ph.D.)
In the brain, numerous neurons are connected with each other via synapses to constitute intricate neuronal networks that display ingenious information processing capabilities. Synapse plasticity provides memory elements to the neuronal networks. In 1982, we discovered a type of synaptic plasticity, long-term depression (LTD), in cerebellar Purkinje cells and since then we have devoted efforts to uncover the molecular mechanism of its expression. So far we uncovered the involvement of protein kinase G and protein phosphatase 2A. In 2008-09, we publsiuhed the results obtained about the role of G-substrate and cytosolic phospholipase A2a. This line of works continues toward the next targets: orexin, junB and receptor trafficking processes. We aim at elucidateing the entire molecular mechanisms of LTD. In parallel with these works, I have been seeking for a control system model that would uniformly explain multiplex functions of the cerebellum. Since around 1990, I have been proposing a hypothesis that the cerebellum copies a model of idea or concenpt formed in the cerebral cortex and that one can think intuitively by manipulating the model. This shogi project, a collaborative research project with shogi or.jp and Fujitsu company, may provide a way to test this hypothesis.
- Roles of lipd signaling in LTD
- AMPA receptor trafficking that determines kinetic of LTD
- Effects of hypothalamic orexin neurons on cerebellare Purkinje cells
- Bioinformatics of selective positioning of PDZ ligands at C-terminal ends
- Roles of the cerebellum in shogi check tasks
- May 08, 2008
- Elucidating a mouse sex discrimination mechanism by pheromones through visualized dynamics using fluorescent proteins for detecting the effect of pheromonic stimulation on olfaction-receptor cells.
- Le, TD., Shirai, Y., Okamoto, T., Tatsukawa, T., Nagao, S., Shimizu, T., Ito, M.:
"Lipid signaling in cytosolic phospholipase A2α - cyclooxygenase-2 cascade mediates cerebellar long-term depression and motor learning."
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107:3198-3203, 2010. - Endo, S., Shutoh, F., Le, TD., Okamoto, T., Ikeda, T., Suzuki, M., Kawahara, S., Yanagihara, D., Sato, Y., Yamada, K., Sakamoto, T., Kirino, Y., Hartell, NA., Yamaguchi, K., Itohara, S., Nairn, AN., Greengard, P., Nagao, S., Ito, M.:
"Dual involvement of G-substrate in motor learning revealed by gene deletion."
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106: 3525-3530, 2009. - Ito, M.:
"Functional roles of neuropeptides in cerebellar circuits."
Neuroscience 162: 666-672, 2009. - Ito, M.:
"Control of mental activities by internal models in the cerebellum."
Nat Rev Neurosci 9: 304-313, 2008. - Ito, M.:
"Cerebellar circuitry as a neuronal machine."
Progr Neurobiol 78: 272-303, 2006. - Koekkoek, SK., Yamaguchi, K., Milojkovic, BA., Dortland, BR., Ruigrok, TJ., Maex, R., De Graaf, W., Smit, AE., Vanderwerf, F., Bakker, CE., Willemsen, R., Ikeda, T., Kakizawa, S., Onodera, K., Nelson, DL., Mientjes, E., Joosten, M., De, Schutter, E., Oostra, BA., Ito, M.,and De Zeeuw, Cl.:
"Deletion of FMR1 in Purkinje Cells Enhances Parallel Fiber LTD, Enlarges Spines, and Attenuates Cerebellar Eyelid Conditioning in Fragile X Syndrome."
Neuron 47: 339-352, 2005. - Shirai, Y.,and Ito, M.:
"Specific differential expression of phospholipase A(2) subtypes in rat cerebellum."
J. Neurocytol. 33: 297-307, 2004. - Launey, T., Endo, S., Sakai, R., Harano, J., and Ito, M.:
"Protein phosphatase 2A inhibition induces cerebellar long-term depression and declustering of synaptic AMPA receptor."
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101: 676-81, 2004. - Ito, M.:
"The molecular organization of cerebellar long-term depression."
Nat Rev Neurosci 3: 896-902, 2002. - Karachot, L., Shirai, Y., Vigot, R., Yamamori, T., and Ito, M.:
"Induction of long-term depression in cerebellar Purkinje cells requires a rapidly turned over protein."
J Neurophysiol. 86: 280-289, 2001.