RIKEN Center for Brain Science Laboratory for Neural Circuitry of Learning and Memory
Team Director: Joshua Johansen (Ph.D.)
Research Summary

Innately aversive experiences produce emotional states in the brain which coordinate bodily reactions and trigger memory formation. However, more complex emotions occur through an evaluation of our circumstances in the context of past experiences and current internal physiological conditions. The Johansen lab studies the neural circuits and cell coding mechanisms which translate aversive experiences into simple and complex emotional states in the brain to guide behavior and produce memories. Our work will provide a mechanistic understanding of emotions, learning & memory and other aspects of human experience, ultimately leading to better treatment options for anxiety and trauma related psychiatric conditions.
Keywords
- neuromodulation
- neuronal coding
- behavior
- Learning and Memory
- Emotion
Selected Publications
- 1.
Gu X, Johansen JP:
"Prefrontal encoding of an internal model for emotional inference",
Nature, (2025) doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09001-2 - 2.
Watanabe M, Uematsu A, Johansen JP:
"Bidirectional emotional regulation through prefrontal innervation of the locus coeruleus",
Molecular Psychiatry, (2025) doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-02944-y - 3.
Sulkes Cuevas J, Watanabe M, Uematsu A, Johansen JP:
"Whole-brain afferent input mapping to functionally distinct brainstem noradrenaline cell types",
Neuroscience Research, Apr. 14, S0168-0102(23)00074-3 (2023) doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.04.004 - 4.
Ormond J, Serka AS, Johansen JP:
"Enhanced reactivation of remapping place cells during aversive learning",
Journal of Neuroscience, Jan. 3, JN-RM-1450-22 (2023) doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1450-22.2022 - 5.
Yeh LF, Ozawa T, Johansen JP:
"Functional organization of the midbrain periaqueductal gray for regulating aversive memory formation",
Molecular Brain, 14, 136 (2021) doi: 10.1186/s13041-021-00844-0 - 6.
Poe GR, Foote S, Eschenko O, Johansen JP, Bouret S, Aston-Jones G, Harley CW, Manahan-Vaughan D, Weinshenker D, Valentino R, Berridge C, Chandler DJ, Waterhouse B, Sara SJ:
"Locus coeruleus: a new look at the blue spot",
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 21, 644-659 (2020) doi: 10.1038/s41583-020-0360-9 - 7.
Likhtik E, Johansen JP:
"Neuromodulation in Circuits of Aversive Emotional Learning",
Nature Neuroscience, Nov:22(11):1946 (2019) doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0503-3 - 8.
Uematsu A, Tan BZ, Ycu EA, Sulkes-Cuevas J, Koivumaa J, Junyent F, Kremer EJ, Witten IB, Deisseroth K, Johansen JP
"Modular organization of the brainstem noradrenaline system coordinates opposing learning states"
Nature Neuroscience, 20(11):1602-1611 (2017) doi: 10.1038/nn.4642 - 9.
Ozawa T, Ycu EA, Kumar A, Yeh L-F, Ahmed T, Koivumaa J, Johansen JP
"A feedback neural circuit for calibrating aversive memory strength"
Nature Neuroscience, 20(1):90-97 (2017) doi: 10.1038/nn.4439 - 10.
Madarasz TJ, Diaz-Mataix L Akhand O, Ycu EA, LeDoux JE, Johansen JP
"Evaluation of ambiguous associations in the amygdala by learning the structure of the environment"
Nature Neuroscience, 19:965-972 (2016) doi: 10.1038/nn.4308
Recent Research Results
May 15, 2025
How the brain allows us to infer emotions
Related Links
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Joshua Johansen
- Team Director
Core members
- Xiaowei Gu
- Research Scientist
- Nur Zeynep Gungor
- Research Scientist
- Tomoya Ohnuki
- Special Postdoctoral Researcher
- Mehdi Julien Sicre
- Special Postdoctoral Researcher
- Yusuke Kasuga
- Research Associate
- Kun-Lin Hsieh
- Research Associate
- Yuri Ishizu
- Technical Staff I
- Reiko Yoshida
- Technical Staff I
- Yuki Goya
- Technical Staff I
Careers
Position | Deadline |
---|---|
Part-time Staff Position (W24267) | Open until filled |
Contact Information
2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
Email: joshua.johansen@riken.jp