International Research Center for Memory from Molecule to Behavior

Project Gist

Understanding the mechanism of memory formation from molecule to behavior

Keywords

Memory, Synapse, Synaptic plasticity, Phase separation

Joint Research/Academic Institutions Abroad

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Background and Purpose

Although the memory formation has been studied from molecule to animal behavior, it was difficult to put them together to obtain integrated view. The aim of this project is to accumulate the knowledge and technologies for the research of memory formation from a research group studying about synaptic molecules in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a research group studying about neurons, neural circuit, and animal behavior in Kyoto University.

Project Achievements

Joint research with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology revealed that the formation of protein condensate during learning is critical for the regulation of synaptic structure and function, neuronal network and thereby memory formation. This work was published in Nature Neuroscience. To further pursue this advanced concept, we have established several intra/international research networks for memory system with such as Bordeaux University, France.

Future Prospects

The protein condensate found in this project has unique characters known as liquid phase separation. We will describe the detail of significance of these characters and the component proteins to completely understand the mechanism of memory formation.

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Principal Investigator