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Shigemoto Group

Molecular Neuroscience

Information transmission, the formation of memory, and plasticity are all controlled by various molecules at work in the brain. Focusing on the localization and distribution of molecules in brain cells, the Shigemoto group investigates their functional roles in higher brain functions.

The release of neurotransmitters from a nerve cell into the synapse, where they act on receptors on the connecting nerve cell, is the primary process of information transmission and computation in the brain. The Shigemoto group studies the localization of single neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels, and other functional molecules to understand the molecular basis of neuronal information processing. The group has pioneered several methods for studying the localization of functional molecules at an unprecedented sensitivity, detecting and visualizing even single membrane proteins in nerve cells using SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labeling. They apply these methods to investigate the mechanisms of signaling and plasticity in the brain, with questions ranging from neurotransmission to learning.




Team

Image of Pradeep Bhandari

Pradeep Bhandari

Research Technician

Image of Yu Kasugai

Yu Kasugai

Research Technician

Image of Elodie Le Monnier

Elodie Le Monnier

Research Technician


Image of Jacqueline-Claire Montanaro-Punzengruber

Jacqueline-Claire Montanaro-Punzengruber

Research Technician

Image of Abdylla Parahadov

Abdylla Parahadov

PhD Student

Image of Hana Stefanickova

Hana Stefanickova

PhD Student


Image of Elena Säckl

Elena Säckl

Research Technician

Image of Cihan Önal

Cihan Önal

PhD Student


Current Projects

New chemical labeling methods for high resolution EM visualization of single molecules | Ultrastructural localization and function of receptors and ion channels in the brain | Mechanisms of long-term memory formation | Left-right asymmetry of neuronal circuitry


Publications

Koppensteiner P, Bhandari P, Önal C, Borges Merjane C, Le Monnier E, Roy U, Nakamura Y, Sadakata T, Sanbo M, Hirabayashi M, Rhee J, Brose N, Jonas PM, Shigemoto R. 2024. GABAB receptors induce phasic release from medial habenula terminals through activity-dependent recruitment of release-ready vesicles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 121(8), e2301449121. View

Cheung GT, Pauler F, Koppensteiner P, Krausgruber T, Streicher C, Schrammel M, Özgen NY, Ivec A, Bock C, Shigemoto R, Hippenmeyer S. 2024. Multipotent progenitors instruct ontogeny of the superior colliculus. Neuron. 112(2), 230–246.e11. View

Chen J, Kaufmann W, Chen C, Arai itaru, Kim O, Shigemoto R, Jonas PM. Developmental transformation of Ca2+ channel-vesicle nanotopography at a central GABAergic synapse. Neuron. View

Michalska JM, Lyudchik J, Velicky P, Korinkova H, Watson J, Cenameri A, Sommer CM, Amberg N, Venturino A, Roessler K, Czech T, Höftberger R, Siegert S, Novarino G, Jonas PM, Danzl JG. 2023. Imaging brain tissue architecture across millimeter to nanometer scales. Nature Biotechnology. View

Vierra NC, Ribeiro-Silva L, Kirmiz M, Van Der List D, Bhandari P, Mack OA, Carroll J, Le Monnier E, Aicher SA, Shigemoto R, Trimmer JS. 2023. Neuronal ER-plasma membrane junctions couple excitation to Ca2+-activated PKA signaling. Nature Communications. 14, 5231. View

View All Publications

ReX-Link: Ryuichi Shigemoto


Career

Since 2013 Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
1998 – 2014 Professor, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
1990 – 1998 Assistant Professor, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
1994 PhD, Kyoto University, Japan
1985 MD, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Japan


Selected Distinctions

ISI Highly Cited Researcher
2017 Member, Academia Europaea
2016 ERC Advanced Grant
2000 ISI Citation Laureate Award


Additional Information

Download CV
ERC Advanced Grant website



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