The University of Tokyo · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Teruhiro Okuyama's research lab focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying social memory and behavior, with a particular emphasis on the role of the ventral hippocampus and its neural circuits in encoding and retrieving social information. The lab also investigates neuromodulatory systems—such as TN-GnRH3 neurons in fish—that regulate social preferences and mating behaviors. In parallel, the lab explores bioactive compounds from traditional medicinal plants, especially those from *Angelica keiskei* and *Peucedanum praeruptorum*, identifying and characterizing coumarins and chalcones with potential anti-tumor and pharmacological activities. This dual approach bridges systems neuroscience and natural product chemistry to uncover both neural mechanisms of social cognition and bioactive molecules with therapeutic potential.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
The medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, has been implicated in social memory. However, it remains unknown which parts of these brain regions and their circuits hold social memory. Here, we show that ventral hippocampal CA1 (vCA1) neurons of a mouse and their projections to nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell play a necessary and sufficient role in social memory. Both the proportion of activated vCA1 cells and the strength and stability of the responding cells are greater in response to a
Social familiarity affects mating preference among various vertebrates. Here, we show that visual contact of a potential mating partner before mating (visual familiarization) enhances female preference for the familiarized male, but not for an unfamiliarized male, in medaka fish. Terminal-nerve gonadotropin-releasing hormone 3 (TN-GnRH3) neurons, an extrahypothalamic neuromodulatory system, function as a gate for activating mating preferences based on familiarity. Basal levels of TN-GnRH3 neuron
Potent anti-tumor promoter activity has been found in the nonpolar extracts of the root of "Ashita-Ba", Angelica keiskei Koidz. (Umbelliferae), which is eaten as a vegetable in Japan. From this active fraction, two angular furanocoumarins, archangelicin (1) and 8(S),9(R)-9-angeloyloxy-8,9-dihydrooroselol (2), three linear furanocoumarins, psoralen (3), bergapten (4) and xanthotoxin (5), and three chalcones, 4-hydroxyderricin (6), xanthoangelol (7) and a novel chalcone named ashitaba-chalcone (8)
The ability to remember conspecifics is critical for adaptive cognitive functioning and social communication, and impairments of this ability are hallmarks of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Although hippocampal ventral CA1 (vCA1) neurons are known to store social memories, how their activities are coordinated remains unclear. Here we show that vCA1 social memory neurons, characterized by enhanced activity in response to memorized individuals, were preferentially reactivated during sharp-wave
From the ether-soluble fraction of methanolic extracts of a Chinese Drug "Bai-Hua Quian-Hu", the root of Peucedanum praeruptorum (Umbelliferae), four coumarin compounds, (+/-) praeruptorin A, (+) praeruptorin B (= (+) anomalin), Pd-III and Pd-Ib, were isolated. The chemical structures of Pd-III and Pd-Ib have been established to be (+) 3' ( S)-angeroyloxy-4' ( S)-isovaleryloxy-3', 4'-dihydroseselin and (+) 3' ( R)-angeroyloxy-4'-keto-3',4'-dihydroseselin, respectively. (13)C NMR spectra of these
From the n-butanol extract of the crude drug "Bai-Hua Qian-Hu", the root of PEUCEDANUM PRAERUPTORUM Dunn. (Umbelliferae) praeroside I ( 1) and three known linear-type furanocoumarin glycosides, isorutarin ( 2), rutarin ( 3), and marmesinin ( 4), along with two known simple coumarin glycosides, scopolin ( 5) and skimmin ( 6), were isolated. The structure of praeroside I was established as rutaretin-4'- O-(6-vanilloyl-beta- D-glucopyranoside) by spectroscopic and chemical methods.
To be social, the ability to recognize and discriminate conspecific individuals is indispensable in social animals, including primates, rodents, birds, fish, and social insects which live in societies or groups. Recent studies using molecular biology, genetics, in vivo and in vitro physiology, and behavioral neuroscientific approaches have provided detailed insights into how animals process and recognize the information of individuals. Here, we review the most distinct sensory modalities for ind
Recognizing familiar individuals is crucial for adaptive social interactions among animals. However, the multidimensional nature of social memory encompassing sexual information remains unelucidated. We found that neurons in the ventral CA1 region (vCA1) of the mouse hippocampus encoded the identities and social properties, specifically sex and strain, of familiar conspecifics by using both rate and theta-based temporal coding. Optogenetic reactivation of social memories of females, but not male
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