The University of Osaka · Neuroscience
Professor Hideo Matsuzaki's research lab focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity, with a particular emphasis on neurotrophic factors such as VEGF and IGF-1. The lab investigates intracellular signaling pathways—especially the PI3K/Akt and MAPK/ERK cascades—involved in protecting neurons against various forms of stress, including excitotoxicity and nitric oxide-induced apoptosis. Additionally, the lab explores the neural basis of social cognitive impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), using neuroimaging techniques to identify brain circuitry abnormalities during emotional processing. Their work bridges molecular neuroscience and translational psychiatry, aiming to uncover therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
ABSTRACT Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known as a selective endothelial cell mitogen that promotes angiogenesis and increases blood vessel formation in vivo. Here we report that VEGF has protective effects on primary hippocampal neurons against glutamate toxicity by acting on phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3‐K)/Akt pathways and mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) pathways, operating independently of one another. Decrease in t
Emerging data indicate that growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) prevent neuronal death due to nitric oxide (NO) toxicity. On the other hand, growth factors can promote cell survival by acting on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and its downstream target, serine-threonine kinase Akt, in various types of cells. Here, we examined the mechanism by which IGF-1 inhibits neuronal apoptosis induced by NO in primary hippocampal neurons. IGF-1 was capable of preventing ap
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to make inadequate social judgments, particularly when the nonverbal and verbal emotional expressions of other people are incongruent. Although previous behavioral studies have suggested that ASD individuals have difficulty in using nonverbal cues when presented with incongruent verbal-nonverbal information, the neural mechanisms underlying this symptom of ASD remain unclear. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we comp
This study was supported mainly by MEXT, Japan.
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