Planned Research
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
The aim of this study is to reveal the role of neuronal activity in axon branching and the molecular mechanisms of branch formation, focusing on the thalamocortical projection system. We found that branching of thalamocortical axons is promoted by target-derived molecules which are expressed in an activity-dependent fashion and that an activity-independent mechanism also works on axon branching. We furhter found that branches mostly emerge from presynaptic sites of thalamic axons in normal conditions but appear from non-presynaptic sites with high neuronal activity. Evidence also suggests that a cytoskeleton-regulatory mechanism is involved in axon branching.
神経科学
