Elucidation of neural mechanism of spontaneous blink generation by focusing on gene polymorphism

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12620
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Developmental mechanisms and the body works
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: NAKANO Tamami 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 准教授 (90589201)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 注意 / 瞬目 / ニコチン受容体

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It remains unknown why we generate spontaneous blinks every few seconds, more often than necessary for ocular lubrication. Thus, the present study aimed to reveal a functional role of this spontaneous blinks. By focusing on the gene polymorphism of the nicotinic receptor, we successfully identified the neural mechanisms underlying a large individual difference in the spontaneous blink rate. We found that people who have a transformation from C to T in the CHRNA4 gene, which is related to the nicotinic receptor, generate spontaneous blinks significantly more than people who have no transformation of this gene. In addition, the gray matter volume in the angular gyrus showed a positive correlation with the spontaneous blink rate. Furthermore, the autonomic nervous activity, such as instant heart rate and skin conductance level, showed a transient increase in association with the spontaneous blinks.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学