Investigation of higher visual circuit of telencephalon in fish and searches for visual stimulation attractive for fish

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K15597
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 40040:Aquatic life science-related
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: HAGIO Hanako 名古屋大学, 高等研究院(農), 特任助教 (80848309)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 視覚 / 魚 / ニューロン / 大脳 / マハゼ / ゼブラフィッシュ / 神経回路

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although the academia and the fisheries industries are getting interested in the vision of fish, visual pathways from the retina to the telencephalon have been studied only in a small number of fish species, and higher-order visual circuits and their functions in fish are unknown. We investigated the visual circuitries including the higher-order visual circuits in fish, and discovered similarities with mammals. We succeeded in challenging the analyses of visual functions, which have been limited to the retina and mesencephalon around the world, by recording higher-order diencephalic and telencephalic neuronal responses. Furthermore, we have almost established the experimental system for presenting visual stimuli that can be applied to fish for fisheries.

Free Research Field

魚類神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

魚は進化の過程で視覚路が2つから1つになり独自の視覚路の進化を遂げた一方、2つの視覚路をもつ哺乳類と共通している点も多くあることがわかり新しい学術的知見が得られた。また、本研究により世界中で網膜や中脳視蓋にとどまっていた視覚機能解析をより高次な視覚機能解析を行うことを可能にし、魚の視覚機能の解明がより前進することが期待できる。確立できた漁業対象魚にも適用可能な視覚刺激呈示実験系を用いて、ニューロン応答の強い視覚刺激などを見つけ、魚に効果的な視覚刺激を反映した餌や擬餌開発による水産業への貢献が期待できる。