Cerebral spine synapses and exocytosis studied with two-photon microscope

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21000009
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: KASAI Haruo 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 教授 (60224375)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MATSUZAKI Masanori 基礎生物学研究所, 教授 (50353438) ; TAKAHASHI Noriko 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 講師 (60332178) ; NOGICHI Jun 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 助教 (40421367) ; WATANABE Satoshi 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 助教 (80302610)
• Project Period (FY): 2009 – 2014
• Keywords: シナプス / 学習記憶 / 顕微鏡 / グルタミン酸 / 分泌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We had already found that spine synapses undergo structural plasticity by glutamate, but we have further revealed the actions of GABA and dopamine on the structural plasticity of dendritic spines, which likely underlies animal behaviors. We also established a new way to image static and dynamic states of SNARE proteins for exocytosis in neuron and secretory cells using 2pFRET/FLIM, which will pave the way for comprehensive understanding of neuronal memory circuits.

Free Research Field

生理学、神経科学