Neuroscience Laboratories
Brain Engineering Laboratory



Keywords:
Dendrites, Cerebral cortex, Thalamus, Behavior, Higher brain functions, Cognition
Our laboratory aims to understand the fundamental mechanisms of brain computation—dendrites as the particular focus—using a unique approach combining cutting-edge technology and our original tools

The graphical abstract of the paper published in 2020 from Cell. We found that general anesthesia decouples the flow of information between cortical layer 5 pyramidal neuron dendrites and their cell bodies, providing a cellular mechanism that unifies two theories of consciousness.
Members
Prof. SUZUKI Mototaka | m.suzuki.fbs[at]osaka-u.ac.jp |
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Q&A
- What is your hot research topic?
- How is our consciousness generated and lost? Consciousness is temporarily lost by sleep or general anesthesia, but in a healthy brain, consciousness comes back. What is happening in the brain during this process of loss and generation of consciousness? There is no doubt that the brain is necessary for consciousness, but the goal of my laboratory is to understand what is happening where exactly in the brain, at the cellular level.
- Have you had any breakthroughs or significant research progress in the recent years?
- I believe that the finding reported in the publication from Cell in 2020 is my most significant achievement to date. This paper reported that when animals (mice) lose consciousness under general anesthesia, the properties of cortical layer 5 pyramidal cells are markedly altered. We also found that metabotropic receptors, which had received little attention until then, plays a key role in this property change.
- What kind of background do your lab members have?
- We just started our laboratory at Osaka University in April 2025 and we are currently looking for new members. In our laboratory in the Netherlands, we work with members with backgrounds in neurobiology and psychology.
- Do you collaborate with other institutions and universities?
- I will continue to collaborate with scientists at my former institution, the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), and we also have collaborators at Brown University (USA), Humboldt University (Germany), and the University of Tartu (Estonia). In Japan, we have collaborated with the National Institute for Physiological Sciences and plan to actively explore opportinuties with other research institutions as well.
- How do you develop your research?
- I would like to advance our understanding of the neural basis of consciousness step by step. Since I have a background in engineering, my strength lies in my ability to develop tools and techniques that have never been seen before. I would like to challenge the difficult problem of the neural basis of consciousness with new and unprecedented approaches and technologies.
Research Highlights
Publications (Research Articles, Reviews, Books)
2023
How deep is the brain? The shallow brain hypothesis
Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 24(12):778-791 2023 (PMID:37891398 DOI:10.1038/s41583-023-00756-z)
2020
General Anesthesia Decouples Cortical Pyramidal Neurons
Cell 180(4):666-676.e13 2020 (PMID:32084339 DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2020.01.024)
2017
Dendritic calcium spikes are clearly detectable at the cortical surface
Nat. Commun. 8(1):276 2017 (PMID:28819259 DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-00282-4)
2013
Distinct neural mechanisms of distractor suppression in the frontal and parietal lobe
Nat. Neurosci. 16(1):98-104 2013 (PMID:23242309 DOI:10.1038/nn.3282)
Our ideal candidate (as a graduate student)
The brain is an extremely beautiful and complex structure, an organ that still holds many mysteries. For difficult problems, completely new hypotheses and technologies can sometimes lead to breakthroughs. We therefore welcome the participation of students and researchers who are not afraid to adopt novel ideas, new and original technologies, and who are willing to boldly take up the challenge of solving difficult brain problems.
Contact
Brain Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan.
E-mail: m.suzuki.fbs[at]osaka-u.ac.jp (Prof. SUZUKI Mototaka)
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