Kazunari Miyamichi

Orbitofrontal cortex influences dopamine dynamics associated with alloparental behavioral acquisition in female mice Orbitofrontal cortex neurons facilitate alloparental behaviors in virgin female mice by modulating the dopamine system.

Happy to share our new work in Sci Adv! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...　We found a robust representation of pup retrieval in the orbitofrontal cortex of female mice, which positively regulates VTA dopamine neurons during the acquisition of maternal behavior. Congrats to Gen-ichi and the team!

A transgenic mouse line for rabies virus-mediated trans-synaptic tracing in the postnatal developing brain Neural circuits are composed of numerous neurons that perform diverse functions. Understanding the mechanisms of neural processing requires elucidating the connections among individual neurons. Rabies...

The new paper is out in @PLOSONE: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti.... We introduce a novel knock-in mouse line for rabies-based trans-synaptic tracing, with a detailed discussion of its strengths and limitations.

Dietary availability acutely influences puberty onset via a hypothalamic neural circuit Goto et al. measure the pulsatile activity of the reproductive center in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus during puberty in female mice. They discover that food availability rapidly and bidirectionall...

Opus, sorry—I forgot to include the link to the paper! Here it is: www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

Dynamics of pulsatile activities of arcuate kisspeptin neurons in aging female mice The pulsatile activities of kisspeptin neurons, the central pacemaker activities of reproductive functions, show unexpected robustness in terms of frequency, but a tendency for the intensity to declin...

Side note: The first author Teppei Goto has been a dedicated neuroendocrinologist specializing in kisspeptin. His previous work (elifesciences.org/articles/82533) explored menopause, this study tackles puberty—could the next installment complete a life-course trilogy on reproductive transitions?

PR from RIKEN www.riken.jp/press/2025/2... (Japanese only) ->
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Drs. Ken Murata (Univ. of Tokyo), Tomomi Karigo (Johns Hopkins), and Hiroko Sokumura (Nagoya Univ.) for their kind comments on the manuscript of this paper. (10/N

This study reveals a rapid regulatory mechanism in which AgRP neurons dynamically adjust reproductive timing in response to fluctuating food availability. How this "food-to-reproduction" circuit operates beyond the context of puberty remains an open question. (9/N

Conversely, partial ablation of AgRP neurons significantly increased kisspeptin pulsatility even under caloric restriction, allowing partial ovarian maturation. These findings establish AgRP neurons as key inhibitors of kisspeptin pulses, acting as a brake on puberty onset. (8/N

While all mice experienced their first estrus by P45 in the control group, only half reached puberty, and ovarian development was delayed, in the AgRP-activated group (C, D). (7/N

We then turned to AgRP neurons, key hunger sensors in the arcuate nucleus. AgRP neurons are known to be activated by fasting and rapidly suppressed by food availability. We found that artificially activating AgRP neurons blocked the surge in kisspeptin pulses even after refeeding (A, B). (6/N

Food scarcity is known to delay puberty, but how kisspeptin neurons sense metabolic status remains unclear. We found that under a mild caloric restriction suppressing puberty, low-frequency kisspeptin pulses persist. Once food availability was restored, pulsatile activity surged within hours. (5/N

Between P24 and P30, sharp peaks of pulsatile activity in kisspeptin neurons appeared. This activity preceded vaginal opening—the first visible sign of puberty—and increased in frequency with age. This provides definitive evidence that kisspeptin neuron pulses emerge before puberty onset. (4/N

Yet, due to technical challenges, the pulsatile activity of kisspeptin neurons in prepubertal animals remained uncharted. Using a genetic approach to express a Ca2+ sensor specifically in kisspeptin neurons, we successfully tracked their activity starting from P24 in mice. (3/N

An increase in the gonadotropin secretion rate drives sexual maturation. The master regulator of this rhythm is kisspeptin neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. After maturity, these neurons fire in synchronized pulses every 30 min to 2 hrs, setting the pace for gonadotropin release. (2/N

If you are interested in what happens deep in the brain during puberty, please check our new paper in Neuron. We visualize how nutritional status shapes sexual maturation in female mice: A flagship study by an excellent postdoc Teppei Goto. (1/N

If you are interested in organ sensation and organ neural control, this is the place to be! The 11th NSN in Kobe symposium will be held on February 21 at the Kobe University School of Medicine campus (and zoom). It is free but registration is required. Please come and join us!

Oxytocin and neuroscience of lactation: Insights from the molecular genetic approach In mammals, lactation is essential for the health and growth of infants and supports the formation of the mother–infant bond. Breastfeeding is mediate…

If you are interested in the neuroscience of lactation, here is my new review paper('ω')ノ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Congratulations to Drs. Neyama and Cui on this fantastic publication!

Opioidergic activation of the descending pain inhibitory system underlies placebo analgesia The placebo effect can relieve pain by activating the brain’s pain inhibition system via endogenous opioidergic signals.

The placebo treatment, working simply because it is perceived as a drug, has even been observed in rats. Dr. Cui’s research investigates the neural mechanisms underlying the placebo analgesic effect, to which I contributed by supporting the RV tracing system.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Big congrats!

A nonsecretory antimicrobial peptide mediates inflammatory organ damage in Drosophila renal tubules Using the power of Drosophila genetics, Oi et al. identified a nonsecretory antimicrobial peptide, Attacin-D, as an essential factor in inflammatory organ damage in the renal tubules. This study highlights a key player in inflammatory organ injury.

new work out from the lab @cellreports.bsky.social
A brave phd student Ayano revealed the mechanism how immune activation disrupts renal tubules! The key is a nonsecretory antimicrobial peptide!
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

A modular system to label endogenous presynaptic proteins using split fluorophores in C. elegans Abstract. Visualizing the subcellular localization of presynaptic proteins with fluorescent proteins is a powerful tool to dissect the genetic and molecula

Published! We've made a collection of knock-in strains to label endogenous active zone proteins. 'A modular system to label endogenous presynaptic proteins using split fluorophores in C. elegans' academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...

Thanks for the many citations this year🥰 The TRAP paper is experiencing a breakthrough over ten years after its publication!
Since transcriptome types and active neurons don’t always correlate in many cases, I anticipate that methods like this will continue to be useful😄

#83 Emo - NeuroRadio ハーフマラソン参加を通じたコンディショニングの変化、Bluesky移行など。論文紹介は、valenceに応じた伝達物質放出の変化、生きた細胞からのトランスクリプトミクス、空腹による恐怖表象の変化 (12/15収録) Sh...

#83 Emo
コンディショニングの変化、Bluesky移行など。論文紹介は、valenceに応じた伝達物質放出の変化、生きた細胞からのトランスクリプトミクス、空腹による恐怖表象の変化。
#NeuroRadio #神経科学 #ポッドキャスト
neuroradio.tokyo/2024/12/21/8...

This research opens a new avenue of real-time, single-cell-level neuroendocrinology in freely behaving animals. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Drs. Tomomi Karigo and Takuya Osakada for their thoughtful comments on the manuscript! 7/

The number of active neurons decreased, and the pulse amplitude of each neuron narrowed, returning to a basal state. These changes suggest a mechanism by which oxytocin secretion increases during the period of heightened milk demand by pups. 6/

, leading to enhanced overall neuronal activity. On the other hand, even after weaning, when the mother can no longer produce milk, the pulsatile activity persisted at a lower level (personally, this was the most surprising finding!). 5/

We found that in response to suckling stimulation from pups, oxytocin neurons in the mother’s brain fired rhythmically at intervals of several minutes. During mid-lactation, the number of active cells increased, and the pulse amplitude of individual neurons also expanded... 4/

However, the specific activity patterns at the single-cell level were unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we introduced microendoscopic Ca2+ imaging of oxytocin neurons in lactating mouse dams. 3/

In our previous research, we found that the pulsatile firing (rhythmic activity) of oxytocin neurons in lactating mice becomes stronger and longer by day 12 (mid-lactation) compared to day 1 (postpartum). [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35868323/] 2/