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Koya Lab

@koyalab.bsky.social

We aim to reveal the neuronal ensemble mechanisms of motivated behaviours guided by food-associated cues. We are located in weird and wonderful Brighton on the southern English coast! (lab homepage: http://tinyurl.com/y44g9a7u)

177 Followers  |  126 Following  |  38 Posts  |  Joined: 07.04.2025  |  2.2036

Latest posts by koyalab.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Excited to announce that I'll be moving to the Univ of California Irvine @ucirvine.bsky.social next Spring!๐ŸŒด

Happily, this is not goodbye to Japan as I'll continue my lab @RIKEN_CBS for some time.

Help spread the word: the new UCI lab will be hiring, DM or email (johaono@gmail.com) if interested!

02.10.2025 04:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 80    ๐Ÿ” 24    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 10    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Distinct prelimbic cortex ensembles encode response execution and inhibition | PNAS Learning when to initiate or withhold actions is essential for survival, requiring the integration of past experiences with new information to adap...

Cool new study on how operant training and extinction learning recruit distinct prelimbic cortex ensembles to support opposing behavioural responses from Bruce Hope's lab! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

01.10.2025 12:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Rest in peace, Pieter.
Thank you for everything and for helping me become the neuroscientist I am today.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Pieter had a profound influence on how I investigate the brain.
Iโ€™m grateful I stayed in touch during his retirement, where he enjoyed making guitars.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The microscope we used together (pictured below just before his retirement) was where many of these lessons were learned.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

He patiently showed me stained brain sections with e.g. Fos, calbindin, mu-opioid receptors. Amazingly, he could even infer corticolimbic inputs from clusters of Fos expression in striatal sections.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I still remember when he asked me to sketch the borders of the nucleus accumbens and justify my choices. โ€œBecause itโ€™s in the atlasโ€ wasnโ€™t good enough. He wanted my scientific rationale!

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

That question led to hours of Socratic dialogue about cell types, neurochemical markers, input-output relationships, and anatomical boundaries.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Pieter taught me how to use the cryostat and dissect brain regions with precision.
But more importantly, he taught me how to think about โ€œWhat makes a brain area a brain area?โ€.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

My obsession with histology, microscopy, and the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens began with him.
Itโ€™s something Iโ€™ve carried through my postdoc, my time at NIDA, and now as a PI.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

As a PhD student, I learned corticostriatal neuroanatomy, histology, and microscopy under his guidance, even though he wasnโ€™t officially my supervisor.
He was just a generous scientist who wanted to help.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Many in behavioural neuroscience will remember Pieter from his influential 2004 Trends in Neurosciences review, which helped shape our understanding of prefrontalโ€“striatal circuitry.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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I recently learned that my PhD mentor, Pieter Voorn, passed away at the age of 70.
He was a superb, โ€˜classicalโ€™ neuroanatomist at VU Medical Center in Amsterdam, working alongside Gloria Meredith, Henk Groenewegen, Harry Uylings, and Chris Wright.

26.09.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Flight back has been cancelled so must spend another day in Almeria! Not a bad place to get stranded ! ๐Ÿ˜

21.09.2025 14:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Seen today in Brighton: Old-school, non-LLM, analogue spell checking! ๐Ÿ˜„

07.09.2025 17:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post-doc position in the ยซ Neurobiology and Neuropharmacology of Psychiatric Disorders ยป team, INSERM-University of Poitiers - Federation of European Neuroscience Societies

We are hiring!

www.fens.org/careers/job-...

01.09.2025 06:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
To indulge or enrich: how environmental enrichment affects neurons that promote food seeking Neuropsychopharmacology - To indulge or enrich: how environmental enrichment affects neurons that promote food seeking

In this recent #ResearchHighlight, the authors discuss new findings pointing a potential non-pharmacological approach for mitigating maladaptive craving behaviors

20.08.2025 15:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Seen today in Brighton: A tribute to Pac-man on wheels! ๐Ÿ˜„

05.08.2025 19:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Shoya House at The Huntington, San Marino, CA. A house built in the Edo period 300 years ago in Marugame Japan. It was disassembled there and reassembled at The Huntington. Amazing !

20.07.2025 02:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Friday happiness=yakitori and Suntory Premium Malts at Torikizoku! ๐Ÿ˜‹

12.07.2025 06:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
To indulge or enrich: how environmental enrichment affects neurons that promote food seeking - Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology - To indulge or enrich: how environmental enrichment affects neurons that promote food seeking

Once again, many thanks to all involved in project! Those on bluesky: @katepeters3.bsky.socialโ€ฌ, โ€ช@scottkinghorn.bsky.social Finally, special thanks to @moever.bsky.socialโ€ฌ and Pelle Wilbers at VU Amsterdam for a nice commentary on our article! ๐Ÿ™‚https://tinyurl.com/yutzpuv7 14/nโ€ฌ

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Together, impaired neuronal food cue processing from simultaneous prefrontal excitatory 'overdrive' and inhibitory 'underdrive' likely underlies EE's anti-food seeking action, thereby serving as potential neurophysiological targets to develop novel medications that help control food cravings. 13/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

These findings were initially surprising since reduced reward seeking is generally associated with experimental inhibition of PL. But impaired behavioural control is associated with PL hypoactivity. So increased PL excitatory overdrive post-EE may contribute to increased behavioural control. 12/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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So increased gas pedal action might mean decreased braking action? We measured Fos in PL inhibitory interneurons. EE reduced recruitment of cue-reactive, inhibitory interneurons reflecting 'inhibitory underdrive', so decreased braking. 11/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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How does EE impact PL pyramidal cell activity in vivo? We used fibre photometry and measured GCaMP activity and revealed that EE induced a loss of cue specificity and general elevation of PL pyramidal cell activity in vivo during sucrose seeking. So another case of excitatory โ€˜overdriveโ€™! ๐Ÿ˜ฒ10/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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How does EE impact reactivation of this โ€˜originallyโ€™ (before EE) cue-reactive, pyramidal cell ensemble? Following EE, we measured tdTomato and Fos expression in FosTRAP2:Ai14 mice after testing for cue-evoked sucrose seeking. Ensemble neurons were reactivated despite decreased sucrose seeking! ๐Ÿ˜ฒ9/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Might EE tap into this cue-reactive ensemble? We used FosTRAP2:Ai14 mice and measured excitability in tdTomato+ and โ€“ pyramidal cells. EE boosted the baseline excitability of 'originally', or before EE exposure, cue-reactive, excitatory pyramidal cells in PL, resulting in neuronal โ€˜overdriveโ€™. ๐Ÿ˜ฒ 8/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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First, in FosTRAP2 mice, we tagged cue-reactive PL neurons with hM4Di. Chemogenetic inhibition of cue-reactive neurons in PL blocked cue-evoked sucrose seeking, thereby confirming the function of these neurons in sucrose cue memory. 7/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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We previously saw that cue-evoked food seeking is controlled via fine-tuning neuronal ensemble recruitment and excitability. Here we investigated how EE promoted suppression of cue-evoked sucrose seeking through modulating excitability- and activity-related properties of PL neurons. 6/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Previously, we provided such stimulation via environmentally enriched (EE) housing (e.g. large cage, tunnels, exercise wheels). EE reduced cue-evoked sucrose seeking and neuronal ensemble activity in prelimbic cortex (PL), a brain area that controls motivated actions like reward seeking. 5/n

11.07.2025 18:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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