Makoto Nakanishi | Faculty List | Soka University

Assistant Lecturer

Makoto Nakanishi

Profile

Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Life Science and Technology

Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Science and Engineering for Sustainable Innovation

Specialized Field	Neurobiology, Electrophysiology, Neuropharmacology
Research theme	Regulatory mechanism of thalamocortical neural circuits in the auditory cortex by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
research content	Sensory information such as sound is processed and recognized in the cerebral cortex, and this function is carried out by a neural circuit network. The auditory cortex is responsible for recognizing sound information, and the primary auditory cortex in particular is known as an early information processing system, forming a complex neural circuit. Recent research suggests that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are receptors for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and are also activated by nicotine in tobacco, control the function of this information processing system. It is known that nAChRs cause information filtering, such as increasing the response to certain sounds (signals) and reducing other sounds (noises), but their effect on neural circuits has not yet been elucidated. In my research, I create slices of the auditory cortex while keeping the neurons alive, and use an electrophysiological technique (whole-cell patch clamp method) to measure the actual amount of electrical current flowing from neurons with a diameter of about 10-20 µm to simultaneously measure neuronal activity from multiple cells, thereby examining the effects of nAChRs on neural circuit networks. Furthermore, to investigate the actual effects of sound, we are also investigating the control of nicotinic nerve activity in living mice (in vivo), and are conducting multifaceted analysis using electrophysiological techniques and live fluorescence imaging.
Subjects in charge	Biology experiments, chemistry experiments, basic science experiments
Main career, work history, and academic background	2014 Graduated from the Department of Bioinformatics and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Soka University 2017: Completed Master's degree in Bioinformatics Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University 2023: Graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University, Department of Bioinformatics and Life Sciences (PhD in Engineering)
Affiliated academic societies and organizations	Japan Neuroscience Society The Physiological Society of Japan Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Main Papers and Publications	Nakanishi, M., Nemoto, M., Kawai, H. D. (2022) Cortical nicotinic enhancement of tone-evoked heightened activities and subcortical nicotinic enlargement of activated areas in mouse auditory cortex. Neurosci. Res., S0168-0102(22)00108-0. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.04.001.

Specialized Field	Neurobiology, Electrophysiology, Neuropharmacology
Research theme	Regulatory mechanism of thalamocortical neural circuits in the auditory cortex by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
research content	Sensory information such as sound is processed and recognized in the cerebral cortex, and this function is carried out by a neural circuit network. The auditory cortex is responsible for recognizing sound information, and the primary auditory cortex in particular is known as an early information processing system, forming a complex neural circuit. Recent research suggests that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are receptors for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and are also activated by nicotine in tobacco, control the function of this information processing system. It is known that nAChRs cause information filtering, such as increasing the response to certain sounds (signals) and reducing other sounds (noises), but their effect on neural circuits has not yet been elucidated. In my research, I create slices of the auditory cortex while keeping the neurons alive, and use an electrophysiological technique (whole-cell patch clamp method) to measure the actual amount of electrical current flowing from neurons with a diameter of about 10-20 µm to simultaneously measure neuronal activity from multiple cells, thereby examining the effects of nAChRs on neural circuit networks. Furthermore, to investigate the actual effects of sound, we are also investigating the control of nicotinic nerve activity in living mice (in vivo), and are conducting multifaceted analysis using electrophysiological techniques and live fluorescence imaging.
Subjects in charge	Biology experiments, chemistry experiments, basic science experiments
Main career, work history, and academic background	2014 Graduated from the Department of Bioinformatics and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Soka University 2017: Completed Master's degree in Bioinformatics Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University 2023: Graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University, Department of Bioinformatics and Life Sciences (PhD in Engineering)
Affiliated academic societies and organizations	Japan Neuroscience Society The Physiological Society of Japan Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Main Papers and Publications	Nakanishi, M., Nemoto, M., Kawai, H. D. (2022) Cortical nicotinic enhancement of tone-evoked heightened activities and subcortical nicotinic enlargement of activated areas in mouse auditory cortex. Neurosci. Res., S0168-0102(22)00108-0. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.04.001.

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