Professor Dr Ryuichi Shigemoto

Research Priorities: Glutamate receptors, calcium channels, synaptic plasticity, memory research, learning processes, electron microscopy
Ryuichi Shigemoto is a Japanese neuroscientist who investigates the molecular foundations of neuronal signal transmission. It is his aim to better understand learning processes and memory formation. The focus of his research lies on receptors and ion channels, which are involved in cell-to-cell signal transmission. Ryuichi Shigemoto and his team also examine the left-right asymmetry of the brain, a long known yet still barely understood phenomenon.
The release of neurotransmitters from a nerve cell into the synapse, where they typically act on receptors on the connecting nerve cell and cause an activating or dampening effect, is the primary process of information transmission and computation. Together with his team, Ryuichi Shigemoto studies the localisation of single neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels, and other functional molecules on the cell surface in order to understand the molecular basis of neuronal information processing. Using innovative methods such as SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labelling, even single membrane proteins in nerve cells can be detected and visualised.
The researchers apply this method in combination with electrophysiological measurements and behavioural methods to investigate the mechanisms of signalling as well as plasticity in the brain on a molecular level. This ability of the brain to constantly reconfigure its structure and functions in order to optimally react to new external stimuli and demands forms the basis of all learning.
In his current research, Ryuichi Shigemoto is focussed on the development of new methods for high resolution electron microscopical visualisation of single molecules in order to show their exact location on the cell surface. The team is particularly interested in receptors and ion channels in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and the interpeduncular nucleus, a group of neurons in the brain. These areas of the brain are involved in long-term memory formation, physiological leaning, and left-right asymmetry of hippocampal and cortical circuitry. Finding out more about these areas helps to deepen the scientific community’s understanding of neurodegenerative processes, such as the ones at play in Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Ryuichi Shigemoto’s foundational research is very important for developing approaches for early detection and treatment of these diseases, which are increasing in frequency as the population ages.