Jun Nagai, Ph.D.

Research Overview

The lab’s mission is to discover fundamental mechanisms how the brain functions and malfunctions at molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioral levels by including “the other half” of the CNS; glial cells. Studies about astrocytes, a type of glia that tile the entire brain and structurally and functionally interact with neurons, synapses and other glia, have lagged behind partially due to the lack of tools. By developing and utilizing opto-/pharmaco-genetic, imaging, molecular biology and electrophysiology tools, the team aims to unveil astrocyte contributions to adaptive and maladaptive animal behaviors for delivering insights on future therapeutics.

Main Research Fields

Biological Sciences

Related Research Fields

Complex Systems / Biology / Neurophysiology/General neuroscience, Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology / Animal physiology/Animal behavior / Molecular biology

Keywords

• Adaptive behavior
• Cognition and emotion
• Glia
• Cellular physiology
• Genetics

Selected Publications

Papers with an asterisk(*) are based on research conducted outside of RIKEN

1. 1Dewa, K-I., 1Kaseda, K., Kuwahara, A., Kubotera, H., Yamasaki, A., Awata, N., Komori, A., Holtz, M.A., Kasai, A., Skibbe, H., Takata, N., Yokoyama, T., Tsuda, M., Numata, G., Nakamura, S., Takimoto, E., Sakamoto, M., Ito, M., Masuda, T., Nagai, J. (1 co-first authors)
   "The astrocytic ensemble acts as a multiday trace to stabilize memory."
   Nature, 648(8092):146-156. (2025)
2. Liu, Y., Lin, W., Bai, Z., Ge, Y., Xiao, Y., Zhu, F., Zhang, J., Wang, B., Li, Q., Gao, L., Li, Y., Shan, C., Nagai, J., Wu, Y., Xu, T-L., Gao, Z.
   "Lcn2 from neutrophil extracellular traps induces astrogliosis and post-stroke emotional disorders."
   Neuron, 113(24):4199-4216.e8. (2025)
3. Wulaer, B., Holtz, M.A., Nagai, J.
   "Homeostasis to Allostasis: Prefrontal Astrocyte Roles in Cognitive Flexibility and Stress Biology."
   Advances in Neurobiology, 39, 137–163. (2024).
4. Dewa, K-I., Arimura, N., Kakegawa, W., Itoh, M., Adachi, T., Miyashita, S., Inoue, Y-U., Hizawa, K., Hori, K., Honjoya, N., Yagishita, H., Taya, S., Miyazaki, T., Usui, C., Tatsumoto, S., Tsuzuki, A., Uetake, H., Sakai, K., Yamakawa, K., Sasaki, T., Nagai, J., Kawaguchi, Y., Sone, M., Inoue, T., Go, Y., Ichinohe, N., Kaibuchi, K., Watanabe, M., Koizumi, S., Yuzaki, M., Hoshino, M.
   "Neuronal DSCAM regulates the peri-synaptic localization of GLAST in Bergmann glia for functional synapse formation."
   Nature Communications, 15(1), 458. (2024).
5. Nagai, J., Bellafard, A., Qu, Z., Yu, X., Ollivier, M., Gangwani, M.R., Diaz-Castro, B., Coppola, G., Schumacher, S.M., Golshani, P., Gradinaru, V., Khakh, B.S.
   "Specific and behaviourally consequential astrocyte Gq GPCR signaling attenuation in vivo with iβARK."
   Neuron, 109(14):2256–2274.e9. (2021).
6. * 1Wang, W., 1Schuette, P.J., Nagai, J., Tobias, B.C., Cuccovia V Reis, F.M., Ji, S., de Lima, M.A.X., La-Vu, M.Q., Maesta-Pereira, S., Chakerian, M., Leonard, S.J., Lin, L., Severino, A.L., Cahill, C.M., Canteras, N.S., Khakh, B.S., Kao, J.C., Adhikari, A. (1 co-first authors)
   "Coordination of escape and spatial navigation circuits orchestrates versatile flight from threats."
   Neuron, 109(11):1848–1860. (2021).
7. 1Nagai, J., 1Yu, X., Papouin, T., Cheong, E., Freeman, M.R., Monk, K.R., Hastings, M.H., Haydon, P.G., Rowitch, D., Shaham, S., Khakh, B.S. (1 co-first authors)
   "Behaviorally consequential astrocytic regulation of neural circuits."
   Neuron, 109(4):576–596. (2021).
8. * 1Yu, X., 1Nagai, J., Marti, M., Coppola, G., Babu, M. M., Khakh, B.S. (1 co-first authors)
   "Context-specific striatal astrocyte molecular responses are phenotypically exploitable."
   Neuron, 108(6):1146–1162. (2020).
9. * 1Yu, X., 1Nagai, J., Khakh, B.S. (1 co-first authors)
   "Improved tools to study astrocytes."
   Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 21,121–138. (2020).
10. * Nagai, J., Rajbhandari, A.K., Gangwani, M.R., Hachisuka, A., Coppola, G., Masmanidis, S.C., Fanselow, M.S., Khakh, B.S.
    "Hyperactivity with disrupted attention induced by activation of an astrocyte synaptogenic cue."
    Cell, 177(5), 1280–1292. (2019).