Shigeo Okabe, M.D., Ph.D.

Research Overview

Our team aims to analyze the processes of formation, maintenance, and dysfunction of neural circuits underlying brain function using advanced microscopy techniques that have rapidly developed in recent years, and to achieve an integrated understanding of the processes from molecular mechanisms to the emergence of circuit function.
To this end, we will advance morphological approaches, including super-resolution microscopy, correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), and volume electron microscopy. By applying quantitative, reproducible analytical frameworks grounded in the mathematical sciences, we will elucidate the diversity of synaptic connectivity within circuits and their functional relationships with glial cells.

Main Research Fields

Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacy

Related Research Fields

Biology / Neuroscience and related fields / Anatomy and histopathology of nervous system-related

Keywords

• Synapse
• Neural circuit
• Imaging
• Glia
• Neuropsychiatric disorders

Selected Publications

1. * Kamei R. & Okabe S.
   In vivo imaging of the phagocytic dynamics underlying efficient clearance of adult-born hippocampal granule cells by ramified microglia
   Glia, 71, 2005-2023. (2023).
2. * Obashi, K., Matsuda, A., Inoue, Y., & Okabe S.
   Precise temporal regulation of molecular diffusion within dendritic spines by actin polymers during structural plasticity
   Cell Reports, 27, 1503-1515, (2019).
3. * Kashiwagi, Y., Higashi, T., Obashi, K., Sato, Y., Komiyama, N., Grant, S. G. N., & Okabe S.
   Computational geometry analysis of dendritic spines by structured illumination microscopy
   Nature Communications, 10, 1285, (2019).
4. * Urata, S., Iida, T., Yamamoto, M., Mizushima, Y., Fujimoto, C., Matsumoto, Y., Yamasoba, T., & Okabe S.
   Cellular cartography of the organ of Corti based on optical tissue clearing and machine learning
   eLife, 8, e40946, (2019).
5. * Higashi, T., Tanaka, S., Iida, T., & Okabe S.
   Synapse elimination triggered by BMP4 exocytosis and presynaptic BMP receptor activation
   Cell Reports, 22, 919-929, (2018).
6. * Isshiki, M., Tanaka, S., Kuriu, T., Tabuchi, K., Takumi, T., & Okabe S.
   Enhanced synapse remodelling as a common phenotype in mouse models of autism
   Nature Communications, 5, 4742, (2014).
7. * Shin, E., Kashiwagi, Y., Kuriu, T., Iwasaki, H., Tanaka, T., Koizumi, H., Gleeson, J. G., & Okabe S.
   Doublecortin-like kinase enhances dendritic remodeling and negatively regulates synapse maturation
   Nature Communications, 4, 1440, (2013).
8. * Ito-Ishida, A., Miyazaki, T., Miura, E., Matsuda, K., Watanabe, M., Yuzaki, M., & Okabe S.
   Presynaptically released Cbln1 induces dynamic axonal structural changes by interacting with GluD2 during cerebellar synapse formation
   Neuron, 76, 549-564, (2012).
9. * Kawabata, I., Kashiwagi, Y., Obashi, K., Ohkura, M., Nakai, J., Wynshaw-Boris, A., Yanagawa, Y., & Okabe S.
   LIS1-dependent retrograde translocation of excitatory synapses in developing interneuron dendrites
   Nature Communications, 3, 722, (2012).