Our missions are to elucidate the neural mechanisms that regulate learning and memory and to develop how to treat memory-related psychiatric disorders.

When you think of memory systems in the brain, you may think they only store information from the past. In fact, however, the memory systems are critical to determine our future behavior based on the past. For example, the experience of studying hard and improving exam scores can lead to further study behavior. In contrast, the negative experience can reduce motivation for subsequent behavior and in some cases cause depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, in dementia, the memory system in the brain does not work properly, making it impossible to perform normal daily activities. Our missions are to elucidate the neural mechanisms that regulate learning and memory and to develop how to treat memory-related psychiatric disorders.

Details

Lab News

  • IBS retreat 2022

    2022 March: We participated in IBS retreat 2022 and interacted with various labs in IBS.

  • Cognitive Function Pathology Grand Prix 2021

    2021 December: Cognitive Pathology Grand Prix 2021 was held and Mr. Yokoi won the Grand Prize!

  • Yuto Yokoi joined our lab

    2021 November: Yuto Yokoi joined our lab as a technical staff member.

  • Yoshikazu Morishita joined our lab

    2021 October: Assist.Prof. Yoshikazu Morishita joined our lab.

  • Publication

    2021年 July-September: Review and Commentaries regarding memory and behavioral experiments were published in Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi.

  • Publication

    2021 August: Review ragarding histamine and memory has been published in Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences

  • Award

    2021 August: Rintaro Shimizume (M1) won the Junior Investigator Postor Development Award at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society

  • Award

    2021 May: Kyosuke Hirano (D2) won the Best Student Presentation Award at the 148th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Hokkaido Branch.

  • Lab Open

    2021 April: Nomura lab (Department of Cognitive Function and Pathology) is open in Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

  • Awards

    2021 March: Kyosuke Hirano (D1) and Rintaro Shimizume (B4) won the Best Presentation Award at the 30th Meeting of Young researchers' society of Neurobehavioral Pharmacology (YNBP).

  • Award

    2021 March: Hiroshi Nomura received the 36th Encouragement of Young Investigator Award from the Japanese Pharmacological Society for his research on "Elucidation of neuronal circuit mechanisms of learning and memory for developing new drugs for cognitive impairments".




Our team

  • Hiroshi Nomura

    Endowed Course Professor

    Favorite skills: Behavioral analysis, Ca2+ imaging, Python

    hnomura[at]med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp

    Researchmap

    I'm constantly thinking about how we can create original and "hot" research. Why don't you join us in our research to uncover the mysteries of the brain? This is a research field in which people from all fields, not only medicine and pharmacology, but also biology, engineering, information science, psychology, and education, can play an active role. If you are a undergraduate student, graduate student, or postdoctoral fellow interested in learning and memory, and/or mental/neurological disorders, please contact us!

  • Yoshikazu Morishita

    Endowed Course Assistant Professor

    Favorite skills: RNA experiments, Stereotaxic surgery

    ymori[at]med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp

    To contribute to the treatment of cognitive dysfunction, we aim to elucidate the role of the hippocampus and the mechanisms of memory by combining techniques for measuring and manipulating neural activity with our own behavioral experimental systems. Would you like to join the Nomura lab?

  • Yuto Yokoi

    Technical staff

    Favorite skills: Microbial culture, Immunohistochemistry, In situ hybridization

    yokoi_y[at]med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp

    I used to work mainly with microorganisms in a microbiology lab, but I ended up working with mice in graduate school and have been living with mice ever since. I have experience with animals, plants, microorganisms, and cells, and I am often told that my background is a mystery, but I would like to continue to actively challenge new things and broaden my horizons.

  • Nao Nomura

    Research assisant

    Favorite skills: Behavioral analysis, miniscope Ca2+ imaging

    nnomura[at]med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp

    I'm here in Nagoya from Sapporo. I'd like to discover the charms of Honshu from now on. At Nomura Lab, I like the way they proactively challenge new things. Every day, experimental devices are being created one after another. I want to challenge myself with a fresh mind.

  • Kyosuke Hirano

    Graduate student (PhD course)

    Favorite skills: Ca2+ imaging, Python

  • Rintaro Shimizume

    Graduate student (Master course)

    Favorite skills: Behavioral analysis, DNA experiments, Immunohistochemistry, DIY

  • Sentaro Kaita

    Undergraduate student

    Favorite skills: Intracranial drug infusions




Research

Neural Mechanisms that Restore Memory Recall

As time passes after we remember something, it becomes more difficult to recall it. However, the fact that we can recall memories at a moment's notice suggests that memory traces remain in the brain, and if these memory traces can be successfully activated, memories can be regained. We have previously shown that histamine H3 receptor inverse agonists can restore memory recall. We are currently working on further elucidating this mechanism.

Regulation of Brain Functions by Multiple Regions

Many brain functions, including learning and memory, are thought to be accomplished by both "local information processing within a brain region" and "interregional information processing between regions. However, it has been difficult to analyze these two types of information processing simultaneously. Therefore, we have developed simultaneous Ca2+ imaging from multiple deep brain regions to elucidate the mechanism of multi-regional control of brain functions.

Creation of artificial abilities of learning and memory

We aim to understand the mechanisms of learning and memory, as well as to develop technologies to supplement the declining abilities of learning and memory by artificially creating them.




Publication

Selected publications

Chronic pain-induced neuronal plasticity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis causes maladaptive anxiety

Yamauchi N, Sato K, Sato K, Murakawa S, Hamasaki Y, Nomura H, Amano T, Minami M*.
Sci Adv. 2022 Apr 29;8(17):eabj5586

Histamine: A Key Neuromodulator of Memory Consolidation and Retrieval

Nomura H*, Shimizume R, Ikegaya Y.
Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2021 Aug

Prepronociceptin-Expressing Neurons in the Extended Amygdala Encode and Promote Rapid Arousal Responses to Motivationally Salient Stimuli

Rodriguez-Romaguera J, Ung RL, Nomura H, Otis JM, Basiri ML, Namboodiri VMK, Zhu X, Robinson JE, van den Munkhof HE, McHenry JA, Eckman LEH, Kosyk O, Jhou TC, Kash TL, Bruchas MR, Stuber GD*.
Cell Rep. 2020 Nov 10;33(6):108362.

Central Histamine Boosts Perirhinal Cortex Activity and Restores Forgotten Object Memories

Nomura H*, Mizuta H, Norimoto H, Masuda F, Miura Y, Kubo A, Kojima H, Ashizuka A, Matsukawa N, Baraki Z, Hitora-Imamura N, Nakayama D, Ishikawa T, Okada M, Orita K, Saito R, Yamauchi N, Sano Y, Kusuhara H, Minami M, Takahashi H*, Ikegaya Y.
Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Aug 1;86(3):230-239.

Visualization of cortical, subcortical and deep brain neural circuit dynamics during naturalistic mammalian behavior with head-mounted microscopes and chronically implanted lenses

Resendez SL, Jennings JH, Ung RL, Namboodiri VM, Zhou ZC, Otis JM, Nomura H, McHenry JA, Kosyk O, Stuber GD*.
Nat Protoc. 2016 Mar;11(3):566-97.

Prefrontal dopamine regulates fear reinstatement through the downregulation of extinction circuits.

Hitora-Imamura N, Miura Y, Teshirogi C, Ikegaya Y, Matsuki N, Nomura H*
Elife. 2015 Jul 30;4:e08274.

Memory formation and retrieval of neuronal silencing in the auditory cortex.

Nomura H*, Hara K, Abe R, Hitora-Imamura N, Nakayama R, Sasaki T, Matsuki N, Ikegaya Y
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Aug 4;112(31):9740-4.

Long-delayed expression of the immediate early gene Arc/Arg3.1 refines neuronal circuits to perpetuate fear memory.

Nakayama D, Iwata H, Teshirogi C, Ikegaya Y, Matsuki N, Nomura H*.
J Neurosci. 2015 Jan 14;35(2):819-30.

Frontal association cortex is engaged in stimulus integration during associative learning.

Nakayama D, Baraki Z, Onoue K, Ikegaya Y, Matsuki N, Nomura H*.
Curr Biol. 2015 Jan 5;25(1):117-23.

Synaptic plasticity associated with a memory engram in the basolateral amygdala.

Nonaka A, Toyoda T, Miura Y, Hitora-Imamura N, Naka M, Eguchi M, Yamaguchi S, Ikegaya Y, Matsuki N, Nomura H*.
J Neurosci. 2014 Jul 9;34(28):9305-9.


See Full publications (link to Researchmap)




Join our lab

We welcome applications from highly-motivated postdoc and graduate student candidates.
Please contact Prof.Hiroshi Nomura by e-mail for detailed information.


JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for overseas researchers

Graduate students
(PhD course)

Graduate students
(Master course)

Others







Access/Contact

Please feel free to contact us by email if you would like a lab tour or to discuss joint research.
Email (Hiroshi Nomura): hnomura[at]med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp

Address: Department of Cognitive Function and Pathology, 2nd Floor, Institue of Brain Sciences, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences