Profile
Introduction
I am a neuroscientist at Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB).
Education
March 2020
Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Doctor of Philosophy, Laboratory of Dr. Akinao Nose
March 2017
Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Master of Science, Laboratory of Dr. Akinao Nose
March 2015
Undergraduate Course Program of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University
Bachelor of Engineering, Laboratory of Prof. Yuzuru Matsuoka
Fellowships and Awards
Fellowships
June 2019 - November 2019
Academic Research Grant for GSFS Doctor Course Students
June 2018 - November 2018
Academic Research Grant for GSFS Doctor Course Students
June 2017 - November 2017
Academic Research Grant for GSFS Doctor Course Students
Awards
2022
Toshihiko Tokizane Memorial Award for Excellent Graduate Study in Neuroscience, The Japan Neuroscience Society
2020
Repayment Exemption for Students with Excellent Grades, Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) Type I (interest-free) scholarship.
2019
Travel award to attend The 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
2017
Repayment Exemption for Students with Excellent Grades, Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) Type I (interest-free) scholarship.
Skills
in Mus musculus
AAV injection
Electrophysiology
Patch-seq
Two photon Ca2+ imaging
in Drosophila
Ca2+ imaging
behavior assay
connectomics analysis
optogenetics
in Escherichia coli
subcloning
Languages
Human
Japanese
English
Computer
Python
HTML
CSS
JavaScript
PHP
Researches in Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel
in preparation
Researches in The University of Tokyo
Neural circuits which generate rhythmical pattern in typical locomotion.
Typical patterned movements in animals are achieved through combinations of contraction and delayed relaxation of groups of muscles. However, how intersegmentally coordinated patterns of muscular relaxation are regulated by the neural circuits remains poorly understood. In this study, I used Drosophila larvae as a model to explore the mechanism of neural circuits that control muscle relaxation and identified Canon (Cholinergic ascending neurons organizing their network), a class of higher-order premotor interneurons, that regulates muscular relaxation during backward locomotion of Drosophila larvae. Using connectomics analysis, calcium imaging, and optogenetics, I clarified the neural circuit structure from brain to muscle. And I found that Canon neurons play an essential role in inducing muscle relaxation and control the timing of their own activity along the anterior and posterior ventral nerve cord neuromeres to achieve coordinated muscle relaxation between body segments.
Publication
Articles
2021
- Atsuki Hiramoto, Julius Jonaitis, Sawako Niki, Richard D. Fetter, Albert Cardona, Stefan R. Pulver, Akinao Nose. Regulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit. Nature Communications 12, 2943 (2021)
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23273-y
Conference oral presentations
2019
- Atsuki Hiramoto, Julius Jonaitis, Sawako Niki, Richard Fetter, Albert Cardona, Stefan Pulver, Akinao Nose. 2019. A neural circuit that orchestrates muscle relaxation in an escape behavior. The 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
Conference poster presentations
2018
- Atsuki Hiramoto, Julius Jonaitis, Sawako Niki, Richard Fetter, Albert Cardona, Stefan Pulver, Akinao Nose. 2018. Identification of a neuronal circuit that can elicit backward locomotion in Drosophila larvae. The 41st Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
2017
- Atsuki Hiramoto, Julius Jonaitis, Sawako Niki, Richard Fetter, Albert Cardona, Stefan Pulver, Akinao Nose. 2017. Identification of neuronal circuitry that regulate backward escape behavior in Drosophila larvae. The 40th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
2016
- Atsuki Hiramoto, Sawako Niki, Dohjin Miyamoto, Akinao Nose. 2016. Identification of interneurons that induce backward escape behavior in Drosophila larvae. The 39th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society