CiNet Monthly Seminar

2026年7月15日（水）
16:00-17:00
CiNet棟大会議室にて開催

演題：Multiscale chemogenetics in macaques and tau-network mapping in humans: unveiling causal “core circuits” underlying specific brain functions and symptoms

量子科学技術研究開発機構
上席研究員
平林 敏行

担当 : 林 正道

Abstract:

We have previously identified, in macaques, a ventral frontotemporal network that supports visual object memory by integrating chemogenetics, functional imaging, electrophysiology, and connectome data. Through this multimodal approach, we have causally demonstrated, across multiple spatial scales, the network mechanisms underlying memory maintenance, including remote suppression and its impact on behavior (Hirabayashi et al., Neuron, 2021; Nature Commun., 2024).

Meanwhile, our recent development of a highly sensitive tau-PET probe has enabled to visualize tau-lesion sites in each patient with neurodegenerative diseases. This has revealed that even among patients with similar symptoms, lesion sites are highly heterogeneous, and thus the relationship between tau lesion and symptoms is not straightforward.

To address this issue, inspired by the above macaque studies, we integrated tau-PET with connectome data to establish a framework termed “tau-network mapping,” which evaluates remote effects of tau pathology. Through this approach, we successfully identified previously elusive “core circuits” underlying specific symptoms, demonstrating that remote dysfunction of a common network links heterogeneous tau lesions with a specific symptom (Hori et al., Science Adv., 2026).

Building on these studies, we are now conducting translational research causally linking a core circuit with the corresponding symptom. Specifically, based on connectome data from both humans and macaques, we identify homologous macaque regions of a human core circuit, and chemogenetically manipulate these regions to causally interrogate the circuit mechanisms underlying the corresponding symptom (Hirabayashi et al., in prep.; Tsuchiya et al., in prep.). Through this integrative strategy, we aim to develop a circuit-based neuromodulation therapy for each symptom. In this seminar, I will present the current status and future perspectives of our research bridging basic and clinical neuroscience through integrative and translational approaches.