Our physiology lab investigates how animals respond to environmental stresses and manage to keep their internal environment fairly constant. Living creatures experience heat stress in summer, cold stress in winter, and microbial infection is also a kind of environmental stress. In response to these stresses, animals exhibit various anti-stress responses that are controlled by the brain, although the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Recent advances in bioscience have provided valuable information and tools to investigate these phenomena. For example, molecules that are essential to thermal sensation are identified as belonging to TRP ion channel families. Our Physiology Lab mainly focuses on the following two issues.
1. Neuronal mechanisms of temperature regulation
2. Brain-immune interaction and fever
We hope to contribute to fundamental knowledge in biology and medicine.