Shigemoto Group
Molecular Neuroscience
Information transmission, the formation of memory, and plasticity are all controlled by various molecules at work in the brain. Focusing on the localization and distribution of molecules in brain cells, the Shigemoto group investigates their functional roles in higher brain functions.
The release of neurotransmitters from a nerve cell into the synapse, where they act on receptors of the connecting nerve cell, is the primary process of information transmission and computation in the brain. The Shigemoto group studies the localization of single neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels, and other functional molecules to understand the molecular basis of neuronal information processing. The group has pioneered several methods for studying the localization of functional molecules at unprecedented sensitivity, detecting and visualizing even single membrane proteins in nerve cells using SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labeling. This method was recently combined with ‘Flash & Freeze’ to visualize millisecond dynamics of presynaptic molecules relative to vesicle fusion events in the active zone. They apply these methods to investigate the mechanisms of signaling and plasticity in the brain, with questions ranging from neurotransmission to learning.
Group Leader
Administrative Support
Team
Current Projects
New chemical labeling methods for high resolution EM visualization of single molecules | Ultrastructural localization and function of receptors and ion channels in the brain | Flash & Freeze-fracture | Mechanisms of long-term memory formation | Left-right asymmetry of neuronal circuitry
Publications
Önal C. 2025. Asymmetrical modulation of fear expression via GABAB receptors in the mouse medial habenula. Institute of Science and Technology Austria. View
Martín‐Belmonte A, Aguado C, Alfaro‐Ruiz R, Kulik A, de la Ossa L, Moreno‐Martínez AE, Alberquilla S, García‐Carracedo L, Fernández M, Fajardo‐Serrano A, Aso E, Shigemoto R, Martín ED, Fukazawa Y, Ciruela F, Luján R. 2025. Nanoarchitecture of CaV>2.1 channels and GABAB receptors in the mouse hippocampus: Impact of APP/PS1 pathology. Brain Pathology. 35(2), e13279. View
Kim O, Okamoto Y, Kaufmann W, Brose N, Shigemoto R, Jonas PM. 2024. Presynaptic cAMP-PKA-mediated potentiation induces reconfiguration of synaptic vesicle pools and channel-vesicle coupling at hippocampal mossy fiber boutons. PLoS Biology. 22(11), e3002879. View
Zupančič M, Keimpema E, Tretiakov EO, Eder SJ, Lev I, Englmaier L, Bhandari P, Fietz SA, Härtig W, Renaux E, Villunger A, Hökfelt T, Zimmer M, Clotman F, Harkany T. 2024. Concerted transcriptional regulation of the morphogenesis of hypothalamic neurons by ONECUT3. Nature Communications. 15, 8631. View
Ritzau-Jost A, Gsell F, Sell J, Sachs S, Montanaro-Punzengruber J-C, Kirmann T, Maaß S, Irani SR, Werner C, Geis C, Sauer M, Shigemoto R, Hallermann S. 2024. LGI1 autoantibodies enhance synaptic transmission by presynaptic Kv1 loss and increased action potential broadening. Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation. 11(5), e200284. View
ReX-Link: Ryuichi Shigemoto
Career
Since 2013 Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
1998 – 2014 Professor, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
1990 – 1998 Assistant Professor, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
1994 PhD, Kyoto University, Japan
1985 MD, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Japan
Selected Distinctions
ISI Highly Cited Researcher
2017 Member, Academia Europaea
2016 ERC Advanced Grant
2000 ISI Citation Laureate Award
