Hidetoshi Urakubo

Reflected in our thoughts,
experience, by reforming our actions,
nurtures our well-being.

Motivated by an interest in the memorization mechanisms of the brain, I have conducted computer simulations to investigate whether current knowledge about molecular neuroscience provides a synaptic basis for learning and memory—that is, whether synaptic plasticity underlies the brain’s ability to learn and remember. My research goal is the derivation of mathematical models of synaptic plasticity. The rules of synaptic plasticity are not simple. Synaptic plasticity generally occurs in a synapse-specific manner, but in some case it occurs cooperatively among synapses. It is also significantly affected by age, emotional state, and psychiatric disorders. I focus on the first steps of how neural functions emerge from complex biochemical reactions at synapses. (more)