https://scholar.google.co.jp/citations?user=MrOuDfQAAAAJ&hl=ja

Yasushi Kobayashi PhD

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences,

Osaka University

Osaka University Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences
Laboratories for Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience Group

Research Center for Behavioral Economics

Center for Information and Neural Networks

1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita,
Osaka 565-0871 Japan

yasushi@fbs.osaka-u.ac.jp

Tel : +81-6-6877-6805
Fax: +81-6-6879-4438

1989 Graduated from Osaka University Faculty of Engineer Science, Department of Biophysical Engineering. Ph.D. degree in neurophysiology from Osaka University in 1998,

served as Research associate of National Institute of the Physiological Science from 1998,

and was transferred to the current position in 2002.

Development of novel repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation parameters from investigating the dynamical cognitive neural loop among the cerebral cortex, dopaminergic and acetylcholinergic systems

Midbrain dopamine (DA) and brainstem acetylcholine (ACh) are implicated in the regulation of movement, arousal, reward, decision-making and learning and play an important role in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Several animal studies have shown that the cerebral (prefrontal and motor) cortex significantly influences on context dependent DA and ACh neural activity and transmitter releases toward the cerebral cortex. However, little is known about the importance of the neural loop structure consists of the cerebral cortex, DA and ACh with dynamical level beyond anatomical connections. We will address this issue directly in the monkey brain. In view of the recent up-growing interest of non-invasive brain stimulation as potential tool for treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, it would be key to investigate dynamical interactions among the cerebral cortex, DA and ACh. We will investigate how modulation of the focal cortical area (prefrontal and motor area) influences monkey’s performance and behavior on psychological cognitive tasks (eye movement and forelimb reaching tasks) by using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Combining this experiment and unit recording from DA and ACh neurons provides us with a valuable probe of brain research to investigate dynamical neural mechanism of behavior control in high temporal fidelity and to develop ideal rTMS treatment parameters for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Okada KI, Kobayashi Y

Fixational saccade-related activity of pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus neurons in behaving monkeys.

Eur J Neurosci. 2014 May 27.

Watanabe M, Matsuo Y, Zha L, Munoz DP, Kobayashi Y

Fixational saccades reflect volitional action preparation.

J Neurophysiol. 110:522-535, 2013

Okada K, Toyama K, Inoue Y, Isa T and Kobayashi Y

Different Pedunculopontine Tegmental Neurons Signal Predicted and Actual Task Rewards.

The Journal of Neuroscience 29: 4858-4870, 2009

Yasushi Kobayashi phD