For INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH 2018

SUMMARY of

DATE: Day 20 Month 04 Year 20192018 RESEARCH RESULTS REPORTFor International Collaborative Research with IPR, Osaka University
Research Title

Establishing an occasion setting task and single-cell genomic
profiling from neurons activated by food cues

ApplicantName

Eisuke Koya (Hans Crombag, co-applicant)Affiliation

School of Psychology, University of Sussex

Present Title

Reader (Associate Professor) in Behavioural Neuroscience

Research Collaborator (Host PI)

Professor Takatoshi Hikida

SummaryThis visit sponsored by the collaborative research grant was very fruitful for the two PIs from Sussex (Crombag andKoya), for Ella Margetts-Smith (Dr. Koya’s research technician), and for Prof. Hikida’s laboratory. First, Dr. Crombag
had the opportunity to discuss implementation of the occasion-setting behavioral task. This is an ideal procedure used to
examine how contextual cues can modulate the behavioral impact of cues and critically, probe impairments inhippocampal function. Prof. Hikida’s laboratory members appreciated his advice and breadth knowledge since he hasover 20 years of research experience developing and implementing procedures to probe complex appetitive learning as abehavioral neuroscientist. Moreover, many of the critical parameters that were necessary to implement single-cell PCR
were determined during this visit. As such, we have recently managed to identify key gene transcripts whose protein
product modulates intrinsic excitability from single nucleus accumbens neurons (e.g. K+ ion channels). This approach
will help us identify the phenotype of the neurons that we record from, and allow us to directly assess the link between
plasticity and neuronal phenotype.
We also had the valuable opportunity to learn more about Prof. Hikida’s research programme on the role of basal ganglia
systems in psychiatric disorders. We had the chance to interact with Dr. Tom Macpherson and Inscopix representatives
about the usage of the fluorescent miniature microscope in examining neuronal ensemble activity in vivo to investigate
the mechanisms of cue-evoked appetitive behaviors. Also, Prof. Hikida and his laboratory members learned about someof the novel and advanced neuroscience tools used in our laboratories to probe the function and plasticity changes ofsparse sets of neurons that encode learned cue-reward associations called ‘neuronal ensembles’. We discussed
chemogenetic and electrophysiology tools that could manipulate and characterize these neurons, respectively. Overall,
we believe as a result of the knowledge exchange that took place, the Sussex and Osaka IPR labs can greatly benefit
from potentially implementing methods and conceptual understanding that were not previously present in our research
programmes.
Finally, there were knowledge exchanges on a daily level during our stay. I (Koya) had the possibility to interact withProf. Hikida’s students and discuss my previous work in great detail. I also gave a seminar regarding my research on therole of neuronal ensembles in appetitive behaviors such as food seeking and how their physiological properties change asa function of extinction learning, devaluation, and conditioning. This impactful seminar was attended by many students
and senior investigators not only from IPR, but from the wider Osaka neuroscience community, which consisted ofmolecular biologists, in vivo electrophysiologists, and neuroscientists interested in basic learning and memorymechanisms.