｜Graduate School of Life Sciences Tohoku University

Field

Integrative Life Sciences :
Brain and Nervous System

Research

JAPANESE

Assistant Professor KIMURA Kei (C)

Campus	Katahira campus
Laboratory	Systems Neuroscience
Tel	+81-22-217-5052
E-mail	kei.kimura.c1＠tohoku.ac.jp

Researchmap

https://researchmap.jp/keikimura

Google scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SkDfrlUAAAAJ

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the brain networks responsible for generating complex cognition and mental processes, it is imperative to investigate the roles of neural circuits from both structural and functional perspectives. In my research, I examine the architecture of neural circuits in the brains of primates, such as Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), which possess a neuroanatomy closely resembling that of humans. By experimentally manipulating the activity of specific neural circuits and assessing subsequent behavioral changes, I aim to advance our understanding of the neural networks governing emotional regulation.

Career

Mar 2017	B.Sc., Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University
Mar 2019	M.Sc., Department of Primatology and Wildlife Research, Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
Dec 2021 – Mar 2022	Research fellow (Support for Pioneering Graduate Students presented by the Kyoto University Graduate Division), Devision of Graduate Studies, Kyoto University
Apr 2023	Research fellow, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University
Apr 2023	Research fellow (concurrently position), Support Center for Laboratory Animal and Gene Researches, Tohoku University
Mar 2024	Ph.D., Department of Primatology and Wildlife Research, Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
Apr 2024	Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University
Apr 2024	Assistant Professor (concurrently position), Support Center for Laboratory Animal and Gene Researches, Tohoku University

Selected Publications

^†… Co-first author

Kaneko T^†, Matsumoto J^†, Lu W, Zhao X, Ueno-Nigh LR, Oishi T, Kimura K, Otsuka Y, Zheng A, Ikenaka K, Baba K, Mochizuki H, Nishijo H, Inoue KI, Takada M (2024) Deciphering social traits and pathophysiological conditions from natural behaviors in common marmosets. Current Biology 34(13), 2854-2867.e5.

Kimura K, Nagai Y, Hatanaka G, Fang Y, Tanabe S, Zheng A, Fujiwara M, Nakano M, Hori Y, Takeuchi RF, Inagaki M, Minamimoto T, Fujita I, Inoue KI, Takada M (2023) A mosaic adeno-associated virus vector as a versatile tool that exhibits high levels of transgene expression and neuron specificity in primate brain. Nature communications 14(1), 4762. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40436-1 （Recepient of the Toshihiko Tokizane Memorial Award for Excellent Graduate Study in Neuroscience）

Inagaki M, Inoue KI, Tanabe S, Kimura K, Takada M, Fujita I (2023) Rapid processing of threatening faces in the amygdala of nonhuman primates: subcortical inputs and dual roles. Cerebral cortex 33(3), 895-915.

Ohara S^†, Yoshino R^†, Kimura K, Kawamura T, Tanabe S, Zheng A, Nakamura S, Inoue KI, Takada M, Tsutsui KI, Witter MP (2021) Laminar Organization of the Entorhinal Cortex in Macaque Monkeys Based on Cell-Type-Specific Markers and Connectivity Frontiers in neural circuits 15, 790116.

Mimura K, Nagai Y, Inoue KI, Matsumoto J, Hori Y, Sato C, Kimura K, Okauchi T, Hirabayashi T, Nishijo H, Yahata N, Takada M, Suhara T, Higuchi M, Minamimoto T (2021) Chemogenetic activation of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons in freely moving common marmosets. iScience 24(9), 103066.

Kato S, Sugawara M, Kobayashi K, Kimura K, Inoue KI, Takada M, Kobayashi K (2019) Enhancement of the transduction efficiency of a lentiviral vector for neuron-specific retrograde gene delivery through the point mutation of fusion glycoprotein type E. Journal of neuroscience methods 311, 147-155.

Activities in Academic Societies

The Japan Neuroscience Society
Society for Neuroscience

Recent Activities

We have developed a novel mosaic AAV vector, named the AAV2.1 vector, composed by neuron-specific serotype (AAV2) and high levels of transgene expression type (AAV1). The AAV2.1 vector is a versatile tool for neural circuit manipulation and neural activity imaging in primates. The details are described in Kimura et al., Nature Communications (2023).
Currently, we are conducting research to investigate the structure and function of the neural network of “emotion” and “mood”, where the medial prefrontal cortex acts as a hub in primates, using tools such as the AAV2.1 vector.

Message to Students