Research activity information

• Jun. 2017 The 8th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines, AMAM2017 Outstanding Demo Award, Frog Cyborg Driven by Biological Muscle Actuators that Packaged Physiological Solution

  Shimizu M, Ishii D, Aonuma H, Hosoda K


• Sep. 2013 計測自動制御学会システム・情報部門, SSI Best Research Award, クモヒトデのレジリアントなロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則

  佐藤英毅, 加納 剛史, 坂本 義哉, 松坂 義哉, 青沼 仁志, 石黒 章夫


• Sep. 2013 日本数理生物学会, 第23回日本数理生物学会大会 ポスター賞, 腕切断実験から探るクモヒトデの腕間協調メカニズム

  佐藤英毅, 加納 剛史, 坂本 義哉, 松坂 義哉, 青沼 仁志, 石黒 章夫


• 2008 The Zoological Society of Japan, Zoological Science Award 2008, Serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the antennal sensory system of the brain in the carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus

  Tsuji E, Aonuma H, Yokohari F, Nishikawa M


• Dec. 2006 計測自動制御学会システムインテグレーション部門講演会, SI2006優秀講演賞受賞, コオロギ群の喧嘩行動をモデルとした動的環境下における移動ロボット群の採餌作業

  青沼 仁志


• Sep. 2006 日本機械学会, 2006年度日本機械学会フェロー賞, 昆虫の適応的行動選択を実現する神経回路モデルに関する研究（NO/cGMPカスケードによる適応的行動選択のモデル化）

  藤木智久, 川端邦明, 池本有助, 青沼仁志, 淺間一


• Aug. 2006 第12回創発システム・シンポジウム「創発夏の学校」, ベストポスター賞, コオロギ群の喧嘩行動を用いた移動ロボット群の採餌行動

  足利昌俊, 菊地美香, 平口鉄太郎, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 太田順


• Aug. 2002 日本比較生理生化学会, 吉田奨励賞, 節足動物の神経系における一酸化窒素の役割に関する研究

  青沼 仁志

• The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile: natural history, ecology and impact of a successful invader

  Elena Angulo, Benoit Guénard, Paride Balzani, Alok Bang, Filippo Frizzi, Alberto Masoni, Sílvia Abril, Andrew V. Suarez, Benjamin Hoffmann, Giovanni Benelli, Hitoshi Aonuma, Lori Lach, Palesa Natasha Mothapo, Theresa Wossler, Giacomo Santini

  Schweizerbart, Mar. 2024, Entomologia Generalis, 44(1) (1), 41 - 61, English

  [Refereed][Invited]

  Scientific journal


• Insect Adaptability Decoded Through Motor, Sensory, and Behavioral Interventions

  Dai Owaki, Shunsuke Shigaki, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The Robotics Society of Japan, 2024, Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, 42(8) (8), 725 - 731

  Scientific journal


• Aminergic control of aggressive behavior in social insects

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Giovanni Benelli

  Schweizerbart, Dec. 2023, Entomologia Generalis, 43(5) (5), 927 - 937

  [Refereed][Invited]

  Scientific journal

  Link to Kobe Univ. Repository (Kernel)


• Honey Bee Waggle Dance as a Model of Swarm Intelligence

  Ryuichi Okada, Hidetoshi Ikeno, Hitoshi Aonuma, Midori Sakura, Etsuro Ito

  Aug. 2023, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal

  Link to Kobe Univ. Repository (Kernel)


• Electromagnetic field exposure affects the calling song, phonotaxis, and level of biogenic amines in crickets

  Joanna Wyszkowska, Jarosław Kobak, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Abstract The electromagnetic field (EMF) is ubiquitous in the environment, constituting a well-known but poorly understood stressor. Few studies have been conducted on insect responses to EMF, although they are an excellent experimental model and are of great ecological importance. In our work, we tested the effects of EMF (50 Hz, 7 mT) on the cricketGryllus bimaculatus: the male calling song pattern, female mate choice, and levels of biogenic amines in the brain. Exposure of males to EMF increased the number and shortened the period of chips in their calling song (by 2.7% and 5% relative to the control song, respectively), but not the sound frequency. Aged (3-week-old) females were attracted to both natural and EMF-modified male signals, whereas young (1-week-old, virgin) females responded only to the modified signal, suggesting its higher attractance. Stress response of males to EMF may be responsible for the change in the calling song, as suggested by the changes in the amine levels in their brains: an increase in dopamine (by 50% relative to the control value), tyramine (65%), and serotonin (25%) concentration and a decrease in octopamine level (by 25%). These findings indicate thatG. bimaculatusresponds to EMF, like stressful conditions, which may change the condition and fitness of exposed individuals, disrupt mate selection, and, in consequence, affect the species’ existence. Graphical Abstract

  Last, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Jul. 2023, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(40) (40), 93255 - 93268

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Embodied latch mechanism of the mandible to power at ultra-high speed in the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus kuroiwae

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Keisuke Naniwa, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Kyohsuke Ohkawara, Katsushi Kagaya

  May 2023, Journal of Experimental Biology

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal

  Link to Kobe Univ. Repository (Kernel)


• Photoreceptor genes in a trechine beetle, Trechiama kuznetsovi, living in the upper hypogean zone

  Takuma Niida, Yuto Terashima, Hitoshi Aonuma, Shigeyuki Koshikawa

  Abstract To address how organisms adapt to a new environment, subterranean organisms whose ancestors colonized subterranean habitats from surface habitats have been studied. Photoreception abilities have been shown to have degenerated in organisms living in caves and calcrete aquifers. Meanwhile, the organisms living in a shallow subterranean environment, which are inferred to reflect an intermediate stage in an evolutionary pathway to colonization of a deeper subterranean environment, have not been studied well. In the present study, we examined the photoreception ability in a trechine beetle, Trechiama kuznetsovi, which inhabits the upper hypogean zone and has a vestigial compound eye. By de novo assembly of genome and transcript sequences, we were able to identify photoreceptor genes and phototransduction genes. Specifically, we focused on opsin genes, where one long wavelength opsin gene and one ultraviolet opsin gene were identified. The encoded amino acid sequences had neither a premature stop codon nor a frameshift mutation, and appeared to be subject to purifying selection. Subsequently, we examined the internal structure of the compound eye and nerve tissue in the adult head, and found potential photoreceptor cells in the compound eye and nerve bundle connected to the brain. The present findings suggest that T. kuznetsovi has retained the ability of photoreception. This species represents a transitional stage of vision, in which the compound eye regresses, but it may retain the ability of photoreception using the vestigial eye.

  Springer Science and Business Media LLC, May 2023, Zoological Letters, 9(1) (1)

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• The larval scaffold controls fascicle number but is not required for formation of the dorsolongitudinal flight muscles in Manduca sexta

  J. Clark Ludwig, Hitoshi Aonuma, Barry Trimmer

  Elsevier BV, May 2022, Arthropod Structure & Development, 68, 101170 - 101170, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A symbiotic aphid selfishly manipulates attending ants via dopamine in honeydew

  Tatsumi Kudo, Hitoshi Aonuma, Eisuke Hasegawa

  AbstractSymbiotic relationships are widespread in nature, but the mechanisms maintaining these relationships remain to be elucidated because symbiosis incurs a maintenance cost to each participant, which lowers its reproductive rate. In host-parasite relationships, parasites are known to manipulate the host's behavior selfishly, and there is an arms race between them. Selfish manipulations also occur in symbiosis, but the effects of selfish manipulations on symbiosis are not fully understood. Here, we show that an ant-associated aphid manipulates attending ants to receive stronger protection. Aphid honeydew regurgitated by ants contains dopamine (DA). The ants showed low aggressiveness before contact with the aphids, but it rose after contact. Administration of DA to the ants increased ant aggressiveness as the concentration increased, while an antagonist of DA inhibited this effect. The other 3 amines showed no effect on aggressiveness. A previous study showed that attending ants selfishly manipulate aphids by increasing the reproductive rate of green morph to obtain high-quality honeydew. These results suggest that mutual selfish manipulation benefits both participants and is likely to strengthen symbiosis. The selfishness of each participant may contribute to sustaining this symbiosis because their selfishness increases their long-term fitness.

  Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, Dec. 2021, Scientific Reports, 11(1) (1), English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Fold analysis of crumpled sheets using microcomputed tomography

  Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma, Satoshi Takahara, Takahiro Sakaue, Shun'ichi Kaneko, Hiizu Nakanishi

  Hand-crumpled paper balls involve intricate structure with a network of creases and vertices, yet show simple scaling properties, which suggests self-similarity of the structure. We investigate the internal structure of crumpled papers by the microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) without destroying or unfolding them. From the reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) data, we examine several power laws for the crumpled square sheets of paper of the sizes L=50-300 mm and obtain the mass fractal dimension D_{M}=2.7±0.1 by the relation between the mass and the radius of gyration of the balls and the fractal dimension 2.5≲d_{f}≲2.8 for the internal structure of each crumpled paper ball by the box counting method in the real space and the structure factors in the Fourier space. The data for the paper sheets are consistent with D_{M}=d_{f}, suggesting that the self-similarity in the structure of each crumpled ball gives rise to the similarity among the balls with different sizes. We also examine the cellophane sheets and the aluminium foils of the size L=200 mm and obtain 2.6≲d_{f}≲2.8 for both of them. The micro-CT also allows us to reconstruct 3D structure of a line drawn on the crumpled sheets of paper. The Hurst exponent for the root-mean-square displacement along the line is estimated as H≈0.9 for the length scale shorter than the scale of the radius of gyration, beyond which the line structure becomes more random with H∼0.5.

  Aug. 2021, Physical Review E, 104(2-2) (2-2), 025005 - 025005, English, International magazine

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Proleg retractor muscles in Manduca sexta larvae are segmentally different, suggesting anteroposterior specialization

  Anthony E. Scibelli, Daniel P. Caron, Hitoshi Aonuma, Barry A. Trimmer

  The Company of Biologists, Jul. 2021, Journal of Experimental Biology

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Sublethal neonicotinoid exposure attenuates the effects of electromagnetic fields on honey bee flight and learning

  S. Shepherd, M.A.P. Lima, E.E. Oliveira, S.M. Sharkh, H. Aonuma, C.W. Jackson, P.L. Newland

  Elsevier {BV}, Jul. 2021, Environmental Advances, 4, 100051 - 100051

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Social Evolution With Decoupling of Multiple Roles of Biogenic Amines Into Different Phenotypes in Hymenoptera

  Ken Sasaki, Yasukazu Okada, Hiroyuki Shimoji, Hitoshi Aonuma, Toru Miura, Kazuki Tsuji

  Convergent evolution of eusociality with the division of reproduction and its plastic transition in Hymenoptera has long attracted the attention of researchers. To explain the evolutionary scenario of the reproductive division of labor, several hypotheses had been proposed. Among these, we focus on the most basic concepts, i.e., the ovarian ground plan hypothesis (OGPH) and the split-function hypothesis (SFH). The OGPH assumes the physiological decoupling of ovarian cycles and behavior into reproductive and non-reproductive individuals, whereas the SFH assumes that the ancestral reproductive function of juvenile hormone (JH) became split into a dual function. Here, we review recent progress in the understanding of the neurohormonal regulation of reproduction and social behavior in eusocial hymenopterans, with an emphasis on biogenic amines. Biogenic amines are key substances involved in the switching of reproductive physiology and modulation of social behaviors. Dopamine has a pivotal role in the formation of reproductive skew irrespective of the social system, whereas octopamine and serotonin contribute largely to non-reproductive social behaviors. These decoupling roles of biogenic amines are seen in the life cycle of a single female in a solitary species, supporting OGPH. JH promotes reproduction with dopamine function in primitively eusocial species, whereas it regulates non-reproductive social behaviors with octopamine function in advanced eusocial species. The signal transduction networks between JH and the biogenic amines have been rewired in advanced eusocial species, which could regulate reproduction in response to various social stimuli independently of JH action.

  Frontiers Media {SA}, May 2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Extremely Low‐Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Entrain Locust Wingbeats

  Sebastian Shepherd, Christopher~W. Jackson, Suleiman~M. Sharkh, Hitoshi Aonuma, Eugenio~E. Oliveira, Philip L. Newl

  Wiley, May 2021, Bioelectromagnetics, 42(4) (4), 296 - 308, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Descending and Ascending Signals That Maintain Rhythmic Walking Pattern in Crickets

  Keisuke Naniwa, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The cricket is one of the model animals used to investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying adaptive locomotion. An intact cricket walks mostly with a tripod gait, similar to other insects. The motor control center of the leg movements is located in the thoracic ganglia. In this study, we investigated the walking gait patterns of the crickets whose ventral nerve cords were surgically cut to gain an understanding of how the descending signals from the head ganglia and ascending signals from the abdominal nervous system into the thoracic ganglia mediate the initiation and coordination of the walking gait pattern. Crickets whose paired connectives between the brain and subesophageal ganglion (SEG) (circumesophageal connectives) were cut exhibited a tripod gait pattern. However, when one side of the circumesophageal connectives was cut, the crickets continued to turn in the opposite direction to the connective cut. Crickets whose paired connectives between the SEG and prothoracic ganglion were cut did not walk, whereas the crickets exhibited an ordinal tripod gait pattern when one side of the connectives was intact. Crickets whose paired connectives between the metathoracic ganglion and abdominal ganglia were cut initiated walking, although the gait was not a coordinated tripod pattern, whereas the crickets exhibited a tripod gait when one side of the connectives was intact. These results suggest that the brain plays an inhibitory role in initiating leg movements and that both the descending signals from the head ganglia and the ascending signals from the abdominal nervous system are important in initiating and coordinating insect walking gait patterns.

  Last, Frontiers Media {SA}, Mar. 2021, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 8, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Leg amputation modifies coordinated activation of the middle leg muscles in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Dai Owaki, Hitoshi Aonuma, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Akio Ishiguro

  Insects alter their walking pattern in order to respond to demands of an ever-changing environment, such as varying ground surface textures. They also exhibit resilient and flexible ability to retain the capacity to walk even after substantial changes in their body properties, e.g. leg amputation. While the motor control paradigm governing the inter-leg coordination in such adaptive walking has been extensively described in past studies, the mechanism remains unknown. Here, we examined this question by using the cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus), which shows a tetrapod/tripod gait on a flat surfaces, like many other insects. We performed leg amputation experiments to investigate modifications of leg movements and coordination of muscle activities. We simultaneously recorded (1) the leg movements, locomotion velocity, and body rotation and (2) the leg movements and leg muscles activities before and after leg amputation. Crickets displayed adaptive coordination of leg movement patterns in response to amputations. The activation timings of levator muscles in both middle legs tended to synchronize in phase when both legs were amputated at the coxatrochanteral joint. This supports the hypothesis that an intrinsic contralateral connection within the mesothoracic ganglion exists, and that mechanosensory feedback from the legs override this connection, resulting in the anti-phase movement of a normal gait.

  Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Jan. 2021, Scientific Reports, 11(1) (1)

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Novel Method for Analyzing Flexible Locomotion Patterns of Animals by Using Polar Histogram

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  In general, legged robots are designed to walk with a fixed rhythmic pattern. However, most animals can adapt their limb movements while walking. It is necessary to understand the mechanism of adaptability during locomotion when designing bio-inspired legged robots. In this paper, we propose an approach to analyze the flexible locomotion pattern of animals using a polar histogram. Field crickets were used to investigate variations in leg movement of insects depending on the environment. Crickets have a tripod gait; however, their leg movement changes depending on the texture of the ground. There was a significant difference between the leg movement when walking and when swimming. Our approach can explain how animals move their legs during locomotion. This study is useful for evaluating the movements of legged robots.

  Aug. 2020, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, English

  Scientific journal


• Novel Method for Analyzing Flexible Locomotion Patterns of Animals by Using Polar Histogram

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  In general, legged robots are designed to walk with a fixed rhythmic pattern. However, most animals can adapt their limb movements while walking. It is necessary to understand the mechanism of adaptability during locomotion when designing bio-inspired legged robots. In this paper, we propose an approach to analyze the flexible locomotion pattern of animals using a polar histogram. Field crickets were used to investigate variations in leg movement of insects depending on the environment. Crickets have a tripod gait; however, their leg movement changes depending on the texture of the ground. There was a significant difference between the leg movement when walking and when swimming. Our approach can explain how animals move their legs during locomotion. This study is useful for evaluating the movements of legged robots.

  Fuji Technology Press Ltd., Aug. 2020, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 32(4) (4), 812 - 821, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Earwig fan designing: Biomimetic and evolutionary biology applications

  Kazuya Saito, Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente, Kôichi Arimoto, Young ah Seong, Hitoshi Aonuma, Ryuma Niiyama, Zhong You

  © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Technologies to fold structures into compact shapes are required in multiple engineering applications. Earwigs (Dermaptera) fold their fanlike hind wings in a unique, highly sophisticated manner, granting them the most compact wing storage among all insects. The structural and material composition, in-flight reinforcement mechanisms, and bistable property of earwig wings have been previously studied. However, the geometrical rules required to reproduce their complex crease patterns have remained uncertain. Here we show the method to design an earwig-inspired fan by considering the flat foldability in the origami model, as informed by X-ray microcomputed tomography imaging. As our dedicated designing software shows, the earwig fan can be customized into artificial deployable structures of different sizes and configurations for use in architecture, aerospace, mechanical engineering, and daily use items. Moreover, the proposed method is able to reconstruct the wing-folding mechanism of an ancient earwig relative, the 280-million-year-old Protelytron permianum. This allows us to propose evolutionary patterns that explain how extant earwigs acquired their wing-folding mechanism and to project hypothetical, extinct transitional forms. Our findings can be used as the basic design guidelines in biomimetic research for harnessing the excellent engineering properties of earwig wings, and demonstrate how a geometrical designing method can reveal morphofunctional evolutionary constraints and predict plausible biological disparity in deep time.

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jul. 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(30) (30), 17622 - 17626

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• The Role of Serotonin in the Influence of Intense Locomotion on the Behavior Under Uncertainty in the Mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Mar. 2020, Frontiers in Physiology

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Microinjection support system for small biological subjects

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Mar. 2020, HardwareX, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A structural analysis based on kinetic model of trap-jaw in Odontomachus

  Asahi Matsuda, Hitoshi Aonuma, Shun’ichi Kaneko

  Some ants of the genus Odontomachus have mandibles called “Trap-jaw.” They can close mandibles with ultra-high-speed which is the fastest in animal kingdom. However, the mechanism of generating the ultra-high-speed has not been yet elucidated. Therefore, we expect to obtain benefits in several fields from understanding the mechanism. In this paper, we aim to elucidate the driving principle of trap-jaw by integrally evaluating the analysis results of high-speed images taken with a high-speed camera and CT images taken with an X-ray micro CT. First, we propose a kinematic model of the mandible based on a new hypothesis that the elastic restoring force of an exoskeleton contributes to the high-speed movement of mandibles simultaneously with the tensional force of the tendon. Further, we show approaches based on image measurement to obtain some parameters needed to quantitatively evaluate the kinetic model. Then, we show the effectiveness of our proposed method through demonstration experiments. Finally, we consider the results obtained through experiments.

  Springer Verlag, 2020, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 588, 289 - 294, English

  International conference proceedings


• Serotonergic control in initiating defensive responses to unexpected tactile stimuli in the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus kuroiwae

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  The decision to express either a defensive response or an escape response to a potential threat is crucial for insects to survive. This study investigated an aminergic mechanism underlying defensive responses to unexpected touch in an ant that has powerful mandibles, the so-called trap-jaw. The mandibles close extremely quickly and are used as a weapon during hunting. Tactile stimulation to the abdomen elicited quick forward movements in a dart escape in 90% of the ants in a colony. Less than 10% of the ants responded with a quick defensive turn towards the source of stimulation. To reveal the neuronal mechanisms underlying this defensive behavior, the effect of brain biogenic amines on the responses to tactile stimuli were investigated. The levels of octopamine (OA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5HT) in the brain were significantly elevated in ants that responded with a defensive turn to the unexpected stimulus compared to ants that responded with a dart escape. Oral administration of DA and 5HT demonstrated that both amines contributed to the initiation of a defensive responses. Oral administration of L-DOPA weakly affected the initiation of the defensive turn, while 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5HTP) strongly affected the initiation of defensive behavior. Oral administration of ketanserin, a 5HT antagonist, inhibited the initiation of the defensive turn in aggressive workers, abolishing the effects of both 5HT and 5HTP on the initiation of turn responses. These results indicate that 5HTergic control in the nervous system is a key for the initiation of defensive behavior in the trap-jaw ant.

  The Company of Biologists, Jan. 2020, Journal of Experimental Biology, 223(19) (19), English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A general model of locomotion of brittle stars with a variable number of arms

  Daiki Wakita, Katsushi Kagaya, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The Royal Society, Jan. 2020, Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 17(162) (162), 20190374 - 20190374

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Flexible Coordination of Flexible Limbs: Decentralized Control Scheme for Inter- and Intra-Limb Coordination in Brittle Stars' Locomotion

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Dec. 2019, Frontiers in Neurorobotics

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Decoding the essential interplay between central and peripheral control in adaptive locomotion of amphibious centipedes

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Dec. 2019, Scientific Reports, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Different Synchrony in Rhythmic Movement Caused by Morphological Difference between Five- and Six-armed Brittle Stars

  Daiki Wakita, Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, Dec. 2019, Scientific Reports, 9(1) (1), 8298

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Decentralized Control Mechanism for Determination of Moving Direction in Brittle Stars With Penta-Radially Symmetric Body

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Aug. 2019, Frontiers in Neurorobotics

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Monoamines, Insulin and the Roles They Play in Associative Learning in Pond Snails

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Apr. 2019, Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 13, 65

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• The function of the ophiuroid nerve ring: how a decentralized nervous system controls coordinated locomotion

  Elizabeth G. Clark, Daichi Kanauchi, Takeshi Kano, Hitoshi Aonuma, Derek E. G. Briggs, Akio Ishiguro

  The Company of Biologists, Jan. 2019, Journal of Experimental Biology, 222(2) (2), jeb.192104

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Head injection support system for cricket zombification

  SUGIMOTO Yasuhiro, NANIWA Keisuke, AONUMA Hitoshi, Osuka Koichi

  Research that attempts to elucidate adaptive gait realization mechanism is underway through walking experiment with zombified crickets, based on the interesting behavior of Ampulex compressa. In this research, it is important to prepare a large number of experimental individuals with the same quality (degree of zombification). In this study, we developed a new system to support and semi-automate the injection for cricket zombification. The developed system consists of two cameras, micromanipulator and syringe pump and these devices are operated from PC in order to inject the injection needle at the same position and depth and inject the same amount of liquid medicine. The validity and practicality of the developed system were confirmed by verification experiments.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2019, 2P2-F01, Japanese


• Defecation initiates walking in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Jan. 2019, Journal of insect physiology, 112, 117 - 122, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Modeling of the mechanism of mandidles in trap-jaw ants

  Matsuda Asahi, Aonuma Hitoshi, Naniwa Keisuke, Shunichi Kaneko

  アギトアリはトラップ・ジョーと呼ばれる大顎を持ち，動物界最速で閉じることができる．近年，大顎を駆動させるための組織は分かってきているが，超高速運動生成のためのメカニズムについては未だ解明に至っていない．本研究ではアギトアリの大顎の機構解明を主目的とする．動画像計測を軸とし多角的アプローチにより目的達成を目指す．

  The Japan Society for Precision Engineering, Aug. 2018, Proceedings of JSPE Semestrial Meeting, 2018A, 646 - 647, Japanese


• Immediate-Early Promoter-Driven Transgenic Reporter System for Neuroethological Research in a Hemimetabolous Insect

  Takayuki Watanabe, Atsushi Ugajin, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Society for Neuroscience, Jul. 2018, eneuro, 5(4) (4), ENEURO.0061 - 18.2018

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Record of the pufferfish, Torquigener albomaculosus from the east coast of Okinawa-jima Island, Ryukyu Islands with comments on its aquarium behavior in an aquarium.

  園山貴之, 荻本啓介, 石橋敏章, 須田有輔, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 松浦啓一

  <p>A specimen of the pufferfish <i>Torquigener albomaculosus</i>, previously recorded in depths of 10–30 m off Amami-oshima Island, northern Ryukyu Islands, was collected at 100m depth by hook and line off Hamahika-jima Island (off east coast of Okinawa-jima Island) and maintained for 136 days in an aquarium whilst swimming and eye closing behavior were observed. Unlike some other pufferfishes, which close their eyes by twisting the encircling skin, <i>T. albomaculosus</i> closes employing a vertical "blink", similar to tetrapods.</p>

  日本魚類学会, Apr. 2018, 魚類学雑誌, 65(1) (1), 81‐84 - 84, Japanese


• Comparison of brain monoamine content in three populations of Lymnaea that correlates with taste-aversive learning ability.

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Yuki Totani, Manabu Sakakibara, Ken Lukowiak, Etsuro Ito

  To find a causal mechanism of learning and memory is a heuristically important topic in neuroscience. In the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, the following experimental facts have accrued regarding a classical conditioning procedure known as conditioned taste aversion (CTA): (1) one-day food-deprived Dutch snails have superior CTA memory formation; (2) the one-day food-deprived snails have a low monoamine content (e.g., serotonin, dopamine, octopamine) in their central nervous system (CNS); (3) fed or five-day food-deprived snails have poorer CTA memory and a higher monoamine content; (4) the Dutch snails form better CTA memory than the Canadian TC1 strain; and, (5) the F1 cross snails between the Dutch and Canadian TC1 strains also form poor CTA memory. Here, in one-day food-deprived snails, we measured the monoamine content in the CNSs of the 3 populations. In most instances, the monoamine content of the Dutch strain was lower than in the other two populations. The F1 cross snails had the highest monoamine content. A lower monoamine content is correlated with the better CTA memory formation.

  2018, Biophysics and physicobiology, 15, 129 - 135, English, Domestic magazine

  [Refereed]


• Effects of 5-HT and insulin on learning and memory formation in food-deprived snails

  Aonuma, H., Totani, Y., Kaneda, M., Nakamura, R., Watanabe, T., Hatakeyama, D., Dyakonova, V.E., Lukowiak, K., Ito, E.

  2018, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 148, 20 - 29

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Tyraminergic modulation of agonistic outcomes in crayfish

  Momohara, Y., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T.

  2018, Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 204(5) (5), 465 - 473

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Plasticity in extended phenotype increases offspring defence despite individual variation in web structure and behaviour

  DiRienzo, N., Aonuma, H.

  2018, Animal Behaviour, 138, 9 - 17

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Image-based Measurement of Ultra-fast Movement of Mandible in Trap-Jaw Ants

  2018, PROCEEDINGS 2018 12TH FRANCE-JAPAN AND 10TH EUROPE-ASIA CONGRESS ON MECHATRONICS, 89 - 93

  [Refereed]


• Decentralized Control Mechanism Underlying Interlimb Coordination of Centipedes

  Kotaro Yasui, Kazuki Kikuchi, Takeshi Kano, Yumino Hayase, Shigeru Kuroda, Hitoshi Aonuma, Ryo Kobayashi, Akio Ishiguro

  Jun. 2017, Proceedings of The 8th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines（AMAM2017), 82 - 83, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Queen contact and among-worker interactions dually suppress worker brain dopamine as a potential regulator of reproduction in an ant

  Shimoji, H., Aonuma, H., Miura, T., Tsuji, K., Sasaki, K., Okada, Y.

  How individual organisms whose behavior is potentially driven by selfish interests cooperate to form a society is a central question in evolutionary biology. Worker reproduction and its suppression in eusocial insects provide an illuminating model of such a conflict resolution. Although many theoretical and empirical studies focus on the nature and evolutionary consequences of this reproductive conflict, little is known about its physiological underpinnings. Here, we hypothesized that the dopaminergic system, which has a gonadotropic function in eusocial Hymenoptera, is controlled by social suppression via the queen presence signal and the worker-worker dominance interactions. In Diacamma sp. from Japan, the queen presence signal is transferred to workers by direct contact, and worker-worker dominance interaction occurs commonly in large colonies, even when a queen is present. Using the ant Diacamma sp., we showed that the aggressive interactions among workers suppressed brain dopamine levels of the workers. Moreover, our data suggest that the queen presence signal transmitted by direct contact suppresses the brain dopamine level and the transcription of dopamine synthetic enzyme (ddc) of workers. Our data provide clear empirical evidence that worker brain dopamine is suppressed by both social stimuli directed from dominant workers and the queen.Significance statementIn eusocial Hymenoptera, worker reproduction is suppressed by social interactions such as queen presence information and dominance interaction. Dopamine, one of the biogenic amines, is a well-known gonadotropic neurohormone in eusocial Hymenoptera. Honeybee studies revealed that the queen presence information regulated dopamine levels in worker brains. In an ant, the dominance interaction also controlled dopamine levels of workers. In a queenless ant Diacamma sp., queen presence information and dominance interaction are known to dually suppress worker reproduction. Given the above examples, dopaminergic signaling is predicted to be a general mechanism that can suppress worker reproduction in multiple ways. We here test whether both the queen-and worker-originated signals (i.e., queen presence information and dominance interaction) affect the worker dopamine level. We show that dopaminergic signaling is affected by dual social factors, suggesting the general role of dopaminergic signaling in mediating social interaction and reproductive suppression.

  SPRINGER, 2017, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71(2) (2), English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Non-centralized and functionally localized nervous system of ophiuroids: Evidence from topical anesthetic experiments

  Matsuzaka, Y., Sato, E., Kano, T., Aonuma, H., Ishiguro, A.

  2017, Biology Open, 6(4) (4), 425 - 438

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Weak involvement of octopamine in aversive taste learning in a snail

  Aonuma, H., Kaneda, M., Hatakeyama, D., Watanabe, T., Lukowiak, K., Ito, E.

  The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is capable of learning taste aversion by pairing presentations of a sucrose solution and an electric shock and consolidating it into long-term memory (LTM), which is referred to as conditioned taste aversion (CTA). We asked here if the neurotransmitter octopamine is involved in CTA. We first determined the levels of octopamine and its catabolites in the central nervous system (CNS) of snails with varying degrees of food deprivation, because CIA grades are correlated with degrees of food deprivation. We next manipulated the octopamine signaling using both an agonist and an antagonist of octopamine receptors and correlated their respective effects with CTA grades. We found that snails with the least amount of food-deprivation obtained the best CTA grade and had low levels of octopamine; whereas the most severely food-deprived snails did not form CTA and had the highest CNS octopamine levels. In modestly food-deprived snails, octopamine application increased the basal level of feeding response to a sucrose solution, and it did not obstruct CTA formation. Application of phentolamine, an octopamine receptor antagonist, to the most severely food-deprived snails decreased the basal level of feeding elicited by sucrose, but it did not enhance CTA formation. We conclude that octopamine involvement in OA formation in Lymnaea is at best weak, and that the changes in CNS octopamine content are an epiphenomenon. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2017, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 141, 189 - 198, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Individual differences are consistent across changes in mating status and mediated by biogenic amines

  DiRienzo, N., Aonuma, H.

  2017, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71(8) (8)

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Cyclic AMP-regulated opposing and parallel effects of serotonin and dopamine on phototaxis in the Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish)

  Shiratori, C., Suzuki, N., Momohara, Y., Shiraishi, K., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T.

  2017, European Journal of Neuroscience, 46(3) (3), 1863 - 1874

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Complex furrows in a 2D epithelial sheet code the 3D structure of a beetle horn

  Matsuda, K., Gotoh, H., Tajika, Y., Sushida, T., Aonuma, H., Niimi, T., Akiyama, M., Inoue, Y., Kondo, S.

  2017, Scientific Reports, 7(1) (1), 13939

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A brittle star-like robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage

  Kano, T., Sato, E., Ono, T., Aonuma, H., Matsuzaka, Y., Ishiguro, A.

  2017, Royal Society Open Science, 4(12) (12), 171200

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• クロコオロギの行動解析に向けた動画像計測手法

  高橋悟, 奥田泰丈, 川端邦明, 川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 佐藤雄隆, 岩田健司

  Multiple tracking methods are widely required in biology field, in particular neuroethology and ecology fields. Biology researches have to observe target behavior with recording video and have to spend much time for analyzing video data afterward. Here we focus on fighting behavior between male crickets. Fighting behavior is one of the common behaviors in animals. Animals usually fight for resources like foods, territory, mating partner and so on. During a fight, animals modify their aggressive motivation and behavior. In order to understand how they alter their motivation and behavior, we need to analyze the detail of the time sequence of the fighting. Therefore, we propose the video image processing method for automated observation, which enables us to observe and measure the behavioral characteristics of plural crickets simultaneously. Finally, through experiments we prove the effectiveness of our method.

  信号処理学会, 2016, Journal of Signal Processing (Web), 20(2) (2), 65‐74(J‐STAGE) - 74, Japanese


• Changes in the levels of biogenic amines associated with aggressive behavior of queen in the social parasite ant Vollenhovia nipponica

  Ohkawara, K., Aonuma, H.

  Insect behavior is regulated by physiological and neurological systems. Biogenic amines play a role in motivating the behavior as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and neurohormones in the nervous systems. In ants, the change of brain amine levels is linked to various behavioral properties: reproduction, cooperation, and hostility. Aggressiveness is also manipulated by the neurological systems. The social structures in some ant species are established by aggressive interactions among queens. However, there are a few cases showing the putative role of biogenic amines for the queen aggression. Vollenhovia nipponica is a social parasite ant, which establishes functional monogyny that antagonistic interactions among multiple queens lead to dominance hierarchy. In this time, we examined changes in the levels of biogenic amines in heads of queens in V. nipponica, associated with the observation of aggressive behavior. In the colonies, dealate queens violently attacked toward each other by biting and pulling on body parts. Whereas, the aggressive behavior was never observed in alate queens. In the measurements in four biogenic amines, serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), octopamine (OA), and tyramine (TA), the levels of 5-HT and DA in dealates were significantly higher than those in alates. The levels of OA and TA were not significantly different between them. Moreover, the similar changes were confirmed in the groups of young (10-30 days old) and old queens (more than 6-month old). In V. nipponica queens, 5-HT and DA could regulate motivation of aggression, irrespective of age. However, the changes of biogenic amines are possibly affected by other behavioral factors.

  SPRINGER BASEL AG, 2016, Insectes Sociaux, 63(2) (2), 257 - 264, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Tyraminergic and octopaminergic modulation of defensive behavior in termite soldier

  Ishikawa, Y., Aonuma, H., Sasaki, K., Miura, T.

  In termites, i.e. a major group of eusocial insects, the soldier caste exhibits specific morphological characteristics and extremely high aggression against predators. Although the genomic background is identical to the other non-aggressive castes, they acquire the soldier-specific behavioral character during the course of caste differentiation. The high aggressiveness and defensive behavior is essential for colony survival, but the neurophysiological bases are completely unknown. In the present study, using the damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti, we focused on two biogenic amines, octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA), as candidate neuromodulators for the defensive behavior in soldiers. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis revealed that TA levels in the brain and suboesophageal ganglion (SOG) and the OA level in brain were increased in soldiers than in pseudergates (worker caste). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that TA/OA neurons that innervate specific areas, including the mandibular muscles, antennal nerve, central complex, suboesophageal ganglion, and thoracic and/or abdominal ganglia, were enlarged in a soldier-specific manner. Together with the results that pharmacological application of TA promoted the defensive behavior in pseudergates, these findings suggest that the increased TA/OA levels induce the higher aggressiveness and defensive behavior in termite soldiers. The projection targets of these soldier-specific enlarged TA/OA neurons may have important roles in the higher aggressiveness and defensive behavior of the termite soldiers, inducing the neuronal transition that accompanies external morphological changes.

  PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2016, PLoS ONE, 11(5) (5), e0154230, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Octopaminergic system in the central nervous system of the terrestrial slug Limax

  Matsuo, R., Tanaka, M., Fukata, R., Kobayashi, S., Aonuma, H., Matsuo, Y.

  The terrestrial slug Limax can learn to avoid the odor of some food (e.g., carrot juice) by the simultaneous presentation of an aversive stimulus (e.g., bitterness of quinidine). This type of associative memory critically depends on the higher olfactory center, the procerebrum in the central nervous system. The modulation of the local field potential (LFP) oscillation recorded on the procerebrum has been thought to reflect the information processing of the odor that elicits the behavioral change, such as avoidance of the aversively learned odor or approaching an attractive food's odor. Here we focused on octopamine, an important neuromodulator involved in learning and memory in invertebrates, and considered to be the invertebrate equivalent of noradrenaline. We identified a few octopaminergic neurons in the subesophageal and buccal ganglia, and a larger number near the procerebrum in the cerebral ganglia, using immunohistochmical staining and in situ hybridization of tyramine -hydroxylase, an octopamine-synthesizing enzyme. Application of octopamine reduced the frequency of LFP oscillation in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect was inhibited by preincubation with phentolamine. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the presence of octopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline in the central nervous system. Unexpectedly, noradrenaline and adrenaline both accelerated the LFP oscillation, in contrast to octopamine. Our results suggest that octopamine and noradrenaline have distinct functions in olfactory information processing, in spite of their structural similarity. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3849-3864, 2016. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  WILEY-BLACKWELL, 2016, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 524(18) (18), 3849 - 3864, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Relationship between the grades of a learned aversive-feeding response and the dopamine contents in Lymnaea

  Aonuma, H., Kaneda, M., Hatakeyama, D., Watanabe, T., Lukowiak, K., Ito, E.

  The pond snail Lymnaea learns conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and remembers not to respond to food substances that initially cause a feeding response. The possible relationship between how well snails learn to follow taste-aversion training and brain dopamine contents is not known. We examined this relationship and found the following: first, snails in the act of eating just before the commencement of CTA training were poor learners and had the highest dopamine contents in the brain; second, snails which had an ad libitum access to food, but were not eating just before training, were average learners and had lower dopamine contents; third, snails food-deprived for one day before training were the best learners and had significantly lower contents of dopamine compared to the previous two cohorts. There was a negative correlation between the CTA grades and the brain dopamine contents in these three cohorts. Fourth, snails food-deprived for five days before training were poor learners and had higher dopamine contents. Thus, severe hunger increased the dopamine content in the brain. Because dopamine functions as a reward transmitter, CTA in the severely deprived snails (i.e. the fourth cohort) was thought to be mitigated by a high dopamine content.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2016, Biology Open, 5(12) (12), 1869 - 1873, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• クモヒトデのロコモーションに内在する腕内協調メカニズム

  小野達也, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫

  Aug. 2015, 第21回創発システム・シンポジウム講演資料集, P-08, Japanese

  Symposium


• 脚間の力学的相互作用および情報的相互作用を用いた六脚ロボットの歩行制御

  郷田 将, 大脇 大, 加納 剛史, 青沼 仁志, 石黒 章夫

  Aug. 2015, 第21回創発システム・シンポジウム講演資料集, P-13, Japanese

  Symposium


• Cricket switches locomotion patterns from walking to swimming by evaluating reaction forces from the environment

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Masashi Goda, Shigeru Kuroda, Takeshi Kano, Dai Owaki, Akio Ishiguro

  Jun. 2015, Proceedings of The 7th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines (AMAM2015), English

  [Refereed]


• Response of the Bioelectric Potential within Antenna of Mamestra Brassicae against Sex Pheromone

  小林充, 片岡崇, 青沼仁志, 柴田洋一

  農業食料工学会事務局, May 2015, 農業食料工学会誌, 77(3) (3), 179 - 185, Japanese


• Memory mediated by internal state: memory of lost supresses motivation of fight in the cricket gryllus bimaculatus

  Aonuma, H., Sakura, M., Kurabayashi, D.

  Memory Consolidation, 2015, Memory Consolidation, 37 - 52

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Exposure to static electric fields leads to changes in biogenic amine levels in the brains of Drosophila

  Newland, P.L., Al Ghamdi, M.S., Sharkh, S., Aonuma, H., Jackson, C.W.

  Natural and anthropogenic static electric fields are commonly found in the environment and can have both beneficial and harmful effects on many animals. Here, we asked how the fruitfly responds to these fields and what the consequences of exposure are on the levels of biogenic amines in the brain. When given a choice in a Y-tube bioassay Drosophila avoided electric fields, and the greater the field strength the more likely Drosophila were to avoid it. By comparing wild-type flies, flies with wings surgically removed and vestigial winged flies we found that the presence of intact wings was necessary to produce avoidance behaviour. We also show that Coulomb forces produced by electric fields physically lift excised wings, with the smaller wings of males being raised by lower field strengths than larger female wings. An analysis of neurochemical changes in the brains showed that a suite of changes in biogenic amine levels occurs following chronic exposure. Taken together we conclude that physical movements of the wings are used by Drosophila in generating avoidance behaviour and are accompanied by changes in the levels of amines in the brain, which in turn impact on behaviour.

  ROYAL SOC, 2015, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1812) (1812), 60 - 66, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Mathematical Model of Inter-arm Coordination Mechanism of Ophiuroids

  Takeshi Kano, Eiki Sato, Hitoshi Aonuma, Yoshiya Matsuzaka, Akio Ishiguro

  Jul. 2014, The Joint Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology and the Society for Mathematical Biology 予稿集, English

  International conference proceedings


• Error in the honeybee waggle dance improves foraging flexibility

  Okada, R., Ikeno, H., Kimura, T., Ohashi, M., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  The honeybee waggle dance communicates the location of profitable food sources, usually with a certain degree of error in the directional information ranging from 10-15 degrees at the lower margin. We simulated one-day colonial foraging to address the biological significance of information error in the waggle dance. When the error was 30 degrees or larger, the waggle dance was not beneficial. If the error was 15 degrees, the waggle dance was beneficial when the food sources were scarce. When the error was 10 degrees or smaller, the waggle dance was beneficial under all the conditions tested. Our simulation also showed that precise information (0-5 degrees error) yielded great success in finding feeders, but also caused failures at finding new feeders, i.e., a high-risk high-return strategy. The observation that actual bees perform the waggle dance with an error of 10-15 degrees might reflect, at least in part, the maintenance of a successful yet risky foraging trade-off.

  NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2014, Scientific Reports, 4, 4175, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Understanding Adaptive Mechanisms of Insects by Modeling and by Constructing a Robot

  青沼 仁志

  Lead, 日本画像学会, 2014, 日本画像学会誌 = Journal of the Imaging Society of Japan, 53(3) (3), 207 - 215, Japanese

  [Refereed]


• 2P226 Role of NO-cGMP signaling in non-associative learning of the earthworm(15. Neuroscience & Sensory systems,Poster)

  Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Aonuma Hitoshi, Ogawa Hiroto, Oka Kotaro

  The Biophysical Society of Japan General Incorporated Association, 2014, Seibutsu Butsuri, 54(1) (1), S232, English


• Tissue-specific promoter usage and diverse splicing variants of found in neurons, an ancestral Hu/ELAV-like RNA-binding protein gene of insects, in the direct-developing insect Gryllus bimaculatus

  Watanabe, T., Aonuma, H.

  Hu/ELAV-like RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of RNA metabolism including splicing, transport, translational control and turnover. The Hu/ELAV-like RBP genes are predominantly expressed in neurons, and are therefore used as common neuronal markers in many animals. Although the expression patterns and functions of the Hu/ELAV-like RBP genes have been extensively studied in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster, little is known in basal direct-developing insects. In the present study, we performed an identification and expression analysis of the found in neurons (fne) gene, an ancestral insect Hu/ELAV-like RBP gene, in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Contrary to expectation that the Gryllus fne transcript would be predominantly expressed in the nervous system, expression analysis revealed that the Gryllus fne gene is expressed broadly. In addition, we discovered that alternative promoter usage directs tissue-specific and embryonic stage-dependent regulation of fne expression, and that alternative splicing contributes to the generation of diverse sets of fne transcripts. Our data provide novel insights into the evolutionary diversification of the Hu/ELAV-like RBP gene family in insects.

  WILEY-BLACKWELL, 2014, Insect Molecular Biology, 23(1) (1), 26 - 41, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Dopaminergic modulation of phase reversal in desert locusts

  Alessi, A.M., O'Connor, V., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Phenotypic plasticity allows animals to modify their behavior, physiology, and morphology to adapt to environmental change. The global pest, the desert locust, shows two extreme phenotypes; a solitarious phase that is relatively harmless and a gregarious phase that forms swarms and causes extensive agricultural and economic damage. In the field, environmental conditions can drive isolated animals into crowded populations and previous studies have identified the biogenic amine serotonin as a key determinant of this transition. Here we take an integrated approach to investigate the neurochemical, physiological, and behavioral correlates defined by a laboratory based paradigm that mimics facets of swarm break down as gregarious locusts become isolated. Following isolation there was an increased propensity of locusts to avoid conspecifics, and show a reduced locomotion. Changes in choice behavior occurred within 1 h of isolation although isolation-related changes progressed with increased isolation time. Isolation was accompanied by changes in the levels of the biogenic amines dopamine, octopamine, and serotonin within the CNS within 1 h. Dopamine levels were higher in isolated animals and we focused on the role played by this transmitter in synaptic changes that may underpin solitarization. Dopamine reduced synaptic efficacy at a key central synapse between campaniform sensilla (CS) and a fast extensor tibiae motor neuron that is involved in limb movement. We also show that dopamine injection into the haemocoel was sufficient to induce solitarious-like behavior in otherwise gregarious locusts. Further, injection of a dopamine antagonist, fluphenazine, into isolated locusts induced gregarious-like behavior. This highlights that dopaminergic modulation plays an important role in the plasticity underpinning phase transition and sets a context to deepen the understanding of the complementary role that distinct neuromodulators play in polyphenism in locusts.

  FRONTIERS RESEARCH FOUNDATION, 2014, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8(November) (November), 371, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Toward realization of resilient locomotion: Lessons from the locomotion of arm-amputated ophiuroids

  Takeshi Kano, Shota Suzuki, Eiki Sato, Hitoshi Aonuma, Akio Ishiguro

  Mar. 2013, Proc. of 6th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Pitchfork bifurcation in a receptor theory-based model of the serotonergic system

  Yano, S., Watanabe, T., Aonuma, H., Asama, H.

  Abnormalities in the serotonergic system are thought to be a potent cause of several mental diseases. Past research has shown that autoreceptors are the key component. It is thought that the autoreceptor constructs a negative feedback circuit on this system and realizes homeostatic control on its neural activity. This study is mainly organized from the above mentioned knowledge. In this paper, we construct two possible models of the serotonergic system based on receptor theory and provide some predictions for this system with each model. In the first model, we predict that the deficit of serotonin synthesis causes destabilization of the amount of autoreceptors autoreceptors show an explosive increase if serotonin synthesis drops below a certain threshold value. In the second model, we indicate that the serotonergic system changes its stable property from a monostable one to a bistable one by certain factors. We clarify these factors and show that this changing process is named pitch-fork bifurcation. Additionally, we also suggest another notable phenomena which would appear when we consider a stochastic perturbation on the receptor expressions. Lastly, we suggest some experimental ideas towards the verification of the validity of these models. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  8, 2013, Molecular BioSystems, 9(8) (8), 2079 - 2084, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Aggressive behavior in the antennectomized male cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Sakura, M., Aonuma, H.

  Male crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) exhibit intensively defensive aggressive behavior towards attacking males most often culminating in fighting. After the fight, the loser no longer exhibits aggressiveness in a second, separate encounter with another male; rather, the defeated male exhibits avoidance behavior. Here, we investigated the role of sensory input from the antennae in male defensive aggressive behavior. When we removed antennae from males (antennectomized males), we found that they showed little aggressiveness towards each other whereas they continued to exhibit typical fighting behavior towards an intact male. In addition, in a second encounter, antennectomized losers showed significantly higher aggressiveness towards another male than did intact losers. We further found that antennectomized crickets do not utilize visual or palpal sensory input to elicit aggressive behavior. In contrast, intact males showed aspects of aggressive behavior to male cuticular substances before and after winning a fight, and if they lost a fight they showed avoidance behavior. It thus appears that antennal sensory information is crucial in the mediation of aggressive and avoidance behaviors. However, sensory inputs from the antennae are not necessary to elicit defensive aggressive behavior but are necessary to discriminate conspecific males and initiate attacks against them.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2013, Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(12) (12), 2221 - 2228, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Molecular basis of the dopaminergic system in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Watanabe, T., Sadamoto, H., Aonuma, H.

  In insects, dopamine modulates various aspects of behavior such as learning and memory, arousal and locomotion, and is also a precursor of melanin. To elucidate the molecular basis of the dopaminergic system in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus DeGeer, we identified genes involved in dopamine biosynthesis, signal transduction, and dopamine re-uptake in the cricket. Complementary DNA of two isoforms of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), which convert tyrosine into l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, was isolated from the cricket brain cDNA library. In addition, four dopamine receptor genes (Dop1, Dop2, Dop3, and DopEcR) and a high-affinity dopamine transporter gene were identified. The two TH isoforms contained isoform-specific regions in the regulatory ACT domain and showed differential expression patterns in different tissues. In addition, the dopamine receptor genes had a receptor subtype-specific distribution: the Dop1, Dop2, and DopEcR genes were broadly expressed in various tissues at differential expression levels, and the Dop3 gene was restrictedly expressed in neuronal tissues and the testicles. Our findings provide a fundamental basis for understanding the dopaminergic regulation of diverse physiological processes in the cricket.

  SPRINGER HEIDELBERG, 2013, Invertebrate Neuroscience, 13(2) (2), 107 - 123, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A system for automated interaction with the cricket utilizing a micro mobile robot

  Kawabata, K., Aonuma, H., Hosoda, K., Xue, J.

  This paper describes our trials in developing automated interaction systems with crickets by using a micro mobile robot for attracting pheromone behavior. The cricket Gryllus bimaculatus modifies its behavior based on experience that is based on pheromone interactions between individuals. In developing systems, a micro mobile robot with a cricket's head is controlled based on online visual tracking information. In this paper, we describe implementing automated micro mobile robot control based on image processing and attempt experimental trials in interaction between the cricket and micro mobile robot. The cricket shows a typical response to the pheromone stimulus for approaching by the micro mobile robot. Results also show that the developed system could contribute to novel biological research, for example, manipulable experimental conditions for interactive experiments.

  2013, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 25(2) (2), 333 - 339

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Active interaction utilizing micro mobile robot and on-line data gathering for experiments in cricket pheromone behavior

  Kawabata, K., Aonuma, H., Hosoda, K., Xue, J.

  This paper describes about a prototype system for active interaction experiment to a cricket by utilizing an operated micro mobile robot. It is also able to measure/collect behavior data of the cricket on-line. The behavior selection of the cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) is influenced by the experience or the context in living environment. In our current research, we are trying to investigate neuronal mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior switching of the cricket based on individual interactions. However in conventional biological experiments, the conditions are not maneuverable intentionally. Therefore, we are developing an integrated system for conducting active interaction experiments and gathering behavior data related to the effect of interactions. The prototype consists of a micro mobile robot as a physical interaction agent, a camera and a microphone and a computer. The computer is for commanding the robot by the operator's input. It also works for recording the data of a video sequence, on-line motion tracking and the audio during the experiment. Interaction experiments with the cricket utilizing the prototype system were done. From the results, we could confirm it works well especially for maneuvering experimental conditions and on-line experimental data gathering. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2013, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 61(12) (12), 1529 - 1538

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Decentralized Control of Large Degree-of-Freedom System Inspired by Ophiuroid Locomotion~Modeling of The Role of Nerve Ring in Intra-limb Coordination~

  鈴木翔太, 佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 石黒章夫

  Dec. 2012, 計測自動制御学会システムインテグレーション部門 講演会予稿集（CD-ROM), 0949 - 0953, Japanese

  Research society


• Forgetting curve of cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, derived by using serotonin hypothesis

  Yano, S., Ikemoto, Y., Aonuma, H., Asama, H.

  It is thought that the adjustment of intraspecific aggression is an essential factor in the development of a social structure. To understand the natural laws for organizing the social structure, we focus on the fighting behavior of crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, and investigate the neuronal mechanisms to adjust aggressiveness associated with a neuromodulatory biological amine: serotonin (5-HT).In this paper, we present a working theory of a neurophysiological mechanism based on the past biological studies on the 5-HT hypothesis, and a mathematical model of the mechanism. We analyzed this model and concluded that this neurophysiological mechanism makes the forgetting process slower. Next, we fitted our theoretical forgetting curve to an experimental curve and estimated the parameters of our model. These estimated values were in agreement with common belief in biological science. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  ELSEVIER, 2012, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 60(5) (5), 722 - 728, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Evidence for instantaneous e-vector detection in the honeybee using an associative learning paradigm

  Sakura, M., Okada, R., Aonuma, H.

  Many insects use the polarization pattern of the sky for obtaining compass information during orientation or navigation. E-vector information is collected by a specialized area in the dorsal-most part of the compound eye, the dorsal rim area (DRA). We tested honeybees' capability of learning certain e-vector orientations by using a classical conditioning paradigm with the proboscis extension reflex. When one e-vector orientation (CS+) was associated with sugar water, while another orientation (CS-) was not rewarded, the honeybees could discriminate CS+ from CS-. Bees whose DRA was inactivated by painting did not learn CS+. When ultraviolet (UV) polarized light (350 nm) was used for CS, the bees discriminated CS+ from CS-, but no discrimination was observed in blue (442 nm) or green light (546 nm). Our data indicate that honeybees can learn and discriminate between different e-vector orientations, sensed by the UV receptors of the DRA, suggesting that bees can determine their flight direction from polarized UV skylight during foraging. Fixing the bees' heads during the experiments did not prevent learning, indicating that they use an 'instantaneous' algorithm of e-vector detection; that is, the bees do not need to actively scan the sky with their DRAs ('sequential' method) to determine e-vector orientation.

  ROYAL SOC, 2012, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1728) (1728), 535 - 542, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Waggle dance effect: Dancing in autumn reduces the mass loss of a honeybee colony

  Okada, R., Akamatsu, T., Iwata, K., Ikeno, H., Kimura, T., Ohashi, M., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  A honeybee informs her nestmates about the location of a profitable food source that she has visited by means of a waggle dance: a round dance and a figure-of-eight dance for a short- and long-distance food source, respectively. Consequently, the colony achieves an effective collection of food. However, it is still not fully understood how much effect the dance behavior has on the food collection, because most of the relevant experiments have been performed only in limited locations under limited experimental conditions. Here, we examined the efficacy of the waggle dances by physically preventing bees from dancing and then analyzing the changes in daily mass of the hive as an index of daily food collection. To eliminate place-and year-specific effects, the experiments were performed under fully natural conditions in three different cities in Japan from mid September to early October in three different years. Because the experiments were performed in autumn, all six of the tested colonies lost mass on most of the experimental days. When the dance was prevented, the daily reduction in mass change was greater than when the dance was allowed, i.e. the dance inhibited the reduction of the hive mass. This indicates that dance is effective for food collection. Furthermore, clear inhibition was observed on the first two days of the experiments; after that, inhibition was no longer evident. This result suggests that the bee colony adapted to the new environment.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2012, Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(10) (10), 1633 - 1641, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Elevation of dopamine level reduces host-seeking activity in the adult female mosquito Aedes albopictus

  Fukumitsu, Y., Irie, K., Satho, T., Aonuma, H., Dieng, H., Ahmad, A.H., Nakashima, Y., Mishima, K., Kashige, N., Miake, F.

  Background: Mosquito-borne viruses are transmitted to human hosts via blood-feeding behavior of female mosquitoes. Female mosquitoes seek a host to take blood meals (host-seeking behavior). In order to prevent virus infections, it is important to understand how they modulate host-seeking behavior. Dopamine (DA) in the central nervous system acts as a neuromediator that regulates a variety of behaviors in insects. In female mosquitoes, host-seeking behavior increases when DA levels in the head decline after emergence. However, it remains unclear whether DA directly modulates host-seeking behavior in female mosquitoes. The aim of this study was to examine whether changes in DA levels in the head affects host-seeking activity in the adult female mosquito Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus). Findings: We compared host-seeking behavior in one group of emerging female adults treated with L-beta-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), the precursor of DA, (L-DOPA group), with that in an untreated control (control group) after confirming elevation of head DA in L-DOPA group by using high-performance liquid chromatography. The content of head DA in L-DOPA group significantly remained higher than that in controls on all days examined. The host-seeking activity in the control group showed a gradual increase over the 6-day experimental period. In contrast, there was no such increase in the host-seeking activity in the L-DOPA group. Therefore, the host-seeking activity of L-DOPA group was significantly lower than that of the controls between day 3 and 6 post-emergence. Conclusion: Our results indicate that elevation of DA level reduces host-seeking activity in adult female mosquito Ae. albopictus.

  BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 2012, Parasites and Vectors, 5(1) (1), 92, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• The anatomical pathways for antennal sensory information in the central nervous system of the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Yoritsune, A., Aonuma, H.

  Antennae are one of the major organs to detect chemo- and mechanosensory cue in crickets. Little is known how crickets process and integrate different modality of information in the brain. We thus used a number of different anatomical techniques to gain an understanding of the neural pathways extending from the antennal sensory neurons up to centers in the brain. We identified seven antennal sensory tracts (assigned as T1-7) utilizing anterograde dye filling from the antennal nerve. Tracts T1-T4 project into the antennal lobe (AL), while tracts T5 and T6 course into the dorsal region of the deutocerebrum or the suboesophageal ganglion, and finally, tract T7 terminates in the ventral area of flagellar afferent (VFA). By analyzing autofluorescence images of the AL, we identified 49 sexually isomorphic glomeruli on the basis of shape, relative position and size. On the basis of our sensory-tract data, we assigned the glomeruli into one of four separate groups. We then three-dimensionally reconstructed the internal structures in the AL (glomeruli) and the VFA (layers). Next in the protocerebrum, we identified both the tracts and their terminations from the AL and VFA. We found that 10 tracts originate in the AL, whereas there are at least eight tracts from the VFA. Several tracts from the AL share their routes with those from the VFA, but their termination areas are segregated. We now have a better anatomical understanding of the pathways for the antennal information in cricket.

  SPRINGER HEIDELBERG, 2012, Invertebrate Neuroscience, 12(2) (2), 103 - 117, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Memory trace in feeding neural circuitry underlying conditioned taste aversion in Lymnaea

  Ito, E., Otsuka, E., Hama, N., Aonuma, H., Okada, R., Hatakeyama, D., Fujito, Y., Kobayashi, S.

  Background: The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis can maintain a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) as a long-term memory. Previous studies have shown that the inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) evoked in the neuron 1 medial (N1M) cell by activation of the cerebral giant cell (CGC) in taste aversion-trained snails was larger and lasted longer than that in control snails. The N1M cell is one of the interneurons in the feeding central pattern generator (CPG), and the CGC is a key regulatory neuron for the feeding CPG. Methodology/Principle Findings: Previous studies have suggested that the neural circuit between the CGC and the N1M cell consists of two synaptic connections: (1) the excitatory connection from the CGC to the neuron 3 tonic (N3t) cell and (2) the inhibitory connection from the N3t cell to the N1M cell. However, because the N3t cell is too small to access consistently by electrophysiological methods, in the present study the synaptic inputs from the CGC to the N3t cell and those from the N3t cell to the N1M cell were monitored as the monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) recorded in the large B1 and B3 motor neurons, respectively. The evoked monosynaptic EPSPs of the B1 motor neurons in the brains isolated from the taste aversion-trained snails were identical to those in the control snails, whereas the spontaneous monosynaptic EPSPs of the B3 motor neurons were significantly enlarged. Conclusion/Significance: These results suggest that, after taste aversion training, the monosynaptic inputs from the N3t cell to the following neurons including the N1M cell are specifically facilitated. That is, one of the memory traces for taste aversion remains as an increase in neurotransmitter released from the N3t cell. We thus conclude that the N3t cell suppresses the N1M cell in the feeding CPG, in response to the conditioned stimulus in Lymnaea CTA.

  PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2012, PLoS ONE, 7(8) (8), e43151, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Changes in the content of brain biogenic amine associated with early colony establishment in the queen of the ant, formica japonica

  Aonuma, H., Watanabe, T.

  We examined changes in the content of biogenic amines in the brains of ant queen associated with early colony establishment. In ants, including Formica japonica, winged virgin queens lose their wings following copulation, and then start establishing a colony. Significant changes in brain biogenic amine content in the queen are associated with transition from winged virgin queen to wingless mated queen. The levels of serotonin (5HT), octopamine (OA) and dopamine (DA) decreased significantly in the brain of the queen after starting a colony. On the other hand, tyramine (TA) increased significantly in the brain following colony establishment. Catabolized substances of the biogenic amines in the brain were also measured. The levels of N-acetyloctopamine (Nac-OA) and N-acetyltyramine (Nac-TA) in the brain did not show a significant change after the queen established a colony. However, the levels of N-acetylserotonin (Nac-5HT) in the brain were significantly higher in wingless mated queens than in winged virgin queens, whereas levels of N-acetyldopamine (Nac-DA) in the brain were significantly lower in wingless mated queens than winged virgin queens. These results suggest that serotonergic and octopaminergic systems in the brain of the queen change when the mated queen starts to establish a new colony.

  PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2012, PLoS ONE, 7(8) (8), e43377, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Octopaminergic system in the brain controls aggressive motivation in the ant, Formica japonica.

  Aonuma, H., Watanabe, T.

  The ant, Formica japonica, is polyphagous and workers hunt other insects as foods. In this study, interspecific aggression was examined in the workers and queens. Behavior experiments demonstrated that interspecific aggressiveness was significantly higher in workers than queens. Workers showed predatory aggressive behavior towards crickets, on the other hand, queens elicited threat behavior but they didn't attack crickets. In order to investigate neuronal mechanisms underlying regulation of aggressive motivation, the role of biogenic amine in the brain in evoking aggressive behavior was examined by measuring biogenic amine using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ECD). No significant difference in the octopamine (OA) level was found between workers and queens, but the level of N-acetyloctopamine (NacOA) in the brain of queens was significantly higher than that of workers. This study suggests that OAergic system in the brain must involve in controlling aggressive motivation in the ants.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO RT, 2012, Acta biologica Hungarica, 63 Suppl 2, 63 - 68, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Mathematical analysis of the honeybee waggle dance.

  Okada, R., Ikeno, H., Kimura, T., Ohashi, M., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  A honeybee informs her nestmates of the location of a flower by doing a waggle dance. The waggle dance encodes both the direction of and distance to the flower from the hive. To reveal how the waggle dance benefits the colony, we created a Markov model of bee foraging behavior and performed simulation experiments by incorporating the biological parameters that we obtained from our own observations of real bees as well as from the literature. When two feeders were each placed 400 m away from the hive in different directions, a virtual colony in which honeybees danced and correctly transferred information (a normal, real bee colony) made significantly greater numbers of successful visits to the feeders compared to a colony with inaccurate information transfer. Howerer, when five feeders were each located 400 m from the hive, the inaccurate information transfer colony performed better than the normal colony. These results suggest that dancing's ability to communicate accurate information depends on the number of feeders. Furthermore, because non-dancing colonies always made significantly fewer visits than those two colonies, we concluded that dancing behavior is beneficial for hives' ability to visit food sources.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO RT, 2012, Acta biologica Hungarica, 63 Suppl 2, 75 - 79, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Identification and expression analyses of a novel serotonin receptor gene, 5-HT2β, in the field cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus.

  Watanabe, T., Aonuma, H.

  Biogenic amine serotonin (5-HT) modulates various aspects of behaviors such as aggressive behavior and circadian behavior in the cricket. In our previous report, in order to elucidate the molecular basis of the cricket 5-HT system, we identified three genes involved in 5-HT biosynthesis, as well as four 5-HT receptor genes (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2 alpha, and 5-HT7) expressed in the brain of the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus DeGeer [7]. In the present study, we identified Gryllus 5-HT2 beta gene, an additional 5-HT receptor gene expressed in the cricket brain, and examined its tissue-specific distribution and embryonic stage-dependent expression. Gryllus 5-HT2 beta gene was ubiquitously expressed in the all examined adult tissues, and was expressed during early embryonic development, as well as during later stages. This study suggests functional differences between two 5-HT2 receptors in the cricket.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO RT, 2012, Acta biologica Hungarica, 63 Suppl 2, 58 - 62, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Aggressive behavior of the white-eye mutant crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus.

  Sakura, M., Watanabe, T., Aonuma, H.

  Aggressive behavior of white-eye mutant crickets was investigated and compared with that of wild-type crickets. In the dark, wild-type pairs performed long-lasting fights with significantly higher aggressive levels compared to those in the light. In contrast, fights between two white-eye mutants were not significantly different with those between two wild-type crickets both in duration and the aggressive levels. Ethograms of aggressive behavior showed that the mutants could show typical sequentially escalating fight with the same behavioral categories as the wild-type crickets. These results indicate that the white-eye mutants are able to express normal aggressive behavior.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO RT, 2012, Acta biologica Hungarica, 63 Suppl 2, 69 - 74, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A neuromodulation model of behavior selection in the fighting behavior of male crickets

  Kawabata, K., Fujii, T., Aonuma, H., Suzuki, T., Ashikaga, M., Ota, J., Asama, H.

  The results of neurophysiological research have indicated the important role of neuromodulation in behavior decisions during fighting between male crickets. To understand such a dynamic behavior generation mechanism, we attempt to construct a neuromodulation model of behavior selection for the fighting behavior of a cricket. In this paper, we propose a dynamic system model of neuromodulation with the efficacy based on neurophysiological knowledge, facts, and hypotheses from the viewpoint of synthesis. The efficacy of the sensory processing center is introduced to our previous model and its dynamics is influenced by the frequency of the interactions with the other cricket. Utilizing an extended neuromodulation model, computer simulations related to a multiple-individual environment were carried out, and the results are discussed. In particular, the properties related to the standard deviation of the value of octopamine in several population density cases are discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2012, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 60(5) (5), 707 - 713, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Model of a sensory-behavioral relation mechanism for aggressive behavior in crickets

  Mizuno, T., Sakura, M., Ashikaga, M., Aonuma, H., Chiba, R., Ota, J.

  In order to gain better understandings how animals establish an internal mechanism, we have focused on the aggressive behavior in the male crickets, in which some different modalities of sensory inputs modify the behavioral motivation. In this research, we examined how aggressiveness changes if crickets cannot perceive normal visual inputs or antennal inputs. First, behavior of the crickets is segmented based on behavioral observation. Second, sensory input-behavior output models are selected by utilizing Minimal Description Length (MDL) criterion. Third, multi-modality sensory-behavioral experiments are realized with handicapped crickets. Last, relations between multi-modality and behavior are discussed based on the obtained parameters in the model derived with experimental results. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2012, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 60(5) (5), 700 - 706, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Learning from cricket fighting: how crickets recover from depressive status?

  青沼 仁志

  Lead, 科学評論社, May 2011, Psychiatry, 18(5) (5), 535 - 541, Japanese

  [Refereed]


• Social interactions influence dopamine and octopamine homeostasis in the brain of the ant Formica japonica

  Wada-Katsumata, A., Yamaoka, R., Aonuma, H.

  In ants, including Formica japonica, trophallaxis and grooming are typical social behaviors shared among nestmates. After depriving ants of either food or nestmates and then providing them with either food or nestmates, a behavioral change in type and frequency of social interactions was observed. We hypothesized that starvation and isolation affected levels of brain biogenic amines including dopamine (DA) and octopamine (OA) - neuromediators modifying various insect behaviors - and tested the relationship between brain biogenic amines and social behaviors of stressed ants. Ants starved for 7. days contained lower brain DA levels and they did not perform trophallaxis toward nestmates. Feeding starved ants sucrose solution re-established trophallaxis but not brain DA levels. The performance of trophallaxis induced recovery of brain DA content to the level of untreated ants. Ants that were isolated for 2 days displayed markedly increased OA levels, which following nestmate interactions, returned to levels similar to those of control (non-isolated) ants and ants isolated for 1. h. We conclude that: (1) starvation reduced brain DA level but had no significant effect on brain OA (trophallaxis recovered the brain DA levels), and (2) isolation increased brain OA level but had no effect on brain DA (trophallaxis and grooming events recovered the brain OA levels). We suggest that social interactions with nestmates influenced brain biogenic amine homeostasis in stressed F. japonica.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2011, Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(10) (10), 1707 - 1713, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• A model for group-size-dependent behaviour decisions in insects using an oscillator network

  Funato, T., Nara, M., Kurabayashi, D., Ashikaga, M., Aonuma, H.

  Aggressive behaviour within pairs of male crickets leads to the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. Defeated males avoid their victorious adversaries for several hours before regaining aggressiveness. However, the defeated male does not regain aggressiveness if repeated fighting occurs. Loss of individual aggressiveness is limited by group size, which constrains the number of crickets fighting at any given time. Thus, group aggressive behaviour is modulated by an environmental factor, group size, which is ultimately determined by individual actions, i.e. fighting between two individuals. We developed a robot model to elucidate the mechanism of group-size-dependent behaviour alternation in crickets. The behaviour of individual robots was evaluated experimentally with mobile robots and the group behaviour of the robots was evaluated by computer simulation. We demonstrated that the group-size-dependent strategy in crickets could be generated by local interactions between robots, where the behaviour was governed by an oscillator and memory of the outcome of previous fights.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2011, Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(14) (14), 2426 - 2434, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Semi-automatic behavior analysis using robot/insect mixed society and video tracking

  Guerra, R.D.S., Aonuma, H., Hosoda, K., Asada, M.

  This paper proposes a novel robot/insect mixed society setup which enhances the possibilities for insect behavioral research and can be used as a powerful tool for interdisciplinary studies on insect behavior. Micro-robots are equipped with decoys so as to allow a controlled dynamic interaction with crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus. A camera records the interaction and the video is later processed for the automatic tracking of each encounter between cricket and robot. A novelty of our method lies in using the robots as tools for the controlled evoking of specific insect behaviors rather than trying to build an insect-like robot. The possibility for performing controlled repeatable movements allows the stimulation of certain insect behaviors that are usually difficult to trigger using insects alone, allowing consistent behavioral research. A set of experiments were performed in order to validate the proposed setup. We also demonstrate the use of our setup for stimulating agonistic behavior during an electromyography recording session. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

  1, 2010, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 191(1) (1), 138 - 144

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Markov model of honeybee social behavior

  Okada, R., Ikeno, H., Kimura, T., Ohashi, M., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  It is well established that honeybees inform their nestmates of the location of flowers they have visited by a unique behavior called a "waggle dance". To evaluate the efficacy of this dance in terms of food collection, we constructed a Markov model for foraging behavior. The computer simulation showed that our model faithfully expressed actual bee behavior; revealed that a colony in which honeybees danced and correctly transferred information made 2.15 times more successful visits to food sources compared to a colony with non-accurate information transfer; and suggested that the waggle dance is effective only under particular conditions.

  INT INFORMATION INST, 2010, Information, 13(3 B) (3 B), 1115 - 1130, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Modeling of Self-organized Competition Hierarchy with Body Weight Development in Larval Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Shiro Yano, Yusuke Ikemoto, Hitoshi Aonuma, Takashi Nagao, Hajime Asama

  Larval crickets develop a big body and high aggressiveness under isolated conditions, but develop a small body and low aggression under crowded conditions. Furthermore, their ensemble variance increases. It is known that the heavier cricket tends to win. Therefore, the two growth processes affect competition. We constructed a mathematical model for intraspecific competition based on the Bonabeau model, showing body weight effects on the winning rate. Results show that the population mean of body weight decreases under the condition of specific memory enhancement that places more emphasis on losing than winning. Furthermore, hierarchical effects in foraging efficiency increase the ensemble variance.

  SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN, 2009, DISTRIBUTED AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC SYSTEMS 8, 97 - +, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Modeling of Self-organized Competition Hierarchy with Body Weight Development in Larval Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Shiro Yano, Yusuke Ikemoto, Hitoshi Aonuma, Takashi Nagao, Hajime Asama

  Larval crickets develop a big body and high aggressiveness under isolated conditions, but develop a small body and low aggression under crowded conditions. Furthermore, their ensemble variance increases. It is known that the heavier cricket tends to win. Therefore, the two growth processes affect competition. We constructed a mathematical model for intraspecific competition based on the Bonabeau model, showing body weight effects on the winning rate. Results show that the population mean of body weight decreases under the condition of specific memory enhancement that places more emphasis on losing than winning. Furthermore, hierarchical effects in foraging efficiency increase the ensemble variance.

  SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN, 2009, DISTRIBUTED AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC SYSTEMS 8, 97 - +, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Establishment of social status without individual discrimination in the cricket

  Ashikaga, M., Sakura, M., Kikuchi, M., Hiraguchi, T., Chiba, R., Aonuma, H., Ota, J.

  Agonistic behavior in crickets was investigated to understand socially adaptive behavior, which assists with the understanding of the design of an artificial autonomous system in a social organization. Agonistic behavior between male crickets is released by the perception of cuticular substances of conspecific males. The degree of aggressiveness in crickets escalates from antennal fencing to tactical contact until one male quits fighting, at which time social status is established. The question of whether crickets are able to recognize one another to establish social status in an agonist interaction is worthy of pursuit. However, it would be difficult to conduct an experiment to explore this issue while using many individuals. Hence, we examined the social organization among male crickets using a two-step approach: (i) an experiment involving a simulated cricket behavior model and (ii) an experiment involving a behavior experiment using real animals. Our results suggest that crickets establish social status without recognition of their opponents. (c) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden and The Robotics Society of Japan, 2009

  VSP BV, 2009, Advanced Robotics, 23(5) (5), 563 - 578, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Biochemical analysis of aggressive behavior-inducing components of the cuticular substances in the male cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Madoka Yamazaki, Midori Sakura, Hitoshi Aonuma, Toshiharu Akino, Ryohei Yamaoka

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Dec. 2008, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 151(4) (4), 453 - 453, English

  [Refereed]


• Locomotion patterns of honeybee in the hive

  Ryuichi Okada, Hidetoshi Ikeno, Toshifumi Kimura, Mizue Ohashi, Hitoshi Aonuma, Etsuro Ito

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Dec. 2008, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 151(4) (4), 456 - 456, English

  [Refereed]


• Modeling a Behavior Selection Mechanism of Insects via Structural Transition of Oscillator Networks

  Tetsuro Funato, Masahito Nara, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Hitoshi Aonuma, Masatoshi Ashikaga

  Sep. 2008, Mobiligence workship in IROS2008, 11, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Switching mechanism of sensor-motor coordination through an oscillator network model

  Tetsuro Funato, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Masahito Nara, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Insects have small brains, but their behavior is highly adaptive; this leads us to conclude that their brains possess a simple adaptation mechanism. This paper focuses on the pheromone processing of crickets, varying their aggression depending on their global neural connection, and proposes a behavior selection mechanism that can be controlled by network transformation. The controller is composed of an oscillator network, and its behavior is decided by the synchrony of organic oscillations. Furthermore, every network component corresponds to a certain brain module. A model is realized by using an analog circuit, and it is applied to a simple robot that displays the behavior of a real insect.

  IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC, Jun. 2008, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS MAN AND CYBERNETICS PART B-CYBERNETICS, 38(3) (3), 764 - 770, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Cholinergic neurotransmission from mechanosensory afferents to giant interneurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Yono, O., Aonuma, H.

  Crickets respond to air currents with quick avoidance behavior. The terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG) has a neuronal circuit for a wind-detection system to elicit this behavior. We investigated neuronal transmission from cercal sensory afferent neurons to ascending giant interneurons (GIs). Pharmacological treatment with 500 mu M acetylcholine (ACh) increased neuronal activities of ascending interneurons with cell bodies located in the TAG. The effects of ACh antagonists on the activities of identified GIs were examined. The muscarinic ACh antagonist atropine at 3-mM concentration had no obvious effect on the activities of GIs 10-3, 10-2, or 9-3. On the other hand, a 3-mM concentration of the nicotinic ACh antagonist mecamylamine decreased spike firing of these interneurons. Immunohistochemistry using a polyclonal anti-conjugated acetylcholine antibody revealed the distribution of cholinergic neurons in the TAG. The cercal sensory afferent neurons running through the cercal nerve root showed cholinergic immunoreactivity, and the cholinergic immunoreactive region in the neuropil overlapped with the terminal arborizations of the cercal sensory afferent neurons. Cell bodies in the median region of the TAG also showed cholinergic immunoreactivity. This indicates that not only sensory afferent neurons but also other neurons that have cell bodies in the TAG could use ACh as a neurotransmitter.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2008, Zoological Science, 25(5) (5), 517 - 525, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Soldier-specific modification of the mandibular motor neurons in termites

  Ishikawa, Y., Aonuma, H., Miura, T.

  Social insects exhibit a variety of caste-specific behavioral tendencies that constitute the basis of division of labor within the colony. In termites, the soldier caste display distinctive defense behaviors, such as aggressively attacking enemies with well-developed mandibles, while the other castes retreat into the colony without exhibiting any aggressive response. It is thus likely that some form of soldier-specific neuronal modification exists in termites. In this study, the authors compared the brain (cerebral ganglion) and the suboesophageal ganglion (SOG) of soldiers and pseudergates (workers) in the damp-wood termite, Hodotermopsis sjostedti. The size of the SOG was significantly larger in soldiers than in pseudergates, but no difference in brain size was apparent between castes. Furthermore, mandibular nerves were thicker in soldiers than in pseudergates. Retrograde staining revealed that the somata sizes of the mandibular motor neurons (MdMNs) in soldiers were more than twice as large as those of pseudergates. The enlargement of MdMNs was also observed in individuals treated with a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA), indicating that MdMNs become enlarged in response to juvenile hormone (JH) action during soldier differentiation. This enlargement is likely to have two functions: a behavioral function in which soldier termites will be able to defend more effectively through relatively faster and stronger mandibular movements, and a developmental function that associates with the development of soldier-specific mandibular muscle morphogenesis in termite head. The soldier-specific enlargement of mandibular motor neurons was observed in all examined species in five termite families that have different mechanisms of defense, suggesting that such neuronal modification was already present in the common ancestor of termites and is significant for soldier function.

  PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2008, PLoS ONE, 3(7) (7), e2617 - 8, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Development of invertebrate brain platform: Management of research resources for invertebrate neuroscience and neuroethology

  Ikeno, H., Kanzaki, R., Aonuma, H., Takahata, M., Mizunami, M., Yasuyama, K., Matsui, N., Yokohari, F., Usui, S.

  Various kinds of analysis and mathematical models based on neuroscience are developing in the neural network study. In the research, experimental data and knowledge so far obtained are essential resources to deepen their consideration of neuronal systems and functions. In order to utilize the accumulation of expertise and research effectively, it is important to integrate various resources, such as bibliography and experimental data. The managing and sharing of research resources are absolutely imperative for future development in both experimental and analytical studies. Various scientific fields need a new method to obtain precise information, because the amount of experimental data and publications has increased rapidly due to innovations in measurement, computers and network technologies. Under this situation, an effective resource-managing based on CMS (Content Management System) is introduced here for the laboratory use. We are providing functional modules to manage research resources for neuroinfomatics. As a practical use of these modules, a database system for managing image data of invertebrate neurons measured by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) is developed. Furthermore, these modules are implemented for management of contents in the Invertebrate Brain Platform.

  Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2008, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 4985 LNCS(PART 2) (PART 2), 905 - +, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate signaling in the local circuit of the cricket abdominal nervous system

  Aonuma, H., Kitamura, Y., Niwa, K., Ogawa, H., Oka, K.

  The distribution of potential nitric oxide (NO) donor neurons and NO-responsive target neurons was revealed in the terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG) of the cricket. The expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the nervous system was examined by Western blotting using universal nitric oxide synthase (uNOS) antibody that gave about a 130 kDa protein band. Immunohistochemistry using the uNOS antibody detected neurons whose cell bodies are located at the lateral region of the TAG. These neurons expanded their neuronal branches into the dorsal-median region or the dorsal-lateral region of the TAG. NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry was performed to confirm the distribution of NOS-containing neurons. The distributions of cell bodies and stained neuronal branches were similar to those revealed by uNOS immunohistochemistry. NO-induced cGMP immunohistochemistry was performed to reveal NO-responsive target neurons. Most of the cell bodies stained by immunohistochemistry appeared at the dorsal side of the TAG. At the dorsal-median region, some unpaired neuronal cell bodies were strongly stained. Some efferent neurons whose axon innervate into each nerve root were strongly stained. The generation of NO in the TAG was detected by NO electrode. We found that NO is generally produced to maintain a basal concentration of 70 nM. Hemoglobin scavenged released NO from the ganglion. The concentration of NO was partly recovered when hemoglobin was replaced by normal saline. Application of 10 mu M L-arginine that is a substrate of NOS increased NO release by approximately 10 nM. Furthermore, an excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) also increased NO generation by approximately 40-50 nM in concentration in addition to the basal level of 70 nM. Optical imaging with fluorescent NO-indicator demonstrated that ACh-induced enhancement of NO release was transiently observed in the outer-edge region of TAG, where cell bodies of NOS-immunoreactive neurons were located. These results suggest that ACh accelerates NO production via neuronal events activated by ACh in the TAG. (C) 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2008, Neuroscience, 157(4) (4), 749 - 761, English

  Scientific journal


• The compartment structures of the antennal lobe in the ant, Aphaenogaster smythiesi japonica

  Sakura, M., Hiraguchi, T., Ohkawara, K., Aonuma, H.

  Pheromones are important cues for social insects such as ants. As a first step in elucidation of pheromonal information processing mechanisms in the myrmicine ant, we investigated the morphological structure of the antennal lobe. Using autoflourescence imaging, labeling of neuronal filamentous actin, and reduced silver impregnation staining, the antennal lobe was found to consist of five compartments that, each received input from a different antennal sensory tract. Two major tracts of projection neurons, the medial and lateral antenno-cerebral tract (m- and l-ACT), originated from a different region of the antennal lobe. The in-ACT originated from the posterior part of the antennal lobe whereas the I-ACT originated from the anterior part. These results demonstrate a spatial segregation of function within the antennal lobe.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO, 2008, Acta Biologica Hungarica, 59(SUPPL.) (SUPPL.), 183 - 187, English

  Scientific journal


• The dance of the honeybee: How do honeybees dance to transfer food information effectively?

  Okada, R., Ikeno, H., Sasayama, N., Aonuma, H., Kurabayashi, D., Ito, E.

  A honeybee informs her nestmates of the location of a flower she has visited by a unique behavior called a "waggle dance." On a vertical comb, the direction of the waggle run relative to gravity indicates the direction to the food source relative to the sun in the field, and the duration of the waggle run indicates the distance to the food source. To determine the detailed biological features of the waggle dance, we observed worker honeybee behavior in the field. Video analysis showed that the bee does not dance in a single or random place in the hive but waggled several times in one place and then several times in another. It also showed that the information of the waggle dance contains a substantial margin of error. Angle and duration of waggle runs varied from run to run, with the range of +/- 15 degrees and +/- 15%, respectively, even in a series of waggle dances of a single individual. We also found that most dance followers that listen to the waggle (lance left the dancer after one or two sessions of listening.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO, 2008, Acta Biologica Hungarica, 59(SUPPL.) (SUPPL.), 157 - 162, English

  Scientific journal


• Biological insights into robotics: Honeybee foraging behavior by a waggle dance

  Okada, R., Ikeno, H., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  A honeybee informs her nestmates of flower locations by a unique behavior called a 'waggle dance'. We regard this behavior as a good model of the 'propagation and sharing of knowledge' to maintain a society. We have attempted to reveal how this dance benefits the colony using mathematical models and computer simulation based on parameters obtained from observations of bee behavior. Our simulation indicated that the most successful forages were made by a putative bee colony that used the dance to communicate. Video analysis of worker honeybee behavior in the field showed that a bee does not dance in a single, random place in the hive, but waggles several times in one place and several times in another. The orientation and duration of waggle runs varied from run to run, within ranges of +/- 15 degrees and +/- 15%, respectively. We also found that most of the bees that listened to the waggle dance turned away from the dancer after listening to one or two runs. These data suggest that honeybees use the waggle dance as a method of communication, but that they must base their forages oil ambiguous information about the location of a food source. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden and The Robotics Society of Japan, 2008

  VSP BV, 2008, Advanced Robotics, 22(15) (15), 1665 - 1681, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Modeling of Socially Adaptive Behavior and Its Application : Lesson from Agonistic Behavior in the Cricket

  AONUMA Hitoshi, NAGAO Takashi, OTA Jun, KAWABATA Kuniaki, ASAMA Hajime

  Lead, 計測自動制御学会, Dec. 2007, 計測と制御 = Journal of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 46(12) (12), 903 - 909, Japanese

  [Refereed]


• Physiological roles of nitric oxide in the cricket terminal abdominal ganglion

  Hiroto Ogawa, Yoshichika Baba, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Yoshichiro Kitamura, Hitoshi Aonuma, Kotaro Oka

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Nov. 2007, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 148(3) (3), 348 - 348, English

  [Refereed]

  Research society


• A Neuromodulation Model for Adaptive Behavior Selection by the Cricket – Nitric Oxide (NO)/Cyclic Guanosine MonoPhosphate (cGMP) Cascade Model –

  Kuniaki Kawabata, Tomohisa Fujiki, Yusuke Ikemoto, Hitoshi Aonuma, Hajime Asama

  Physiological research has shown the importance of neuromodulators such as nitric oxide (NO) in the pheromone behavior such as fighting behavior in insects. We focused on modeling function of neuromodulator in fighting behavior of crickets, and to emerge adaptive behavior selection by synthetic approach. In this paper, we propose a model for adaptive behavior selection by nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) cascade based on the physiological knowledge, and discuss the result of computer simulation.

  Fuji Technology Press Ltd., Aug. 2007, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 19(4) (4), 388 - 394

  Scientific journal


• Serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the antennal sensory system of the brain in the carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus

  Eriko Tsuji, Hitoshi Aonuma, Fumio Yokohari, Michiko Nishikawa

  Social Hymenoptera such as ants or honeybees are known for their extensive behavioral repertories and plasticity. Neurons containing biogenic amines appear to play a major role in controlling behavioral plasticity in these insects. Here we describe the morphology of prominent serotonin-immunoreactive neurons of the antennal sensory system in the brain of an ant, Camponotus japonicus. Immunoreactive fibers were distributed throughout the brain and the subesophageal ganglion (SOG). The complete profile of a calycal input neuron was identified. The soma and dendritic elements are contralaterally located in the lateral protocerebrum. The neuron supplies varicose axon terminals in the lip regions of the calyces of the mushroom body, axon collaterals in the basal ring but not in the collar region, and other axon terminals ipsilaterally in the lateral protocerebrum. A giant neuron innervating the antennal lobe has varicose axon terminals in most of 300 glomeruli in the ventral region of the antennal lobe (AL) and a thick neurite that spans the entire SOG and continues towards the thoracic ganglia. However, neither a soma nor a dendritic element of this neuron was found in the brain or the SOG. A deutocerebral projection neuron has a soma in the lateral cell-body group of the AL, neuronal branches at most of the 12 glomeruli in the dorsocentral region of the ipsilateral AL, and varicose terminal arborizations in both hemispheres of the protocerebrum. Based on the present results, tentative subdivisions in neuropills related to the antennal sensory system of the ant brain are discussed.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Aug. 2007, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 24(8) (8), 836 - 849, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• NO/cGMP system and biogenic amine system in agonistic behavior in the cricket

  H. Aonuma

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Aug. 2007, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY, 148, S33 - S33, English


• Nitric oxide synthase in crayfish walking leg ganglia: Segmental differences in chemo-tactile centers argue against a generic role in sensory integration

  Ott, S.R., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L., Elphick, M.R.

  Nitric oxide (NO) is a diffusible signaling molecule with evolutionarily conserved roles in neural plasticity. Prominent expression of NO synthase (NOS) in the primary olfactory centers of mammals and insects lead to the notion of a special role for NO in olfaction. In insects, however, NOS is also strongly expressed in non-olfactory chemo-tactile centers of the thoracic nerve cord. The functional significance of this apparent association with various sensory centers is unclear, as is. the extent to which it occurs in other arthropods. We therefore investigated the expression of NOS in the pereopod ganglia of crayfish (Pacifastacus lenisculus and Procambarus clarkii). Conventional NADPH diaphorase (NADPHd) staining after formaldehyde fixation gave poor anatomic detail, whereas fixation in methanol/formalin (MF-NADPHd) resulted in Golgi-like staining, which was supported by immunohistochemistry using NOS antibodies that recognize a 135-kDa protein in crayfish. MF-NADPHd revealed an exceedingly dense innervation of the chemo-tactile centers. As in insects, this innervation was provided by a system of prominent intersegmental neurons. Superimposed on a putatively conserved architecture, however, were pronounced segmental differences. Strong expression occurred only in the anterior three pereopod ganglia, correlating with the presence of claws on pereopods one to three. These clawed pereopods, in addition to their role in locomotion, are crucially involved in feeding, where they serve both sensory and motor functions. Our findings indicate that strong expression of NOS is not a universal feature of primary sensory centers but instead may subserve a specific requirement for sensory plasticity that arises only in particular behavioral contexts.

  WILEY-LISS, 2007, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 501(3) (3), 381 - 399, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Gaseous neuromodulator-related genes expressed in the brain of honeybee Apis mellifera

  Watanabe, T., Kikuchi, M., Hatakeyama, D., Shiga, T., Yamamoto, T., Aonuma, H., Takahata, M., Suzuki, N., Ito, E.

  Nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and carbon monoxide (CO) are thought to act as gaseous neuromodulators in the brain across species. For example, in the brain of honeybee Apis mellifera, NO plays important roles in olfactory learning and discrimination, but the existence of H2S- and CO-mediated signaling pathways remains unknown. In the present study, we identified the genes of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS), and heme oxygenase (HO) from the honeybee brain. The honeybee brain contains at least one gene for each of NOS, CBS, and HO. The deduced proteins for NOS, CBS, and HO are thought to contain domains to generate NO, H2S, and CO, respectively, and to contain putative Ca2+/calmodulinbinding domains. On the other hand, the honeybee brain contains three subunits of sGC: sGC alpha 1, sGC beta 1, and sGC beta 3. Phylogenetic analysis of sGC revealed that Apis sGC alpha 1 and sGC beta 1 are closely related to NO- and CO-sensitive sGC subunits, whereas Apis sGC beta 3 is closely related to insect O-2-sensitive sGC subunits. In addition, we performed in situ hybridization for Apis NOS mRNA and NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in the honeybee brain. The NOS gene was strongly expressed in the optic lobes and in the Kenyon cells of the mushroom bodies. NOS activity was detected in the optic lobes, the mushroom bodies, the central body complex, the lateral protocerebral lobes, and the antennal lobes. These findings suggest that NO is involved in various brain functions and that H2S and CO can be endogenously produced in the honeybee brain. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 2007, Developmental Neurobiology, 67(4) (4), 456 - 473, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Localization of glutamate-like immunoreactive neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system of the adult and developing pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis

  Hatakeyama, D., Aonuma, H., Ito, E., Elekes, K.

  We investigated the distribution and projection patterns of central and peripheral glutamate-like immunoreactive (GLU-LIR) neurons in the adult and developing nervous system of Lymnaea. Altogether, 50-60 GLU-LIR neurons are present in the adult central nervous system. GLU-LIR labeling is shown in the interganglionic bundle system and at the varicosities in neuropil of the central ganglia. In the periphery, the foot, lip, and tentacle contain numerous GLU-LIR bipolar sensory neurons. In the juvenile Lymnaea, GLU-LIR elements at the periphery display a pattern of distribution similar to that seen in adults, whereas labeled neurons increase in number in the different ganglia of the central nervous system from juvenile stage P1 up to adulthood. During embryogenesis, GLU-LIR innervation can be detected first at the 50% stage of embryonic development (the E50% stage) in the neuropil of the cerebral and pedal ganglia, followed by the emergence of labeled pedal nerve roots at the E75% stage. Before hatching, at the E90% stage, a few GLU-LIR sensory cells can be found in the caudal foot region. Our findings indicate a wide range of occurrence and a broad role for glutamate in the gastropod nervous system; hence they provide a basis for future studies on glutamatergic events in networks underlying different behaviors.

  MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, 2007, Biological Bulletin, 213(2) (2), 172 - 186, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Effects of NO/cGMP signaling on behavioral changes in subordinate male crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Iwasaki, M., Nishino, H., Delago, A., Aonuma, H.

  After a loss against an opponent, the aggressiveness of a male cricket is significantly reduced for up to 30 minutes. This depression of aggressiveness is an important factor in the establishment and maintenance of dominance between individuals. In the present study, we investigated the functional roles of nitric oxide (NO) signaling in the depression of aggressiveness in subordinate male crickets. Pairs of male crickets, pre-injected with various NO-related reagents, were allowed to establish dominant/subordinate relationships in dyadic encounters. Opponents were separated for 15 minutes and then paired again. In second encounters, subordinate crickets pre-injected with PTIO (NO scavenger) showed agonistic behavior towards former dominant opponents. A similar effect was observed in crickets pre-injected with L-NAME (NO synthase inhibitor) or ODQ (soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor). The effects of the latter two drugs were canceled by co-injection of NOR3 (NO donor) with L-NAME or by co-injection of 8-Br-cGMP (cGMP-analog) with ODQ. Injection of NOR3 alone prolonged the inhibition of agonistic behavior in subordinate crickets from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Our results suggest that the change in agonistic behavior observed in subordinate male crickets is closely linked to NO-mediated cGMP signaling.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2007, Zoological Science, 24(9) (9), 860 - 868, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Development of structure-mediated behaviour selector using oscillator network

  Tetsuro Funato, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Masahito Nara, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Insects have only a small brain but their behaviour is highly adaptive; this adaptive feature leads us to expect their brain to possess a simple adaptation mechanism. This research focuses attention on the phenomenon of crickets varying their aggression depending on their global neural connection, and proposes a behaviour selection mechanism controlled by network transformation. The controller is composed of an oscillator network and its behaviour is decided by synchrony based on organic oscillation. Furthermore, every network component corresponds to a certain brain module. A model is realised using an analog circuit and it is applied to a simple robot model that displays the behaviour of a real insect.

  IEEE, 2007, 2007 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND BIOMIMETICS, VOLS 1-5, 1206 - +, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Expression of NO-cGMP signaling in the olfactory center of the ant Aphaenogaster smythiesi japonica

  Midori Sakura, Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Kyohsuke Ohkawara, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Nov. 2006, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 145(3-4) (3-4), 419 - 419, English

  [Refereed]


• Development of oscillator network model for behavioral processing.

  Tetsuro Funato, Hitoshi Aonuma, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Masahito Nara

  Aug. 2006, 2nd International Workshop of Research Group of Invertebrate Nervous System, 8, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• Reactive oxygen species mediate shear stress-induced fluid-phase endocytosis in vascular endothelial cells

  Niwa, K., Sakai, J., Karino, T., Aonuma, H., Watanabe, T., Ohyama, T., Inanami, O., Kuwabara, M.

  To elucidate the role of shear stress in fluid-phase endocytosis of vascular endothelial cells (EC), we used a rotating-disk shearing apparatus to investigate the effects of shear stress on the uptake of lucifer yellow (LY) by cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells ( BAEC). Exposure of EC to shear stress (area-mean value of 10 dynes/cm(2)) caused an increase in LY uptake that was abrogated by the antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), the NADPH oxidase inhibitor, acetovanillone, and two inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), calphostin C and GF109203X. These results suggest that fluid-phase endocytosis is regulated by both reactive oxygen species (ROS) and PKC. Shear stress increased both ROS production and PKC activity in EC, and the increase in ROS was unaffected by calphostin C or GF109203X, whereas the activation of PKC was reduced by NAC and acetovanillone. We conclude that shear stress-induced increase in fluid-phase endocytosis is mediated via ROS generation followed by PKC activation in EC.

  TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2006, Free Radical Research, 40(2) (2), 167 - 174, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Critical role of nitric oxide-cGMP cascade in the formation of cAMP-dependent long-term memory

  Matsumoto, Y., Unoki, S., Aonuma, H., Mizunami, M.

  Cyclic AMP pathway plays ail essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. Here we describe a new role of the NO-cGMP pathway, namely, stimulation of the cAMP pathway to induce LTM. We have studied the signaling cascade Underlying LTM formation by systematically coinjecting various "LTM-inducing" and "LTM-blocking" drugs in crickets. Multiple-trial olfactory conditioning led to LTM that lasted for several days, while memory induced by single-trial conditioning decayed away within several hours. Injection of inhibitors of the enzyme forming NO, cGMP, or cAMP into the hemolymph prior to multiple-trial conditioning blocked LTM, whereas injection of ail NO donor, cGMP analog, or cAMP analog prior to single-trial conditioning induced LTM. Induction of LTM by injection of an NO donor or cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning was blocked by inhibitors of the cAMP pathway, but induction of LTM by a cAMP analog was unaffected by inhibitors of the NO-cGMP pathway. Inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNG channel) or calmodulin-blocked induction of LTM by cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning, but they did not affect induction of LTM by cAMP analog. Our findings suggest that the cAMP pathway is a downstream target of the NO-cGMP pathway for the formation of LTM, and that the CNG channel and calcium-calmodulin intervene between the NO-cGMP pathway and the cAMP pathway.

  COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS, PUBLICATIONS DEPT, 2006, Learning and Memory, 13(1) (1), 35 - 44, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• De novo synthesis of CREB in a presynaptic neuron is required for synaptic enhancement involved in memory consolidation

  Wagatsuma, A., Azami, S., Sakura, M., Hatakeyama, D., Aonuma, H., Ito, E.

  Interaction between the activator type of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB1) and the repressor type (CREB2) results in determining the emergence of long-lasting synaptic enhancement involved in memory consolidation. However, we still do not know whether the constitutively expressed forms of CREB are enough or the newly synthesized forms are required for the synaptic enhancement. In addition, if the newly synthesized forms are needed, we must determine the time for translation of CREB from its mRNA. We applied the methods of RNA interference and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to CREB in the cerebral giant cells of Lymnaea. The cerebral giant cells play an important role in associative learning and employ a CREB cascade for the synaptic enhancement to neurons such as the B1 moto-neurons. We injected the small interfering RNA (siRNA) of CREB1 or CREB2 into the cerebral giant cells and examined the changes in amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) recorded in the B1 motoneurons. The changes in the amounts of CREB1 and CREB2 mRNAs were also examined in the cerebral giant cells. The EPSP amplitude was suppressed 15 min after injection of CREB1 siRNA, whereas that was augmented 60 min after injection of CREB2 siRNA. In the latter case, the decrease in the amount of CREB2 mRNA was confirmed by real-time PCR. Our results showed that the de novo synthesized forms of CREB are required within tens of minutes for the synaptic enhancement in memory consolidation. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 2006, Journal of Neuroscience Research, 84(5) (5), 954 - 960, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Experience-based agonistic behavior in female crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Delago, A., Aonuma, H.

  Fighting behavior in male crickets is already well described, and some of the mechanisms underlying aggression and aggressive motivation have already been revealed. Much less is known about female/female interactions. Here, we report that adult female crickets that had been isolated for several days readily entered into agonistic interactions with conspecific individuals. Characteristic dyadic encounters between isolated females escalated in a stepwise manner and were concluded with the establishment of a dominant/subordinate relationship. For 15 to 30 minutes following an initial fight, former subordinate females showed a dramatic change in agonistic behavior. If they were paired with the former dominant opponent during this interval, a significant majority did not enter into any aggressive interaction but instead actively avoided the opponent. A similar experience-based and time-dependent increase in avoidance was observed when former subordinate females were paired with unfamiliar naive opponents. However, when faced with an unfamiliar subordinate individual in the second encounter, no such increase in avoidance behavior was observed. We propose that the observed changes in the behavior of former subordinate females are the consequence of a change in the general state of arousal and of the recognition of dominance status, but not of individual recognition. The fact that former dominant individuals did not show similar experience-based changes in agonistic behavior suggests that dominant/subordinate relationships between pairs of female crickets are maintained mainly by the behavior of subordinate individuals.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2006, Zoological Science, 23(9) (9), 775 - 783, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Effects of previous experience on the agonistic behaviour of male crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Iwasaki, M., Delago, A., Nishino, H., Aonuma, H.

  Male solitary animals frequently enter aggressive interactions with conspecific individuals to protect their territory or to gain access to females. After an agonistic encounter, the loser (subordinate individual) changes its behaviour from aggression to avoidance. We investigated agonistic interactions between pairs of male crickets to understand how dominance is established and maintained. Two naive males readily entered into agonistic interactions. Fights escalated in a stereotyped manner and were concluded with the establishment of dominance. If individuals were isolated after the first encounter and placed together 15 minutes later, subordinate crickets tended to avoid any further contact with the former dominant opponent. Moreover, subordinate males also avoided unfamiliar dominant and naive opponents. They displayed aggressive behaviour only towards unfamiliar subordinate opponents. This suggests that the subordinate male change their behaviour depending on the dominance status of the opponent. Dominant crickets, in contrast, displayed aggressive behaviour towards familiar as well as unfamiliar opponents. If the interval between the first and second encounter was longer than 30 minutes, the former subordinate male showed aggressive behaviour again. However, if the subordinate cricket was paired with the same opponent three consecutive times within 45 minutes, it avoided the former dominant opponent for up to 6 hours following the third encounter. Our results suggest that the maintenance of dominance in male crickets depends largely on the behavioural change of subordinate individuals. Possible mechanisms to maintain dominance are discussed.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2006, Zoological Science, 23(10) (10), 863 - 872, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• 移動知:能動的な移動機能がもたらす創発的知能 昆虫に見る行動の動的選択機構

  青沼仁志

  公益社団法人 計測自動制御学会, Sep. 2005, 計測と制御, 44(9) (9), 621 - 627, Japanese


• How Do Insects Elicit Adaptive Behavior Under Unsettled Environment?

  AONUMA Hitoshi

  一般社団法人 日本ロボット学会, Jan. 2005, Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, 23(1) (1), 6 - 10, Japanese


• Pheromone processing center in the protocerebrum of Bombyx mori revealed by nitric oxide-induced anti-cGMP immunocytochemistry

  Seki, Y., Aonuma, H., Kanzaki, R.

  The antennal lobe (AL) of the male silkworm moth Bombyx mori contains 60 +/- 2 ventrally located antennal glomeruli and a dorsal macroglomerular complex (MGC) consisting of three subdivisions. The response patterns of MGC projection neurons (PNs) to pheromonal stimuli correlate with their dendritic arborization in the subdivisions of the MGC. However, the representation of this pheromonal information in the lateral protocerebrum. (LPC), which is the target site of the AL PNs, is not well known. We performed nitric oxide (NO)-induced anti-cGMP immunohistochemistry and found that the PNs which respond to the major pheromone component (bombykol) express strong immunoreactivity. They project to a specific area, the delta area in the inferior lateral protocerebrum (DeltaILPC), which clearly represents the processing center for the major pheromone component. Furthermore, to examine the projection sites in the LPC from each subdivision of the MGC, we performed double-labeling of each type of MGC-PNs, combined with NO-induced anti-cGMP immunohistochemistry. We revealed that projections from each subdivision of the MGC overlapped or separated in specific regions of the DeltaILPC. These results suggest that integration and segregation of pheromone information may occur in the DeltaILPC. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 2005, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 481(4) (4), 340 - 351, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Discrimination of conspecific individuals via cuticular pheromones by males of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Nagamoto, J., Aonuma, H., Hisada, M.

  Cuticular substances on the body surface of crickets serve as pheromones that elicit a variety of different behaviors in male crickets. Antennal contact between males and females resulted in courtship behavior, and that between two males resulted in aggressive displays. As a first step in elucidating how crickets recognize and discriminate individuals, behavioral responses of male individuals to cuticular substances of conspecific males or females were investigated. The behavioral responses of males to antennal or palpal stimulation with an isolated antenna from a male or a female were recorded. To both antennal and palpal stimulation with female antennae, the majority of males responded with courtship behavior; to stimulation with male antennae, males responded with aggressive displays. To gain insight into the chemical nature of the behaviorally relevant components, isolated antennae were washed in either n-hexane, acetone or ethanol before behavior assays. Washed antennae no longer elicited courtship or aggressive responses in males. Next, polypropylene fibers were smeared with substances from the body surface of females and used for antennal stimulation. This experiment showed that the quality and quantity of cuticular substances appear to be highly age-dependent. Significantly more males responded with courtship behavior to cuticular substances from younger females. Isolated males generally showed higher levels of aggression than males reared in groups. Grouped males also were more likely to display courtship behavior towards antennae from younger females, and aggressive behavior towards antennae from older females. These results suggest that male discrimination of mating partners depends on the nature of female cuticular substances.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2005, Zoological Science, 22(10) (10), 1079 - 1088, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Pheromone processing center in the protocerebrum of Bombyx mori, J. Comp. Neurol., 481 : 340-351 (2005)*

  2005, J. Comp. Neurol., 481, 340 - 351


• Effects of nitric oxide on proprioceptive signaling

  H Schuppe, M Araki, H Aonuma, T Nagayama, PL Newland

  We have analysed the effects of the neuromodulator nitric oxide (NO) on proprioceptive information processing by ascending intersegmental interneurons that form part of the local circuits within the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish. NO modulates the synaptic inputs to ascending interneurons, enhancing the amplitude of class I interneurons and reducing the amplitude of class 11 interneurons. Repetitive proprioceptive stimulation leads to rapid depression in a specific set of identified interneurons but not in others. Bath application of a nitric oxide scavenger, PTIO, causes a significant decrease in the rate of depression of the interneurons showing a rapid depression, independent of interneuron class, but has no effect on the dynamic responses of the interneurons that show little initial depression. These results indicate that NO exerts multiple effects at the very first stage of synaptic integration in local circuits.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Jan. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(1) (1), 1 - 5, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• CREB in the Pond Snail Lymnaea stagnalis: Cloning, Gene Expression and Function in Identifiable Neurons of the Central Nervous System

  Sadamoto, H., Sato, H., Kobayashi, S., Murakami, J., Aonuma, H., Ando, H., Fujito, Y., Hamano, K., Awaji, M., Lukowiak, K., Urano, A., Ito, E.

  The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is an excellent model system in which to study the neuronal and molecular substrates of associative learning and its consolidation into long-term memory. Until now, the presence of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-responsive element binding protein (CREB), which is believed to be a necessary component in the process of a learned behavior that is consolidated into long-term memory, has only been assumed in Lymnaea neurons. We therefore cloned and analyzed the cDNA sequences of homologues of CREB1 and CREB2 and determined the presence of these mRNAs in identifiable neurons of the central nervous system (CNS) of L stagnalis. The deduced amino acid sequence of Lymnaea CREB1 is homologous to transcriptional activators, mammalian CREB1 and Aplysia CREB1a, in the C-terminal DNA binding (bZIP) and phosphorylation domains, whereas the deduced amino acid sequence of Lymnaea CREB2 is homologous to transcriptional repressors, human CREB2, mouse activating transcription factor-4, and Aplysia CREB2 in the bZIP domain. In situ hybridization revealed that only a relatively few neurons showed strongly positive signals for Lymnaea CREB1 mRNA, whereas all the neurons in the CNS contained Lymnaea CREB2 mRNA. Using one of the neurons (the cerebral giant cell) containing Lymnaea CREB1 mRNA, we showed that the injection of a CRE oligonucleotide inhibited a cAMP-induced, long-lasting synaptic plasticity. We therefore conclude that CREBs are present in Lymnaea neurons and may function as necessary players in behavioral plasticity. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 2004, Journal of Neurobiology, 58(4) (4), 455 - 466, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Distribution of glutamatergic immunoreactive neurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  Nagayama, T., Kimura, K.-I., Araki, M., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Using an antiserum directed against glutamate, we have analyzed the distribution of glutamate-like immunoreactive neurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii. Approximately 160 central neurons (157 +/- 8; mean +/- SEM, n = 8) showed positive glutamate-like immunoreactivity, which represents approximately 25% of the total number of neurons in the terminal ganglion. Using a combination of intracellular staining with the marker Lucifer yellow and immunocytochemical staining has shown that most excitatory motor neurons are glutamatergic and that glutamate acts as an excitatory transmitter at peripheral neuromuscular junctions. Seven of 10 identified spiking local interneurons and only 2 of 19 identified ascending interneurons, showed positive immunoreactivity. Our observation that inhibitory spiking interneurons were immunopositive, whereas excitatory ascending interneurons were immunonegative, indicates that glutamate is likely to act as an inhibitory neurotransmitter within the central nervous system. Local pressure injection of L-glutamate into the neuropil of the ganglion caused a hyperpolarization of the membrane potentials of many interneurons. gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic posterolateral nonspiking interneurons and the bilateral nonspiking interneuron LDS showed no glutamate-like immunoreactivity, whereas non-GABAergic anterolateral III nonspiking interneurons showed glutamate-like immunoreactivity. Thus, not only GABA but also glutamate are used in parallel as inhibitory neurotransmitters at central synapses. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 2004, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 474(1) (1), 123 - 135, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Nitric oxide regulates the levels of cgmp accumulation in the cricket brain

  Aonuma, H., Niwa, K.

  Cricket brains were incubated in a saline containing nitric oxide (NO)-donor and phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX, which could activate soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to increase cGMP levels in the targets of NO. The increase of cGMP was detected by immunohistochemistry and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. NO-induced cGMP immunohistochemistry revealed that many cell bodies of cricket brain showed cGMP immunoreactivity when preparations were treated with a saline containing 10 mM NO-donor SNP and phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX, but only a few cell bodies showed immunoreactivity when preparations were incubated without NO-donor. The concentration of cGMP in cricket brains were then measured by using cGMP-specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Cricket brains were treated with a saline containing 1 muM of NO-donor NOR3 and I mM IBMX. The cGMP levels in the brain were increased about 75% compared to control preparations that was treated with a cricket saline containing IBMX The level of cGMP decreased about 40% when preparations were incubated NOR3 saline containing sGC inhibitor ODQ. These results indicate that NO activates sGC and increases the levels of cGMP in particular neurons of the cricket brain and that the level of cGMP would be kept a particular level, which might regulate synaptic efficacy in the neurotransmission.

  AKADEMIAI KIADO, 2004, Acta Biologica Hungarica, 55(1-4) (1-4), 65 - 70, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Effects of nitric oxide on proprioceptive signaling

  Schuppe, H., Araki, M., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T., Newland, P.L.

  We have analysed the effects of the neuromodulator nitric oxide (NO) on proprioceptive information processing by ascending intersegmental interneurons that form part of the local circuits within the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish. NO modulates the synaptic inputs to ascending interneurons, enhancing the amplitude of class I interneurons and reducing the amplitude of class 11 interneurons. Repetitive proprioceptive stimulation leads to rapid depression in a specific set of identified interneurons but not in others. Bath application of a nitric oxide scavenger, PTIO, causes a significant decrease in the rate of depression of the interneurons showing a rapid depression, independent of interneuron class, but has no effect on the dynamic responses of the interneurons that show little initial depression. These results indicate that NO exerts multiple effects at the very first stage of synaptic integration in local circuits.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2004, Zoological Science, 21(1) (1), 1 - 5, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Role of NO signaling in switching mechanisms in the nervous system of insect

  H Aonuma, M Iwasaki, K Niwa

  Neuronal mechanism of the formation of cricket hierarchy can be a model system to investigate how animals evoke adaptive behavior, because crickets change behavior after fighting experience. This study demonstrates that NO signaling regulates adaptive behavior that is dependent on memory in insects. The results indicate that NO signaling must be an important factor of switching mechanism in the central nervous systems to evoke adaptive behaviors.

  SOC INSTRUMENT CONTROL ENGINEERS JAPAN, 2004, SICE 2004 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, VOLS 1-3, 2477 - 2482, English

  [Refereed]

  International conference proceedings


• The nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in the olfactory processing system of the terrestrial slug Limax marginatus

  Fujie, S., Aonuma, H., Ito, I., Gelperin, A., Ito, E.

  To examine the distribution of nitric oxide (NO)-generative cells and NO-responsive cells in the tentacles and procerebral lobes (olfactory processing center) of terrestrial slugs, we applied NADPH diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry and NO-induced cyclic GMP (cGMP)-like immunohistochemistry. We found that NADPH-d reactive cells/fibers and cGMP-like immunoreactive cells/fibers were different, but they were localized adjacent to each other, in both the tentacles and the procerebral lobes. Then, we measured the concentration of NO that was generated around the procerebral lobes using an NO sensitive electrode, when the olfactory nerve was electrically stimulated as a replacement for an odorant stimulus. Stimulation of the olfactory nerve evoked an increase in NO concentration at nanomolar levels, suggesting that binding of nanomolar concentrations of NO to the prosthetic heme group activates soluble guanylyl cyclase. Taken together with previously reported physiological data, our results, therefore, showed that the NO/cGMP pathways are involved in slug olfactory processing.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2002, Zoological Science, 19(1) (1), 15 - 26, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Synaptic inputs onto spiking local interneurons in crayfish are depressed by nitric oxide

  Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  We have analyzed the action of nitric oxide on the synaptic inputs of spiking local interneurons that form part of the local circuits in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus. Increasing the availability of NO in the ganglion by bath applying the NO donor SNAP, or the substrate for its synthesis, L-arginine, caused a depression of synaptic inputs onto the interneurons evoked by electrically stimulating mechanosensory neurons in nerve 2 of the terminal ganglion. Conversely, reducing the availability of NO by bath application of an NO scavenger, PTIO, and an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, L-NAME, increased the amplitude of the evoked potentials. These results suggest that elevated NO concentration causes a depression of the synaptic inputs to spiking local interneurons. To determine whether these effects could be mediated through an NO/cGMP signaling pathway we bath applied a membrane permeable analogue of cGMP, 8-br-cGMP, which decreased the amplitude of the inputs to the interneurons. Bath application of an inhibitor of soluble guanlylyl cyclase, ODQ, produced an increase in the amplitude of the synaptic inputs. Our results suggest that NO causes a depression of synaptic inputs to spiking local interneurons probably by acting through an NO/cGMP signaling pathway. Moreover, application of NO scavengers modulates the inputs to these interneurons, suggesting that NO is continuously providing a powerful and dynamic means of modulating the outputs of local circuits. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.

  JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 2002, Journal of Neurobiology, 52(2) (2), 144 - 155, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Distribution of NO-induced cGMP-like immunoreactive neurones in the abdominal nervous system of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii

  Aonuma, H.

  Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signalling molecule by activating soluble guanylate cyclase and causing accumulation of the second messenger cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) in target cells. In order to detect the presence of NO-cGMP signalling pathway in the crayfish abdominal nervous system, accumulation of NO-induced cGMP was investigated by anti-cGMP immunochemistry. Some preparations were incubated in a high-K+ saline containing an inhibitor of cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase, 3-isobutyl-1-methyxanthine (IBMX), to activate NO generating neurones, which could release NO in the ganglion, and then immunohistochemistry using an anti-cGMP antibody was performed. The other preparations were incubated in NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNIP) saline containing IBMX before anti-cGMP immunohistochemistry was performed. The distribution of cGMP-like immunoreactive neurones in high-K+ treated preparations was similar to that of cGMP-like immunoreactive neurones in NO donor treated preparations. About 70-80 cell bodies and many neuronal branches in the neuropilar area of the ganglion were stained, although no neurones showed immunoreactivity unless preparations were activated by either high-K+ or the NO donor. Some of them were identical neurones, and they were intersegmental ascending interneurones and motor neurones. Sensory afferents that innervates hind gut showed strong cGMP-like immunoreactivity, although no mechanosensory afferents showed any immunoreactivity. These results strongly suggest the presence of an NO-cGMP signalling pathway that regulates neuronal events in the abdominal nervous system of the crayfish.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2002, Zoological Science, 19(9) (9), 969 - 979, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Opposing actions of nitric oxide on synaptic inputs of identified interneurones in the central nervous system of the crayfish

  Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Little is known of the action of nitric oxide (NO) at the synaptic level on identified interneurones in local circuits that process mechanosensory signals. Here, we examine the action of NO in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus, where it has modulatory effects on the synaptic inputs of 17 identified ascending interneurones mediated by electrical stimulation of a sensory nerve. To analyse the role of NO in the processing of sensory signals, we bath-applied the NO donor SNAP, the NO scavenger PTIO, the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME, the NOS substrate L-arginine, a cyclic GMP (cGMP) analogue, 8-Br-cGMP, and the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) inhibitor ODQ. The effects of these chemicals on the synaptic inputs of the interneurones could be divided into two distinct classes. The NO donor SNAP enhanced the inputs to one class of interneurone (class 1) and depressed those to another (class 2). Neither the inactive isomer NAP nor degassed SNAP had any effect on the inputs to these same classes of interneurone, The NO scavenger PTIO caused the opposite effects to those of the NO donor SNAP, indicating that endogenous NO may have an action in local circuits. Preventing the synthesis of NO using L-NAME had the opposite effect to that of SNAP an each response class of interneurone, Increasing the synthesis of endogenous NO by applying L-arginine Led to effects on both response classes of interneurone similar to those of SNAP, Taken together, these results suggested that NO was the active component in mediating the changes in amplitude of the excitatory postsynaptic potentials. Finally, the effects of 8-Br-cGMP were similar to those of the NO donor, indicating the possible involvement of a NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase, This was confirmed by preventing the synthesis of cGMP by sGC using ODQ, which caused the opposite effects to those of 8-Br-cGMP on the two response classes of interneurone, The results indicate that a NO-cGMP signal transduction pathway, in which NO regulates transmitter release from mechanosensory afferents onto intersegmental ascending interneurones, is probably present in the local circuits of the crayfish.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2001, Journal of Experimental Biology, 204(7) (7), 1319 - 1332, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  Schuppe, H., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Nitric oxide (NO) has an important modulatory role on the processing of sensory signals in vertebrates and invertebrates. In this investigation we studied the potential sources of NO in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, using NADPH-diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry, with NADPHd acting as a marker for NO synthase (NOS). In the terminal ganglion a mean of 27 strongly labelled NADPHd-positive cell bodies were found, and of these 8% occurred in three regions located in antero-lateral, central and posterior parts of the ganglion. Ventral and antero-ventral commissures as well as specific dorsal and ventral areas of the dendritic neuropil showed positive staining. Intense labelling was seen in the ventro-medial tract, and in the connective between the terminal ganglion and the 5th abdominal ganglion. In addition, some motor neurones and neurones with branches in the sensory commissures were NADPHd positive. Our finding that NADPHd-positive cells occur in consistent patterns in the terminal abdominal ganglion implies that NO may have a role in mechanosensory processing in the crayfish.

  SPRINGER-VERLAG, 2001, Cell and Tissue Research, 303(2) (2), 289 - 299, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Distribution of NADPH-diaphorase-positive ascending interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion

  Schuppe, H., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Previous neuropharmacological studies have described the presence of a nitric oxide-cGMP signalling pathway in the crayfish abdominal nervous system. In this study we have analysed the distribution of putative nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-containing ascending interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion using NADPH-diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry. Ascending intersegmental interneurones were stained intra-cellularly using the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow and the ganglia containing the stained interneurones subsequently processed for NADPHd activity. Fluorescence persisted throughout histochemical processing. These double-labelling experiments showed that 12 of 18 identified ascending interneurones were NADPHd positive. Thus many ascending interneurones that process mechanosensory signals in the terminal ganglion may contain NOS, and are themselves likely sources of NO which is known to modulate their synaptic inputs. Three clear relationships emerged from our analysis between the effects of NO on the synaptic inputs of interneurones, their output properties and their staining for NADPH-diaphorase. First were class I interneurones with no local outputs in the terminal ganglion, the NE type interneurones, which had sensory inputs that were enhanced by NO and were NADPHd positive. Second were class I interneurones with local and intersegmental output effects that had sensory inputs that were also enhanced by NO but were NADPHd negative. Third were class 2 interneurones with local and intersegmental outputs that had synaptic inputs that were depressed by the action of NO but were NADPHd positive. These results suggest that NO could selectively enhance specific synaptic connections and sensory processing pathways in local circuits.

  SPRINGER, 2001, Cell and Tissue Research, 305(1) (1), 135 - 146, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Erratum: NADPH-Diaphorase histochemistry in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish (Cell and Tissue Research (2001) 303 (289-299))

  Schuppe, H., Aonuma, H., Newl, , P.L.

  2001, Cell and Tissue Research, 303(3) (3), 451 - 451

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• The role of proprioceptive signals in the crayfish escape circuit

  Newland, P.L., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T.

  A single proprioceptor in the tailfan of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard), innervated by only twelve sensory neurones encodes the position and the direction and velocity of movement of the exopodite relative to the endopodite. Most of the sensory neurones project to, and terminate in, the terminal abdominal ganglion where they form a map in which projection position is based on the velocity threshold of the sensory neurone. The sensory signals from this small proprioceptor have significant effects on the neuronal circuits mediating escape swimming and activate the lateral giant interneurone directly through monosynaptic connections and indirectly via a disynaptic pathway involving a number of interposed intersegmental interneurones. The lateral giant interneurones are activated through electrical synapses whereas the ascending interneurones in the disynaptic pathway are excited through both electrical and chemical synapses. The proprioceptive signals are also responsible for evoking widespread presynaptic inhibition of exteroceptive afferents that reduces the efficacy of their outputs. This pathway therefore reduces afference caused by water movement as a result of an animals own escape movements. Movements of the chordotonal organ also lead to a delayed input to giant motor neurone that is timed to occur during flexion movements of the abdomen. Thus not only do the proprioceptive signals activate the escape pathway leading to a tail-flip, but they also protect it from unwanted sensory input, and may also prevent depression of its neuromuscular synapses.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2000, Zoological Science, 17(9) (9), 1185 - 1195, English

  Scientific journal


• Modulatory effects of nitric oxide on synaptic depression in the crayfish neuromuscular system

  Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T., Takahata, M.

  A characteristic physiological property of the neuromuscular junction between giant motor neurones (MoGs) and fast flexor muscles in crayfish is synaptic depression, in which repetitive electrical stimulation of the MoG results in a progressive decrease in excitatory junction potential (EJP) amplitude in flexor muscle fibres, Previous studies have demonstrated that L-arginine (L-Arg) modulates neuromuscular transmission. Since L-Arg is a precursor of nitric oxide (NO), we examined the possibility that NO may be involved in modulating neuromuscular transmission from MoGs to abdominal fast flexor muscles, The effect of a NO-generating compound, NOC7, was similar to that of L-Arg, reversibly decreasing the EJP amplitude mediated by the MoG, While NOC7 reduced the amplitude of the EJP, it induced no significant change in synaptic depression. In contrast, a scavenger of free radical NO, carboxy-PTIO, and an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, L-NAME, reversibly increased the EJP amplitude mediated by MoGs, Synaptic depression mediated by repetitive stimulation of MoGs at 1 Hz was partially blocked by bath application of L-NAME. Bath application of a NO scavenger, a NOS inhibitor and NO-generating compounds had no significant effects on the depolarisation of the muscle fibres evoked by local application of L-glutamate, The opposing effects on EJP amplitude of NOC7 and of carboxy-PTIO and L-NAME suggest that endogenous NO presynaptically modulates neuromuscular transmission and that it could play a prominent role at nerve terminals in eliciting MoG-mediated synaptic depression in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 2000, Journal of Experimental Biology, 203(23) (23), 3595 - 3602, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Modulatory effects of amino acids on neuromuscular transmission on the crayfish fast flexor muscle

  Aonuma, H., Nagao, T., Nagayama, T., Takahata, M.

  The modulatory effects of amino acids on neuromuscular transmission from an identified giant motor neuron (MoG) and abdominal fast flexor muscles of the crayfish were examined using electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques. The distribution of amino acids in the cell body and axon of a single MoG was revealed using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Eight different amino acids-aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, arginine, glycine, taurine, alanaine and gamma-aminobutyric acid-were simultaneously detected in either the cell body or the axon of MoG. Aspartate, glutamate, alanine and arginine were present at relatively high concentration. Local pressure ejection of glutamate caused a depolarization of the abdominal fast flexor muscle fibers. On the other hand, aspartate, alanine and arginine had no clear effects on the same muscle fibers. Aspartate and arginine, however, had modulatory effects on neuromuscular transmission. Alanine had no significant effect on the neuromuscular transmission. Aspartate at a concentration of 200 mu M decreased the amplitude of EJPs in the fast flexor muscle mediated by stimulation of both the MoG and non-giant fast flexor motor neurons. Arginine at a concentration of 200 mu M reduced the EJP amplitude of the muscle fibers in response to MoG stimulation but enhanced the EJP amplitude of the same muscle fibers by stimulation of non-giant fast flexor motor neurons. Although rather high concentration (1 mM) were required, aspartate increased and arginine decreased the depolarization of the muscle fibers induced by local ejection of glutamate. The opposite effect of arginine on the fast flexor muscles in response to the stimulation of different motor neurons suggested its modulatory role in the different effects of these motor neurons (depression and facilitation) in the fast flexor muscles. J. Exp. Zool. 283:531-540, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 1999, Journal of Experimental Zoology, 283(6) (6), 531 - 540, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• GABAergic and non-GABAergic spiking interneurons of local and intersegmental groups in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion

  Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T.

  In the first step toward identifying the neurotransmitter released from spiking interneurons of both local and intersegmental groups in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion, the authors examined whether spiking local interneurons and ascending intersegmental interneurons contain the transmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In this paper, 17 identified ascending interneurons and three spiking local interneurons were stained by intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow and subsequently treated for immunocytochemical staining against GABA. Double-labeling experiments revealed that six identified ascending interneurons are GABAergic, but no spiking local interneurons show GABA-like immunoreactivity Four ascending interneurons with GABA-like immunoreactivity (reciprocal closing ascending neuron 5 [RC-5], reciprocal opening ascending neuron 6 [RO-6], variable-effect ascending interneuron 1 [VE-1], and no-effect ascending: interneuron 4[NE-4]) had cell bodies that formed a duster on the ventral surface of the rostral edge of the ganglion, whereas two GABAergic interneurons (coinhibiting ascending interneuron 2 [CI-2] and NE-2) had cell bodies in a caudal region around the cell body of the seventh flexor inhibitor (FI) motor neuron. Another four rostral interneurons (RC-2, RC-3, RC-4, and NE-3) and seven caudal interneurons (CI-3, RC-7, RO-1, RO-2, RO-3, RO-4, and NE-1) had no GABA-like immunoreactivity. Because VE-1 is known to make direct inhibitory connections with other ascending interneurons, whereas RC-3 and RO-1 are known to make direct excitatory connections, the immunocytochemical results from this study are consistent with previous physiological studies. Although many spiking local interneurons (including spiking local interneuron 1 of the anterior group [sp-ant1]) made direct inhibitory connections with nonspiking local interneurons, three spiking local interneurons (sp-ant1, spiking local interneuron 6 of the medial group [sp-med6], and spiking interneuron 5 of the posterior group [sp-post]) do not show GABA-like immunoreactivity. These results suggest that the inhibitory transmitter released from spiking local interneurons is not GABA but that another substance mediates the inhibitory action of these interneurons. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-BLACKWELL, 1999, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 410(4) (4), 677 - 688, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Processing of proprioceptive signals by ascending interneurones in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L., Nagayama, T.

  Intersegmental interneurones are crucial for the appropriate coordination of the activity of local circuits located in different body segments. We have analysed the synaptic inputs to ascending intersegmental interneurones from a proprioceptor in the tailfan of the crayfish. Twenty identified interneurones responded during stimulation of the exopodite-endopodite chordotonal organ. Of these 20 interneurones, three were excited phase-tonically, nine were excited phasically and eight were inhibited.,All received convergent exteroceptive inputs from water-motion- or touch-sensitive hairs on the uropods, The effects of simultaneous exteroceptive and proprioceptive stimulation depended upon the identity of an interneurone. For interneurones that were inhibited by proprioceptive stimulation, suprathreshold exteroceptive responses were reduced to a subthreshold level by simultaneous proprioceptive stimulation. In contrast, for interneurones that were excited by proprioceptive stimulation, the simultaneous application of subthreshold proprioceptive and exteroceptive stimulation elicited action potentials. Two of the interneurones that receive proprioceptive input (NE-1 and RC-8) are known to be presynaptic to giant interneurones that mediate and coordinate the tailhip, Many of the other interneurones that receive proprioceptive inputs in the tailfan are known to excite abdominal extensor motor neurones. Thus, proprioceptive input to these intersegmental interneurones could serve two roles: first, to extend the abdomen during postural movements or prior to escape and, second, to drive the tailhip escape response.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 1999, Journal of Experimental Biology, 202(21) (21), 2975 - 2984, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• L-glutamate as an excitatory transmitter of motor giant neurons in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii

  H Aonuma, T Nagayama, M Takahata

  Motor giant neurons (MoGs) of the crayfish are identifiable motor neurons that innervate abdominal fast flexor muscles. The role of L-glutamate as a neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction between MoG and the abdominal fast flexor muscles was investigated using electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques. Local application of L-glutamate to a fast flexor muscle induced a depolarization of the muscle fibers. This glutamatergic depolarization was dose-dependent and was associated with a conductance increase. Bath application of L-glutamate caused a reversible reduction in the amplitude of the excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) of the fast flexor muscles evoked by MoG stimulation. Twenty micromole L-glutamate was sufficient to reduce the amplitude of MoG-evoked EJP. The effect of depression was dose-dependent and MoG stimulation elicited almost no response in flexor muscle fibers under 1 mM L-glutamate application. Joro spider toxin, an L-glutamate antagonist, reduced the amplitude of EJPs elicited by MoG stimulation at a concentration of 0.1 mu M. The response of the flexor muscle to MoG stimulation hid not recover completely after washing. When 5 mu M Joro spider toxin was applied, the EJP-evoked by MoG was completely blocked and no recovery was observed after washing. These results strongly suggest that L-glutamate is the neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction between MoG and the abdominal fast flexor muscle in the crayfish.

  CRUSTACEAN SOC, May 1998, JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY, 18(2) (2), 243 - 252, English

  Scientific journal


• Monosynaptic excitation of lateral giant fibres by proprioceptive afferents in the crayfish

  Newland, P.L., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T.

  Giant interneurones mediate a characteristic 'tail flip' escape response of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, which move it rapidly away from the source of stimulation. We have analysed the synaptic connections of proprioceptive sensory neurones with one type of giant interneurone, the lateral giant. Spikes in sensory neurones innervating an exopodite-endopodite chordotonal organ in the tailfan, which monitors the position and movements of the exopodite, are followed at a short and constant latency by excitatory postsynaptic potentials in a lateral giant interneurone (LG) recorded ill the terminal abdominal ganglion. These potentials are unaffected by manipulation of the membrane potential of LG, by bath application of saline with a low calcium concentration, or by one containing the nicotinic antagonist, curare. The potentials evoked in LG by chordotonal organ stimulation are thus thought to be monosynaptic and electrically mediated. This is the first demonstration that LG receives input from sensory receptors other than exteroceptors in the terminal abdominal ganglion.

  SPRINGER VERLAG, 1997, Journal of Comparative Physiology - A Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 181(2) (2), 103 - 109, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Convergent chemical and electrical synaptic inputs from proprioceptive afferents onto an identified intersegmental interneuron in the crayfish

  Nagayama, T., Aonuma, H., Newland, P.L.

  Synaptic transmission between proprioceptive afferents from a chordotonal organ in the tailfan of the crayfish and an identified ascending interneuron, interneuron A, in the terminal abdominal ganglion was analyzed. Interneuron A is part of a disynaptic pathway from primary afferent neurons to the lateral giant interneuron involved in producing the characteristic ballistic escape behavior of crayfish. Interneuron A received short and long latency excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) from chordotonal afferents. Short latency EPSPs occurred with Little central synaptic delay were unchanged by hyperpolarizing current injection of -2 nA, and remained at a constant amplitude when the nervous system was bathed in saline with a low calcium concentration or saline containing the nicotinic antagonist curare. These EPSPs are thus thought to be mediated by electrical transmission. Longer latency potentials were increased in amplitude by hyperpolarizing current injection, reduced in amplitude when the nervous system was bathed in low-calcium saline, and also reduced by bath application of saline containing curare. These potentials are thus thought to be mediated by chemical transmission. The functional significance of the dual modes of transmission at a key synapse in the escape circuitry is discussed.

  AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC, 1997, Journal of Neurophysiology, 77(5) (5), 2826 - 2830, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Distribution of GABAergic premotor nonspiking local interneurones in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  Nagayama, T., Namba, H., Aonuma, H.

  The inhibitory neurotransmitter of premotor nonspiking local interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion was investigated physiologically and immunocytochemically. Depolarization of a nonspiking interneurone evoked a hyperpolarization in a uropod motor neurone. The amplitude of hyperpolarization in the motor neurone was gradually decreased under low-calcium/high-magnesium saline. Local pressure injection of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) into the neuropil caused a similar hyperpolarization of the motor neurone. These physiological studies suggested a GABAergic inhibitory interaction between nonspiking interneurones and the motor neurones. Premotor nonspiking interneurones are classified into two subgroups of posterolateral (PL) and anterolateral (AL) interneurones, and AL interneurones are further divided into three subtypes. A combination of intracellular staining from nonspiking local interneurones with Lucifer yellow and immunocytochemical staining with an antiserum directed against GABA revealed that all the PL interneurones sampled in this study showed GABA-like immunoreactivity. A population of cell bodies (n = 6-11) with a small diameter (15-30 mu m) packed together forming a cluster showed GABA-like immunoreactivity, and the cell bodies of most PL interneurones were found in this cluster. To compare the number and the pattern of main branches of PL interneurones, cells were classified into three identifiable sets of interneurones, called PL-1, PL-2, and PL-3. By contrast, about one-half of AL interneurones, especially the third subtype of AL interneurones, which have cell bodies located ventrolaterally in the ganglion, did not show GABA-like immunoreactivity. Furthermore, the position of cell bodies of GABA-immunoreactive AL interneurones was scattered compared to that of PL interneurones. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 1997, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 389(1) (1), 139 - 148, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Presynaptic inhibition of exteroceptive afferents by proprioceptive afferents in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  Newland, P.L., Aonuma, H., Sato, M., Nagayama, T.

  1. Exteroceptive hairs that are sensitive to water displacement and touch are distributed over the surface of the tailfan of crayfish. We show that the sensory neurons innervating these hairs receive a primary afferent depolarization (PAD) from sensory neurons innervating a proprioceptor that monitors movements of the endopodite and protopodite of the tailfan. This PAD occurs only during high-velocity movements of the exopodite, which are similar to those that occur during swimming. The effects that the proprioceptor mediate are widespread, so that afferents in four sensory nerve roots of the terminal abdominal ganglion, innervating hairs on the protopodite, exopodite, endopodite, and telson, receive a PAD. The PAD is unlikely to be mediated through monosynaptic pathways because there is no anatomic overlap between the central projections of chordotonal afferents and many of the exteroceptive afferents. The depolarization is associated with a conductance increase and can be increased by the injection of hyperpolarizing current or reversed (similar to 10 mV above resting potential) by injection of depolarizing current. The properties of the presynaptic input are, therefore, consistent with being mediated through chemical synapses. This is supported by the observation in the electron microscope that the exteroceptive afferents receive chemical input synapses. The depolarization is mimicked by gamma-aminobutyric acid and reduced by bath application of picrotoxin or bicuculline, suggesting that it is a depolarizing inhibitory postsynaptic potential. The PAD reduces the amplitude of exteroceptive afferent spikes, an action that is thus likely to reduce transmitter release and the efficacy of synaptic transmission.

  AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC, 1996, Journal of Neurophysiology, 76(2) (2), 1047 - 1058, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• GABA-like immunoreactivity of an identified nonspiking local interneurone in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion

  Nagayama, T., Aonuma, H., Miyata, H.

  Using an antiserum directed against gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to label neurones with GABA-like immunoreactivity, approximately 70 central neurones (68+/-9; mean +/- S.E.M., N=9) were labelled in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii. This mean number of neurones with GABA-like immunoreactivity represents approximately 10% of the total number of neurones in the terminal ganglion. A combination of intracellular staining using Lucifer Yellow and immunocytochemical staining revealed that an identified nonspiking local interneurone (the local directionally selective interneurone, LDS) showed GABA-like immunoreactivity.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, 1996, Journal of Experimental Biology, 199(11) (11), 2447 - 2450, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Distribution of autofluorescent cell bodies in the crayfish central nervous system

  Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T., Takahata, M.

  Some central neurons in the crayfish have autofluorescent cell bodies. The yellow fluorescence of cell bodies was induced in the whole-mount preparation by using blue-violet light from a high-pressure mercury lamp. From the first to the fifth abdominal ganglion, a pair of cell bodies fluoresced in each segmental ganglion. In the sixth abdominal ganglion, two pairs of fluorescent cell bodies were detected. A pair of cell bodies also fluoresced in the posterior (fourth and fifth) thoracic ganglia, while the probability of finding fluorescent cell bodies in the anterior (first to third) thoracic ganglia was very low. Intracellular staining revealed 1) that autofluorescent cells were motor giants (MoGs) and 2) their homologue in the abdominal and thoracic ganglia. This characteristic of autofluorescence provides the cue of ready identification of particular crayfish central neurons, which are one of the most essential neural components for intrinsic escape behavior. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, 1996, Journal of Experimental Zoology, 275(6) (6), 406 - 412, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Output effect of identified ascending interneurons upon the abdominal postural system in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard)

  Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T., Hisada, M.

  The output effects of 16 identified ascending interneurons originating in the terminal abdominal ganglion were examined with intracellular recording and stimulating techniques in isolated nerve cord composed of 6 abdominal ganglia (from the 1st to 6th ganglion). The activity of the uropod closer and opener motor neurons was recorded extracellularly with pin electrodes from the terminal abdominal (A6) ganglion and that of the abdominal extensor and flexor motor neurons was recorded from the 1st to 5th abdominal (A1-A.5) ganglion. This technique allowed us to monitor the activity of the motor neurons innervating different muscles of more than 10 simultaneously in the same preparation. Majority of ascending interneurons had output effects upon not only the uropod motor neurons but also the abdominal postural motor neurons. The premotor effects of the ascending interneurons were the same in all of abdominal ganglia (A1-A5). Some ascending interneurons also affected the abdominal postural motor neurons on both sides of each ganglion with a similar fashion. Neurobiotin staining revealed that the ascending axons spreaded their branches in each abdominal ganglion. Their branches were extended within the side ipsilateral to their axons. The possible function of ascending interneurons as multi-functional units in the sensory-motor system of crayfish was discussed. Since they received sensory inputs from the tailfan and affected the activity of both uropod and abdominal postural motor neurons simultaneously, they would coordinate the behavioural sequence controlling both the uropod motor system and abdominal postural system.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 1994, Zoological Science, 11(2) (2), 191 - 202, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal


• Morphological and physiological bases of crayfish local circuit neurones

  Nagayama, T., Namba, H., Aonuma, H.

  As the subject of neuroethological studies, arthropods offer several advantages to elucidate the neural processes that generate and control behavioural acts. The relative simplicity of their neural organization and their identifiable neurones are particularly advantageous. The crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, uropods are paired appendages of the last abdominal segment that show bilateral closing movement in response to mechanical stimulation. This movement, the avoidance ''dart'' response, is mediated by a cascade and parallel organization of local circuit neurones in the terminal abdominal ganglion. Thirty intersegmental ascending interneurones and 20 spiking local interneurones have been identified both morphologically and physiologically. They receive exteroceptive inputs directly from the sensory afferents. Two complementary groups of unilateral nonspiking local interneurones have also been functionally identified. They exert fine control over the wide range of activity of motor neurones in a graded and sustained manner. These nonspiking interneurones form opposing and parallel pathways that are essential in modulating the pattern of movement of the uropods.

  F HERNANDEZ, 1994, Histology and Histopathology, 9(4) (4), 791 - 805, English

  [Refereed]

  Scientific journal

• X-ray micro-CT imaging reveals the control mechanism underlying ultra-fast movement in insects

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Lead, Apr. 2024, 月刊「細胞」, 56(4) (4), 55 (285) - 59 (289), Japanese

  [Invited]

  Introduction commerce magazine


• X-ray micro-CT imaging reveals the control mechanism underlying ultra-fast movement in insects

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Lead, Mar. 2024, 月刊「アグリバイオ」, 8(3) (3), 50 (254) - 56 (260), Japanese

  [Invited]

  Introduction commerce magazine


• X-ray micro-volume imaging unveils the mechanism underlying extremely fast movement in insects

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Lead, Jan. 2024, 月刊「アグリバイオ」, 8(1) (1), 92 (92) - 98 (98), Japanese

  [Invited]

  Introduction commerce magazine


• X-ray micro-volume imaging reveals the mechanism underlying ultra-fast movement in insects

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Lead, Jul. 2023, 月刊「細胞」, 55(8) (8), 32 (588) - 36 (592), Japanese

  [Invited]

  Introduction commerce magazine


• Fast adaptive jump of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Akihisa Murata, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Last, Jun. 2023, The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines (AMAM2023), 69 - 70, Japanese

  [Refereed]

  Introduction international proceedings


• Musculoskeletal systems that generate extremely fast movements in the trap-jaw ants

  Aonuma, Hitoshi, Naniwa, Keisuke, Ohkawara, Kyohsuke

  Lead, Jun. 2023, The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines (AMAM2023), 67 - 68, Japanese

  [Refereed]

  Introduction international proceedings


• Embodied Latch Mechanism of the Mandible to Power at an Ultrahigh Speed in the Trap-jaw AntsOdontomachus kuroiwae

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Keisuke Naniwa, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Kyohsuke Ohkawara, Katsushi Kagaya

  Abstract Rapid movements of limbs and appendages, faster than those produced by simple muscle contraction alone, are generated through mechanical networks consisting of springs and latches. The latch plays a central role in these spring-loaded mechanisms, but the structural details of the latch are not always known. The mandibles of the trapjaw antOdontomachus kuroiwaecloses the mandible extremely quickly to capture prey or to perform mandible-powered defensive jumps to avoid potential threats. The jump is mediated by a mechanical spring and latch system embodied in the mandible. An ant can strike the tip of the mandible onto the surface of an obstacle (prey, predator, or ground) in order to bounce its body away from potential threats. The angular velocity of the closing mandible was 2.3×10⁴rad/s. Latching of the joint is a key mechanism to aid the storage of energy required to power the ballistic movements of the mandibles. We have identified the fine structure of two latch systems on the mandible forming a ‘balljoint’ using an X-ray micro-computational tomography system (X-ray micro-CT) and X-ray live imaging with a synchrotron. Here we describe the surface of the inner section of the socket and a projection on the lip of the ball. The X-ray live imaging and movements of the 3D model show that the ball with a detent ridge slipped into a socket and over the socket ridge before snapping back at the groove edge. Our results give insight into the complex spring-latch systems that underpin ultra-fast movements in biological systems.

  Lead, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 06 Dec. 2022


• Descending and ascending signals that maintain rhythmic walking pattern in the cricket

  Keisuke Naniwa, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The cricket is one of the model animals used to investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying adaptive locomotion. An intact cricket walks with a tripod gait, similar to other insects. The motor control center of the leg movements is located in the thoracic ganglia. In this study, we investigated the walking gait patterns of crickets whose ventral nerve cords were surgically cut to gain an understanding of how the descending signals from the head ganglia and ascending signals from the abdominal nervous system into the thoracic ganglia mediate the initiation and coordination of the walking gait pattern. Crickets whose paired connectives between the brain and subesophageal ganglion (SEG) were cut exhibited a tripod gait pattern. However, when one side of the connectives between the brain and SEG was cut, the crickets continued to turn in the opposite direction to the connective cut. Crickets whose paired connectives between the SEG and prothoracic ganglion were cut did not walk, whereas the crickets exhibited an ordinal tripod gait pattern when one side of the connectives was intact. Crickets whose paired connectives between the metathoracic ganglion and abdominal ganglia were cut initiated walking, although the gait was not a coordinated tripod pattern, whereas the crickets exhibited a tripod gait when one side of the connectives was intact. These results suggest that the brain plays an inhibitory role in initiating leg movements, and that both the descending signals from the head ganglia and the ascending signals from the abdominal nervous system are both important in initiating and coordinating insect walking gait patterns.

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 03 Nov. 2020

  Technical report


• Arm swapping autograft shows functional equivalency of five arms in sea stars

  Daiki Wakita, Hitoshi Aonuma, Shin Tochinai

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Jun. 2019


• Three-dimensional morphological analysis of the dynamic digestive system in the green brittle star

  Daiki Wakita, Keisuke Naniwa, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, May 2019

  [Refereed]


• Generalized locomotion of brittle stars with a flexible number of arms

  Daiki Wakita, Katsushi Kagaya, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Apr. 2019

  [Refereed]


• Symposium of Scholars:—How can Robots Dialogue with Environment?

  Osuka Koichi

  THE INSTITUTE OF SYSTEMS, CONTROL AND INFORMATION ENGINEERS, 2019, SYSTEMS, CONTROL AND INFORMATION, 63(6) (6), 246 - 253, Japanese


• Excretion initiates walking in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Keisuke Naniwa, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Koichi Osuka, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Jul. 2018

  [Refereed]


• 脳による中央制御系を排除したコオロギのふるまい

  浪花啓右, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 杉本靖博, 大須賀公一

  Behavior of insect is not only dominated by central nervous systems (brain). The peripheral nerves and embodiment are also related. However, in real animals, the specific roles of the head ganglia (brain), thoracic ganglion and embodiment are still unknown. In this study, we aim to find the control law embedded in embodiment and thoracic ganglion by confirming the behavior of the head removal cricket. Experimental results show that gait pattern in the head removal cricket is different from that of intact crickets. It also shows that the gait of head removal cricket is unstable, that is, the cooperativeness of each leg is quite low.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 01 Jun. 2018, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2018, ROMBUNNO.1P1‐D13, Japanese


• アギトアリ顎部の高速運動を生む関節構造の立体模型を用いた解析

  和田啓雅, 杉本靖博, 青沼仁志, 浪花啓右, 大須賀公一

  The trap-jaw ant genus Odontomachus closes her mandible to catch prey quite quickly. The purpose of this study is to examine the mechanism how such a fast movement is realized. Since the velocity of closing exceeds the contraction velocity of a muscle, it is considered that there will be a mechanism to store energy and release it at once for realization of high-speed motion in the exoskeleton. We prepare a scale model of Odontomachus with micro CT scanning their exoskeleton data and 3D printer. Using model, we find three regions of contact points of the temporomandibular joint and the exoskeletal part meshes with each other at one of the regions. This structure is considered to be related to a lock mechanism for fast movement of Odontomachus.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 01 Jun. 2018, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2018, ROMBUNNO.2P1‐D12, Japanese


• Five breaks synchrony while six keeps synchrony: individual difference in the coordinated pattern of five- and six-armed brittle stars

  Daiki Wakita, Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Jun. 2018

  [Refereed]


• 丸めた紙の折りたたみ構造におけるサイズ依存性

  早瀬友美乃, 早瀬友美乃, 中西秀, 坂上貴洋, 青沼仁志, 高原聡, 金子俊一

  23 Mar. 2018, 日本物理学会講演概要集(CD-ROM), 73(1) (1), ROMBUNNO.24pK604‐13, Japanese


• 触角への電気刺激によるクロコオロギの闘争性の増強

  浪花啓右, 杉本靖博, 青沼仁志, 大須賀公一

  28 Jan. 2018, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 30th, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐3, Japanese


• トラップジョウをもつアリの超高速運動の発生メカニズム

  青沼仁志, 青沼仁志

  28 Jan. 2018, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 30th, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐2, Japanese


• コオロギの脚切断後の筋電位パターンの変容

  大脇大, 杉本靖博, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志

  28 Jan. 2018, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 30th, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐4, Japanese


• ムカデが足並みの疎密波の向きを変えるメカニズム

  安井浩太郎, 菊池和気, 加納剛史, 黒田茂, 青沼仁志, 早瀬友美乃, 小林亮, 石黒章夫

  28 Jan. 2018, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 30th, ROMBUNNO.1A3‐3, Japanese


• 生き物の多様な振る舞いを生み出す源泉をさぐるには?

  大須賀公一, 大須賀公一, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志

  28 Jan. 2018, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 30th, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐1, Japanese


• Swimming frog cyborg which generates efficient hydrodynamic propulsion with webbed foot

  Masahiro Shimizu, Daisuke Ishii, Hitoshi Aonuma, Koh Hosoda

  © 2017 IEEE. This paper shows a frog cyborg Xenopus-noid with webbed feet based on the anatomical structure of feet of X. laevis. Locomotion of an animal is generated through interactions among the nervous system, the musculo-skeletal system and the environment. We particularly focus on bio-machine hybrid systems in order to understand dynamics of these interactions. Under this circumstance, we propose a frog cyborg driven by dissected muscles from frog legs, and webbed feet generate efficient hydrodynamic propulsion for good frog-like swimming.

  19 Jan. 2018, 2017 IEEE International Conference on Cyborg and Bionic Systems, CBS 2017, 2018-January, 73 - 76

  Summary international conference


• マイクロCTを使った丸めた紙の3次元構造解析

  早瀬友美乃, 早瀬友美乃, 中西秀, 坂上貴洋, 青沼仁志, 高原聡, 松田朝陽, 金子俊一

  25 Sep. 2017, 日本物理学会講演概要集(CD-ROM), 72(2) (2), ROMBUNNO.21aK10‐9, Japanese


• アンテナフェンシングに介入可能なコオロギ侵襲型デバイスの開発

  杉本靖博, 浪花啓右, 青沼仁志, 大須賀公一

  In this study, towards the neurophysiological mechanism elucidation of the aggressive behavior of crickets, in order to examine the internal state of the aggressive behavior. Therefore, we have developed a small mobile invasive device that can intervene in aggressive behavior of cricket. In this paper, by useing a small mobile invasive device, it is showed that the locomotion of crickets greatly influences the probability of aggressive behavior.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 09 May 2017, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2017, ROMBUNNO.1A1‐E10 - E10, Japanese


• クモヒトデの適応的ロコモーションに内在する階層的な自律分散制御則の解明

  小野達也, 金内大地, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  30 Jan. 2017, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 29th, ROMBUNNO.1A1‐2, Japanese


• ムカデの適応的ロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則

  安井浩太郎, 菊池和気, 加納剛史, 早瀬友美乃, 黒田茂, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 小林亮, 小林亮, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  30 Jan. 2017, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 29th, ROMBUNNO.1A3‐1, Japanese


• Synthetic approaches for observing and measuring cricket behaviors

  Aonuma, H.

  When we investigate animal behavior, it is necessary to quantify and to qualify the sequence of observed behaviors. It is also important to compare the behavior with the physiology of the nervous systems in order to understand underlying neuronal mechanisms. Reliable results require experimental repetition that includes consistent controls, because animals do not always respond in the same way to the same external stimuli. Instead, animals alter their behaviors in order to respond to the demands of changing environments. Engineering approaches, in particular robotics, can help us to observe and to provoke animal movements and behaviors. I describe a novel approach that provokes animal movements and behaviors in response to computer simulation and robots. These constructive approaches help us to bridge the gap between behavior and physiology. The performances of the models and robots are discussed, and the accuracies of the models are confirmed by behavior studies with animals. This approach has been named “Synthetic Neuroethology.” This chapter introduces the methods used to observe and measure cricket behaviors. The aim is to understand adaptive behaviors at play in group size-dependent aggressive behavior.

  The Cricket as a Model Organism: Development, Regeneration, and Behavior, 2017, The Cricket as a Model Organism: Development, Regeneration, and Behavior, 313 - 325, English

  [Refereed]


• Mechanisms of Ultra-High Speed Movement in the Trap Jaw Ant

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Koichi Osuka, Kyohsuke Ohkawara

  The ant Ondontomuchus kuroiwae has a trap jaw that snaps quickly to capture a prey. The ant opens the trap jaw, locks it and closes quickly if it detects a prey using a sensory hair on the jaw. We here analyze 3-dimensional structure of the trap jaw muscles by using a micro volume imaging with an X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to elucidate the mechanism of the exoskeletal muscular system to realize ultra-high speed movement of the trap jaw.

  IEEE, 2017, 2017 56TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE SOCIETY OF INSTRUMENT AND CONTROL ENGINEERS OF JAPAN (SICE), 2017-November, 15 - 18, English

  [Refereed]


• Fighting behavior: Understanding the mechanisms of group-size-dependent aggression

  Aonuma, H.

  The Cricket as a Model Organism: Development, Regeneration, and Behavior, 2017, The Cricket as a Model Organism: Development, Regeneration, and Behavior, 197 - 209

  [Refereed]


• Development of mobile robot that can intervene in aggressive behavior of crickets

  杉本靖博, 浪花啓右, 青沼仁志, 大須賀公一

  In this research, to investigate behavior and internal state changes during aggressive behavior of cricket, we are developing an small autonomous mobile robot which has a articial antennae and can intervene in aggressive behavior repeatedly.

  Transdisciplinary Federation of Science and Technology, 2017, 横幹連合コンファレンス(CD-ROM), 8th, ROMBUNNO.D‐2‐3, Japanese


• アリは巣仲間と交流してストレスから回復する

  長谷川英祐, 青沼仁志, 寺尾勘太, 小楠なつき, 大久保祐作, 渡邊紗織, 三上俊太, 藤田悠介, 水波誠, 村上優花

  2017, 日本動物行動学会大会発表要旨集, 36th, P.185, Japanese


• Development of mobile robot that can intervene in aggressive behavior of crickets

  Sugimoto Y, Naniwa K, Aonuma H, Osuka K

  In this research, to investigate behavior and internal state changes during aggressive behaviorof cricket, we are developing an small autonomous mobile robot which has a articial antennae and canintervene in aggressive behavior repeatedly.

  横断型基幹科学技術研究団体連合（横幹連合）, 2017, Proceedings of the Conference of Transdisciplinary Federation of Science and Technology, 2017(0) (0), D - 2-3, Japanese


• Development of invasive device that can intervene in aggressive behavior of cricket

  SUGIMOTO Yasuhiro, NANIWA Keisuke, AONUMA Hitoshi, OSUKA Koichi

  <p>In this study, towards the neurophysiological mechanism elucidation of the aggressive behavior of crickets, in order to examine the internal state of the aggressive behavior. Therefore, we have developed a small mobile invasive device that can intervene in aggressive behavior of cricket. In this paper, by useing a small mobile invasive device, it is showed that the locomotion of crickets greatly influences the probability of aggressive behavior.</p>

  一般社団法人 日本機械学会, 2017, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2017(0) (0), 1A1 - E10, Japanese


• 足場を活用して推進するクモヒトデのロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則

  小野達也, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  08 Jun. 2016, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2016, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐04b2, Japanese


• 膝関節伸展が可能な生体筋駆動型遊泳カエルロボットの開発

  坂井亮, 清水正宏, 青沼仁志, 細田耕

  08 Jun. 2016, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2016, ROMBUNNO.1A1‐12a2, Japanese


• コオロギの闘争行動を誘発する小型移動ロボットの開発

  杉本靖博, 浪花啓右, 青沼仁志, 大須賀公一

  In this study, towards the neurophysiological mechanism elucidation of the aggressive behavior of crickets, in order to examine the internal state of the aggressive behavior. Therefore, we have developed a small mobile robot that can repeatedly induce the aggressive behavior of cricket. In this paper, the small mobile robot ware able to induce the following activities and the antenna fencing which is a part of the aggressive behavior to robots.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 08 Jun. 2016, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2016, ROMBUNNO.1A2‐05a6, Japanese


• 昆虫の社会行動にみられる自己と他者の非分離性

  青沼仁志, 青沼仁志

  21 Jan. 2016, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 28th, ROMBUNNO.2A2‐1, Japanese


• Development aquatic frog robot with knee extension mechanism driven by dissected muscle

  SAKAI Ryo, SHIMIZU Masahiro, AONUMA Hitoshi, HOSODA Koh

  <p>This study aims to understand relationships between musculoskeletal structure of frogs and swimming performance without control of the nerves systems. Frogs generate great swimming performance by extension of the hind limbs. Extension of knee cannot only generate thrust but also give a load to the Plantaris longus (PL) muscle, which is ankle extensor muscle. We developed an aquatic frog robot, Xenopus-noid, which can extend the knee and is driven by the dissected PL muscle from <i>Xenopus laevis</i>. Xenopus-noid has the knee extension mechanism composed of electrical magnet, a torsion spring positioned in hip joint. An energy of a torsion spring is released by turning off of an electrical magnet. In this study, we confirmed that the knee extension of Xenopus-noid is similar to that of <i>X.laevis</i>. Xenopus-noid is expected to be a useful tool to understand the relationship between knee extension of frogs and swimming performance.</p>

  一般社団法人 日本機械学会, 2016, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2016(0) (0), 1A1 - 12a2, Japanese


• Decentralized Control Mechanism Underlying Scaffold-based Locomotion of Ophiuroids

  ONO Tatsuya, KANO Takeshi, AONUMA Hitoshi, MATSUZAKA Yoshiya, ISHIGURO Akio

  <p>Robots are now required to adapt to changes in the environments and physical damages so that they can work under harsh environments. To meet the requirement, we focused on ophiuroid' s highly adaptive and resilient locomotion. In our previous work, we proposed a decentralized control scheme for the well-balanced coupling between inter- and intra-limb coordination, using local force feedback. However, this scheme could not reproduce an avoidance behavior observed when arms detect reaction forces that impede propulsion. To tackle this problem, in this study, we redesigned a decentralized control scheme based on " TEGOTAE ", a Japanese concept describing how well a perceived reaction matches an expectation.</p>

  一般社団法人 日本機械学会, 2016, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2016(0) (0), 1A2 - 04b2, Japanese


• Development of small mobile robot that can induce aggressive behavior of cricket

  SUGIMOTO Yasuhiro, NANIWA Keisuke, AONUMA Hitoshi, OSUKA Koichi

  <p>In this study, towards the neurophysiological mechanism elucidation of the aggressive behavior of crickets, in order to examine the internal state of the aggressive behavior. Therefore, we have developed a small mobile robot that can repeatedly induce the aggressive behavior of cricket. In this paper, the small mobile robot ware able to induce the following activities and the antenna fencing which is a part of the aggressive behavior to robots.</p>

  一般社団法人 日本機械学会, 2016, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2016(0) (0), 1A2 - 05a6, Japanese


• 不完全変態昆虫脳で発現する性決定因子の解析

  渡邊崇之, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2015, 日本進化学会大会プログラム・講演要旨集(Web), 17th, ROMBUNNO.P‐18 (WEB ONLY), Japanese


• 環境からの手応えを活用するクモヒトデのロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則

  小野達也, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  16 May 2015, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2015, ROMBUNNO.2A2‐S02, Japanese


• クモヒトデのレジリアントな振る舞いに内在する「コト」の究明

  佐藤英毅, 小野達也, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫

  22 Jan. 2015, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 27th, ROMBUNNO.1C2-3, Japanese


• Visualizing wakes in swimming locomotion of Xenopus-noid by using PIV

  Sakai, R., Shimizu, M., Aonuma, H., Hosoda, K.

  Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2015, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 9222, 97 - 100

  [Refereed]


• 2A2-S02 Decentralized Control Mechanism of Ophiuroid Locomotion by Exploiting "TEGOTAE" from Environment

  ONO Tatsuya, KANO Takeshi, AONUMA Hitoshi, MATSUZAKA Yoshiya, ISHIGURO Akio

  Although numerous robots have been developed inspired by animal locomotion, they could not reproduce adaptive and resilient behavior of real animals. To tackle this problem, we adopted ophiuroids as our model. In our previous work, we focused on the locomotion of an ophiuroid whose arms were shortened or removed to investigate the inter-arm coordination mechanism, and proposed a decentralized control scheme on the basis of "TEGOTAE", a Japanese word that means reaction after the generation of some action. In this study, we proposed a decentralized control scheme that enables well-balanced coupling between inter- and intra-limb coordination by extending our previous control scheme. The validity of the proposed control scheme was confirmed via simulation.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2015, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2015(0) (0), _2A2 - S02_1-_2A2-S02_4, Japanese


• Response of the Bioelectric Potential within Antenna of Mamestra Brassicae against Sex Pheromone

  KOBAYASHI Mitsuru, KATAOKA Takashi, AONUMA Hitoshi, SHIBATA Youichi

  <p>When a male moth perceives sex pheromone of a female moth, the bioelectric potential is generated in its antennas. This paper discusses putative novel methods controlling moths by using antennal ability that senses sex pheromone of <i>Mamestra brassicae </i>for the insect control. Measuring bioelectric potential, the antenna was cut off from the head and connected to the measurement instrument by electro-encephalogram paste. The maximum lifetime of after cutting off was approximate 200 minutes. The period of interstimulus interval to avoid sensory habituation was determined and it was more than 5 seconds. The Results showed that the bioelectric potential increased according to concentration of (<i>Z</i>)-11-hexadecenylacetate which is a principal ingredient of the sex pheromone. The relationship between the concentration of (<i>Z</i>)-11-hexadecenylacetate and the response of bioelectric potential was formulated by the approximate curve. It was concluded that the emergence of the female moth would be estimated by the response of bioelectric potential in the antenna against the sex pheromone.</p>

  農業食料工学会, 2015, Journal of the Japanese Society of Agricultural Machinery and Food Engineers, 77(3) (3), 179 - 185, Japanese


• クモヒトデのレジリアントなロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則

  加納剛史, 佐藤英毅, 小野達也, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫

  21 Nov. 2014, 計測自動制御学会システム・情報部門学術講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2014, ROMBUNNO.GS3-11(O1-3), Japanese


• 身体構造に応じた振る舞いを発現するクモヒトデ型ロボットの実機開発

  佐藤英毅, 小野達也, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫

  04 Sep. 2014, 日本ロボット学会学術講演会予稿集(CD-ROM), 32nd, ROMBUNNO.1O2-03, Japanese


• アフリカツメガエルの筋骨格系を再現した生体筋駆動遊泳ロボット

  坂井亮, 清水正宏, 青沼仁志, 細田耕

  Generation of adaptive swimming locomotion of Xenopus laevis is greatly affected by hydrodynamic interaction between its musculoskeletal system and water environments. To understand the mechanism of frog locomotion, it is a proper approach to build a hybrid musculoskeletal robot that has similar structure as a Xenopus laevis, and excite living muscles to drive the body like in vivo. We developed a swimming robot that had a similar musculoskeletal structure as a frog driven by living muscles. At first, we built musculoskeletal structure of the hind leg by a 3D printer copying the anatomy of Xenopus laevis. Then, we developed the swimming robot by driven the gastrocnemius muscles, realized kick motion that generated propulsion for swimming locomotion. And also, we checked that the robot's motion is similar to Xenopus laevis's one. Thus, to achieve to understand the swimming locomotion, the robot is expected to be a useful tool.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 24 May 2014, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2014, ROMBUNNO.2A1‐J06 - J06(1)"-"2A1-J06(4)", Japanese


• クモヒトデから学ぶレジリアントなロボットの設計原理

  佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫

  Most robots are vulnerable to changes in their own morphology such as failures. To tackle this problem, we have focused on ophiuroids, which have simple body with pentaradial symmetry, as our model. Although they are composed of primitive decentralized nervous system, they can coordinate their arm movements adequately even when the arms are arbitrarily cut off. In this study, we aimed to clarify the fundamental mechanism underlying this resilient ophiuroid locomotion. For this purpose, we performed behavioral experiment using ohiuroids with different number of shortened arms, and proposed a simple autonomous decentralized control scheme on this basis. The validity of the propose control scheme was confirmed via simulation.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 24 May 2014, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2014, ROMBUNNO.1A1‐V05 - V05(1)"-"1A1-V05(4)", Japanese


• Image-based pose estimation for analyzing cricket-robot interaction behavior

  K. Kawabata, H. Aonuma, S. Takahashi, K. Hosoda, J. Xue

  May 2014, Journal of Signal Processing

  [Refereed]


• 行動発現解析に向けたクロコオロギの行動変容計測手法

  奥田泰丈, 高橋悟, 川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 岩田健司, 佐藤雄隆

  Mar. 2014, 動的画像処理実利用化ワークショップDIA2014講演論文集


• 個体間相互作用から学ぶコトミメティクス―ロボット間相互作用による内部状態の変化を用いた位置同定法の再解釈―

  杉本靖博, 青沼仁志, 川端邦明, 大須賀公一

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.1C3-2, Japanese


• 「個性」を持つ粒子集団が創り出す動的秩序~人間社会における交友関係を採り上げた事例研究~

  加納剛史, 大須賀公一, 小林亮, 小林亮, 青沼仁志, 石川将人, 杉本靖博, 大脇大, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.2B2-3, Japanese


• 個体間相互作用から学ぶコトミメティクス―昆虫‐ロボット相互作用系による行動実験―

  川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 杉本靖博, 細田耕, XUE Jianru

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.1C3-3, Japanese


• クモヒトデの腕間協調メカニズムの数理モデル

  佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 松坂義哉, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.2A1-3, Japanese


• 受容体理論による縫線核セロトニン神経のモデル化と解析

  矢野史朗, 渡邊崇之, 青沼仁志, 淺間一

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.2D2-1, Japanese


• 自律分散‐創発‐移動知‐コトミメティクス,生物学のこれまでとこれから

  青沼仁志

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.WAKUSHOPPU,3, Japanese


• 個体間相互作用から学ぶコトミメティクス―昆虫の個体間相互作用によって変容する内部状態―

  青沼仁志

  23 Jan. 2014, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム(CD-ROM), 26th, ROMBUNNO.1C3-1, Japanese


• Swimming locomotion of Xenopus laevis robot

  Sakai, R., Shimizu, M., Aonuma, H., Hosoda, K.

  Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2014, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 8608 LNAI, 420 - 422

  [Refereed]


• Experimental Study on Robotic Interactions to the Cricket

  Kuniaki Kawabata, Hitoshi Aonuma, Koh Hosoda, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Jianru Xue

  This paper describes about experimental verifications on the cricket's response against frequent interactions and how it changes in time development. In order to investigate behavior modification, we took the approach to utilize automated interaction systems with a robotic agent and observe the reactions of the male cricket. The robotic agent robes cricket's pheromone and is controlled by designing motion patterns based on visual motion tracking of the both agents. We designed an automated interaction behavior pattern for the robotic agent and conducted interaction experiments to the male cricket. We observed that cricket showed ordinary response firstly and after a while the trend of the cricket's behavior changed. Thus, the response was somewhat modified in time development. In this paper, we explained experimental conditions and also showed the results of frequent interaction experiments by using a robotic agent.

  IEEE, 2014, 2014 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND BIOMIMETICS IEEE-ROBIO 2014, 949 - 954, English

  [Refereed]


• トゲオオハリアリにおけるワーカーの脳内アミン濃度と女王接触頻度の関係

  下地博之, 青沼仁志, 岡田泰和, 三浦徹, 辻和希

  2014, 日本生態学会大会講演要旨(Web), 61st, E1-12 (WEB ONLY), Japanese


• 1A1-V05 Design Principle of Resilient Robot Inspired by Ophiuroid Locomotion(Robotic systems based on autonomous decentralized architecture)

  SATO Eiki, KANO Takeshi, AONUMA Hitoshi, MATSUZAKA Yoshiya, ISHIGURO Akio

  Most robots are vulnerable to changes in their own morphology such as failures. To tackle this problem, we have focused on ophiuroids, which have simple body with pentaradial symmetry, as our model. Although they are composed of primitive decentralized nervous system, they can coordinate their arm movements adequately even when the arms are arbitrarily cut off. In this study, we aimed to clarify the fundamental mechanism underlying this resilient ophiuroid locomotion. For this purpose, we performed behavioral experiment using ohiuroids with different number of shortened arms, and proposed a simple autonomous decentralized control scheme on this basis. The validity of the propose control scheme was confirmed via simulation.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2014, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2014(0) (0), _1A1 - V05_1-_1A1-V05_4, Japanese


• 2A1-J06 Swimming muscloskeletal robot of Xenopus laevis driven by living muscles(Biorobotics)

  SAKAI Ryo, SHIMIZU Masahiro, AONUMA Hitoshi, HOSODA Koh

  Generation of adaptive swimming locomotion of Xenopus laevis is greatly affected by hydrodynamic interaction between its musculoskeletal system and water environments. To understand the mechanism of frog locomotion, it is a proper approach to build a hybrid musculoskeletal robot that has similar structure as a Xenopus laevis, and excite living muscles to drive the body like in vivo. We developed a swimming robot that had a similar musculoskeletal structure as a frog driven by living muscles. At first, we built musculoskeletal structure of the hind leg by a 3D printer copying the anatomy of Xenopus laevis. Then, we developed the swimming robot by driven the gastrocnemius muscles, realized kick motion that generated propulsion for swimming locomotion. And also, we checked that the robot's motion is similar to Xenopus laevis's one. Thus, to achieve to understand the swimming locomotion, the robot is expected to be a useful tool.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2014, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2014(0) (0), _2A1 - J06_1-_2A1-J06_4, Japanese


• 局所麻酔実験から探るクモヒトデの歩行制御の神経機構

  松坂義哉, 佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 坂本一寛, 青沼仁志, 石黒章夫

  01 Jan. 2014, 日本生理学雑誌, 76(1) (1), 39, Japanese


• 受容体理論による縫線核セロトニン神経のモデル化と緩慢な忘却現象

  矢野史朗, 渡邊崇之, 青沼仁志, 淺間一

  18 Nov. 2013, 計測自動制御学会システム・情報部門学術講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2013, ROMBUNNO.SS14-8, Japanese


• Advanced statistical reach feature and its application to the cricket observation

  Y. Okuda, S. Takahashi, K. Kawabata, H. Aonuma, K. Iwata, Y. Satoh

  Oct. 2013, International Symposium on Optomechatronic Technologies 2013, (no. M1A-5) (no. M1A-5), 6 pages

  [Refereed]


• 異分野との交流

  青沼 仁志

  20 Sep. 2013, 比較生理生化学, 30(3) (3), 87 - 88, Japanese


• クロヤマアリの攻撃行動の動機付けに関わる脳内アミン

  青沼仁志, 渡邊崇之

  12 Aug. 2013, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 84th, 136, Japanese


• ヒト上皮3次元培養組織モデルを用いた生体材料‐軟組織間の封鎖性評価

  古橋一憲, 北川善政, 赤坂司, 亘理文夫, 青沼仁志

  北海道外科学会, 20 Jun. 2013, 北海道外科雑誌, 58(1) (1), 87 - 88, Japanese


• 身体構造に応じた振る舞いが可能なクモヒトデのロコモーションに内在する自律分散制御則の解明

  佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 青沼仁志, 石黒章夫, 石黒章夫

  21 May 2013, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2013, ROMBUNNO.2A1‐O02, Japanese


• One-Degree-of-Freedom Arm Driven by Antagonistic Dissected Gastrocnemius Muscles of Xenopus Laevis.

  SHIMIZU MASAHIRO, AONUMA HITOSHI, HOSODA KO

  25 Jan. 2013, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム資料, 25th, 109 - 112, Japanese


• Vision-based Tracking for Ecology Analysis of the Cricket

  Y. Okuda, S. Takahashi, K. Kawabata, H. Aonuma, K. Iwata, Y. Satoh

  Recently, research on the habit of creatures and their characteristics are widely based on image processing. For example, the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus which consist of micro brain modifies its behavior by the situation and experience. In this paper, we constructed a technique of image observation to detect a cricket based on an advanced statistical feature, and automatically generated action trajectory. Therefore, we are able to apply the simultaneous observation of crickets. Through experimentation, we proved the effectiveness of our proposed method.

  IEEE, 2013, 2013 FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTING AND NETWORKING (CANDAR), 324 - 327, English

  [Refereed]


• Observing electro-antennogram response of mamestra brassicae against sex pheromone

  Kobayashi M, Kataoka T, Aonuma H, Al-Mallahi A.A, Shibata Y

  2013, IFAC Proceedings Volumes (IFAC-PapersOnline), 1(PART 1) (PART 1)

  [Refereed]


• Behavior Observation Method for the Cricket

  Y. Okuda, S. Takahashi, K. Kawabata, H. Aonuma, K. Iwata, Y. Satoh

  Recently, research on the habit of creatures and their characteristics are widely based on image processing. Observing the behavior of Gryllus bimaculatus is important to understanding the ecology of their characteristics. Therefore, in this paper, we introduced an image processing algorithm and constructed a technique of image observation to detect crickets based on an advanced statistical reach feature, and generated action trajectories. Through experimentation, we proved the effectiveness of our proposed method.

  IEEE, 2013, 2013 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF IEEE REGION 10 (TENCON), English

  [Refereed]


• Controlled interaction with the cricket based on on-line pose estimation of mobile robot

  Kuniaki Kawabata, Hitoshi Aonuma, Koh Hosoda, Jianru Xue

  This paper describes an automated interaction for triggering the cricket's pheromone behavior by controlling a micro mobile robot based on pose estimation. In our developing systems a micro mobile robot: Ecobe mounted a cricket s head is introduced as a physical agent to interact with the cricket. Both of location of the cricket and mobile robot is estimated by on-line particle filter based color tracking and the pose estimation is also done by utilizing visual processing. By utilizing extracted information and novel designed robot's behavior algorithm, automated experimental trials in interaction between a cricket and a micro mobile robot has been done. Experimental results by utilizing our prototype system are also reported in this paper. Finally, pose estimation was also applied to the cricket and we show the result of fundamental trial of that. © 2013 IEEE.

  IEEE Computer Society, 2013, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2013, 1347 - 1352, English

  [Refereed]


• 交友関係の自己組織化過程の数理モデル

  加納剛史, 大須賀公一, 小林亮, 青沼仁志, 石川将人, 杉本靖博, 大脇大, 石黒章夫

  2013, 交通流のシミュレーションシンポジウム論文集, 19th, 89 - 92, Japanese


• 2A1-O02 Clarification of Decentralized Control Mechanism Underlying Morphology-dependent Ophiuroid Locomotion(Robotic systems based on autonomous decentralized architecture)

  SATO Eiki, KANO Takeshi, AONUMA Hitoshi, ISHIGURO Akio

  Most robots are vulnerable to the change in their own morphology such as failures. To tackle this problem, we focus on ophiuroids, which have simple body with pentaradial symmetry. Although they are composed of primitive decentralized nervous system, they can move by self-organizing their arm movements adequately even when the arms are arbitrarily cut off. As a first step, we concentrate on an ophiuroid with one arm and aim to clarify its locomotion mechanism. We propose a simple autonomous decentralized control scheme on the basis of behavioral experiments, and confirm its validity via simulations.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2013, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2013(0) (0), _2A1 - O02_1-_2A1-O02_4, Japanese


• 腕切断実験から探るクモヒトデの腕間協調メカニズム

  佐藤英毅, 加納剛史, 坂本一寛, 松坂義哉, 青沼仁志, 石黒章夫

  2013, 日本数理生物学会大会講演要旨集, 23rd, 172, Japanese


• 人間社会の生成崩壊ダイナミクスの数理モデル

  加納剛史, 大須賀公一, 小林亮, 青沼仁志, 石川将人, 杉本靖博, 大脇大, 石黒章夫

  2013, 日本数理生物学会大会講演要旨集, 23rd, 166, Japanese


• クロコオロギにおけるHu/ELAVホモログfound in neurons遺伝子の同定と発現解析

  渡邉崇之, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2012, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 83rd, 163, Japanese


• 動的環境下でのミツバチ採餌行動におけるダンス情報の誤差の効果

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  20 Aug. 2012, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 83rd, 128, Japanese


• クロコオロギの闘争経験と歩行量の変化

  佐倉緑, 山本泰生, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2012, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 83rd, 162, Japanese


• マイクロロボットを用いたクロコオロギへの能動的相互作用による行動誘引

  川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 細田耕, XUE Jianru

  This paper describes our trials of active interactions to the crickets by a micro mobile robot for attracting pheromone behaviors. Cricket Gyllus bimaculatus modifies its own behavior based on the experiences based on the pheromone interactions between the individuals. For active interaction experiments, the micro mobile robot is maneuvered by an operator via the computer and the partial body of the cricket is attached to the robot. In this report, we describe interaction experimental results between the cricket and micro mobile robot with the pheromone. The cricket shows different response to the male or female pheromone, respectively. The result shows this approach could contribute to the biology as a novel one from the viewpoint of setting up the experimental conditions of the interactions actively.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 27 May 2012, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2012, ROMBUNNO.2P1-H05 - H05(1)"-"2P1-H05(4)", Japanese


• Development of a Cricket Interaction System utilizing Mobile Robot for Behavioral Data Collection

  Kuniaki Kawabata, Hitoshi Aonuma, Koh Hosoda, Jianru Xue

  This paper describes about a prototype of active interaction experiment system between a cricket and an operated micro mobile robot and measured/collected data in real-time by using the system. The behavior selection of the cricket (Gyllus bimaculatus) is influenced by the experience or the context in living environment. Therefore, we are trying to investigate neuronal mechanisms underlying micro brain of the cricket. For gathering behavioral data, we are developing a control/measurement system for realizing active interaction experiment. The prototype is composed of a micro mobile robot as a physical interaction agent, a camera and a microphone and a computer commands to the micro mobile robot and record the data of video sequence, motion tracking and the audio. Experimental trial using the prototype was done and reported.

  IEEE, 2012, 2012 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND BIOMIMETICS (ROBIO 2012), 1615 - 1620, English

  [Refereed]


• 2P1-H05 Behavior Attraction to the Cricket Gyllus bimaculatus by Active Interaction using Operated Micro Mobile Robot(Mobiligence)

  KAWABATA Kuniaki, AONUMA Hitoshi, HOSODA Koh, Xue Jianru

  This paper describes our trials of active interactions to the crickets by a micro mobile robot for attracting pheromone behaviors. Cricket Gyllus bimaculatus modifies its own behavior based on the experiences based on the pheromone interactions between the individuals. For active interaction experiments, the micro mobile robot is maneuvered by an operator via the computer and the partial body of the cricket is attached to the robot. In this report, we describe interaction experimental results between the cricket and micro mobile robot with the pheromone. The cricket shows different response to the male or female pheromone, respectively. The result shows this approach could contribute to the biology as a novel one from the viewpoint of setting up the experimental conditions of the interactions actively.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2012, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2012(0) (0), _2P1 - H05_1-_2P1-H05_4, Japanese


• Sweeping task of multiple mobile agents by utilizing behavior selection model with interaction-based efficacy dynamics

  Kuniaki Kawabata, Takashi Fujii, Tsuyoshi Suzuki, Hitoshi Aonuma, Jun Ota, Hajime Asama

  This paper discusses what is given to control of multi-agent system with dynamic behavior selection model which we already proposed. Cricket shows adaptive behavior modification in both of individual and group level based on individual interactions. Principle of such ability is useful to control multi-agent system by bottom-up approach. In this paper, we compare our proposed model with other behavior selection models in sweeping task and discuss its effects from computer simulation results. © 2012 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.

  一般社団法人 日本機械学会, 2012, Nihon Kikai Gakkai Ronbunshu, C Hen/Transactions of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Part C, 78(792) (792), 3028 - 3032, Japanese


• 1C1-6 Social adaptive modulation of temporal discount factor in Multi-agent reinforcement learning : Self organizing social hierarchy and neuromodulator

  YANO Shiro, AONUMA Hitoshi, ASAMA Hajime

  In the field of reinforcement learning, researchers have focused a role and dynamics of animal's neuromodulatory system, which is thought to correspond to meta-parameter of the learning system. Recently, the hypothesis is suggested and beginning to be verified that neuromodulator serotonin regulates the temporal discount factor. It is known that dominance hierarchy affects the amount of serotonin in animal society. It is also known that social hierarchy is generated from competitive behavior in a self-organizing manner. In this study, we propose self-organizing multi-agent reinforcement system which grows various temporal discount factors robust and fault-tolerant system. We show that this system has the capability adapting to environmental variability and robustness for vacancy or increasing of agents.

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 01 Sep. 2011, FAN Symposium : Intelligent System Symposium-fuzzy, AI, neural network applications technologies, 2011(21) (21), 83 - 86, Japanese


• コンピュータシミュレーションによるミツバチ8の字ダンスの採餌行動における効果

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  20 Aug. 2011, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 82nd, 145, Japanese


• クロコオロギにおける環状ヌクレオチドシグナル伝達系関連遺伝子の解析

  渡邊崇之, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2011, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 82nd, 100, Japanese


• 兵隊シロアリの攻撃性はチラミンによってもたらされる

  石川由希, 青沼仁志, 佐々木謙, 三浦徹

  20 Aug. 2011, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 82nd, 144, Japanese


• クロヤマアリの異種昆虫に対する攻撃性動機づけを制御するオクトパミンのはたらき

  青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2011, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 82nd, 144, Japanese


• クロコオロギの闘争行動における視覚情報の効果

  佐倉緑, 渡邊崇之, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2011, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 82nd, 103, Japanese


• A model for group-size-dependent behaviour decisions in insects using an oscillator network

  Tetsuro Funato, Masahito Nara, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Masatoshi Ashikaga, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Aggressive behaviour within pairs of male crickets leads to the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. Defeated males avoid their victorious adversaries for several hours before regaining aggressiveness. However, the defeated male does not regain aggressiveness if repeated fighting occurs. Loss of individual aggressiveness is limited by group size, which constrains the number of crickets fighting at any given time. Thus, group aggressive behaviour is modulated by an environmental factor, group size, which is ultimately determined by individual actions, i.e. fighting between two individuals. We developed a robot model to elucidate the mechanism of group-size-dependent behaviour alternation in crickets. The behaviour of individual robots was evaluated experimentally with mobile robots and the group behaviour of the robots was evaluated by computer simulation. We demonstrated that the group-size-dependent strategy in crickets could be generated by local interactions between robots, where the behaviour was governed by an oscillator and memory of the outcome of previous fights.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, Jul. 2011, JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY, 214(14) (14), 2426 - 2434, English


• Social interactions influence dopamine and octopamine homeostasis in the brain of the ant Formica japonica

  Ayako Wada-Katsumata, Ryohei Yamaoka, Hitoshi Aonuma

  In ants, including Formica japonica, trophallaxis and grooming are typical social behaviors shared among nestmates. After depriving ants of either food or nestmates and then providing them with either food or nestmates, a behavioral change in type and frequency of social interactions was observed. We hypothesized that starvation and isolation affected levels of brain biogenic amines including dopamine (DA) and octopamine (OA) - neuromediators modifying various insect behaviors - and tested the relationship between brain biogenic amines and social behaviors of stressed ants. Ants starved for 7. days contained lower brain DA levels and they did not perform trophallaxis toward nestmates. Feeding starved ants sucrose solution re-established trophallaxis but not brain DA levels. The performance of trophallaxis induced recovery of brain DA content to the level of untreated ants. Ants that were isolated for 2 days displayed markedly increased OA levels, which following nestmate interactions, returned to levels similar to those of control (non-isolated) ants and ants isolated for 1. h. We conclude that: (1) starvation reduced brain DA level but had no significant effect on brain OA (trophallaxis recovered the brain DA levels), and (2) isolation increased brain OA level but had no effect on brain DA (trophallaxis and grooming events recovered the brain OA levels). We suggest that social interactions with nestmates influenced brain biogenic amine homeostasis in stressed F. japonica.

  COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, May 2011, JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY, 214(10) (10), 1707 - 1713, English


• コオロギの闘争行動と順位形成:神経生理学から行動学へ

  青沼仁志

  08 Mar. 2011, 日本生態学会大会講演要旨集, 58th, 146, Japanese


• コンピュータシミュレーションによるミツバチの採餌戦略の解析

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2011, 日本動物学会中国四国支部会報, (63) (63), 16, Japanese


• Identification and expression analysis of the genes involved in serotonin biosynthesis and transduction in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Watanabe, T., Sadamoto, H., Aonuma, H.

  Serotonin (5-HT) modulates various aspects of behaviours such as aggressive behaviour and circadian behaviour in the cricket. To elucidate the molecular basis of the cricket 5-HT system, we identified 5-HT-related genes in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus DeGeer. Complementary DNA of tryptophan hydroxylase and phenylalanine-tryptophan hydroxylase, which convert tryptophan into 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP), and that of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, which converts 5-HTP into 5-HT, were isolated from a cricket brain cDNA library. In addition, four 5-HT receptor genes (5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B), 5-HT(2 alpha), and 5-HT(7)) were identified. Expression analysis of the tryptophan hydroxylase gene TRH and phenylalanine-tryptophan hydroxylase gene TPH, which are selectively involved in neuronal and peripheral 5-HT synthesis in Drosophila, suggested that two 5-HT synthesis pathways co-exist in the cricket neuronal tissues. The four 5-HT receptor genes were expressed in various tissues at differential expression levels, suggesting that the 5-HT system is widely distributed in the cricket.

  WILEY-BLACKWELL, 2011, Insect Molecular Biology, 20(5) (5), 619 - 635, English


• セロトニン仮説の数学的表現と分岐解析

  矢野史朗, 渡邊崇之, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 淺間一

  24 Nov. 2010, 計測自動制御学会システム・情報部門学術講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2010, ROMBUNNO.2G2-2, Japanese


• クロコオロギの闘争行動における一酸化窒素およびオクトパミンの関与

  佐倉緑, 菊地美香, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2010, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 81st, 154, Japanese


• 計算機シミュレーションによるミツバチ8の字ダンスの採餌行動における効果

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  20 Aug. 2010, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 81st, 155, Japanese


• Semi-automatic behavior analysis using robot/insect mixed society and video tracking

  Rodrigo da Silva Guerra, Hitoshi Aonuma, Koh Hosoda, Minoru Asada

  This paper proposes a novel robot/insect mixed society setup which enhances the possibilities for insect behavioral research and can be used as a powerful tool for interdisciplinary studies on insect behavior. Micro-robots are equipped with decoys so as to allow a controlled dynamic interaction with crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus. A camera records the interaction and the video is later processed for the automatic tracking of each encounter between cricket and robot. A novelty of our method lies in using the robots as tools for the controlled evoking of specific insect behaviors rather than trying to build an insect-like robot. The possibility for performing controlled repeatable movements allows the stimulation of certain insect behaviors that are usually difficult to trigger using insects alone, allowing consistent behavioral research. A set of experiments were performed in order to validate the proposed setup. We also demonstrate the use of our setup for stimulating agonistic behavior during an electromyography recording session. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

  Aug. 2010, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 191(1) (1), 138 - 144


• クロコオロギの行動選択機構のモデリングに関する研究―行動選択モデルの掃引作業への応用の検討―

  藤井喬, 川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 佐倉緑, 鈴木剛, 太田順, 淺間一

  An insect generates an environmental adaptive behavior by a small brain. The authors think that such ability for environmental adaptation brings useful knowledge for behavior control of a multi-robot system. Therefore, ability for environmental adaptation of a cricket was modeled as a behavior selection model. Such ability for environmental adaptation of insects is not yet elucidated enough. Therefore, in this study, the authors discuss about an engineering application of proposed cricket's behavior selection model. In particular about this paper, proposed model was discussed and compared with other behavior selection model efficiency as an example in sweeping task.

  The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, 13 Jun. 2010, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2010, ROMBUNNO.2A1-A01 - A01(1)"-"2A1-A01(4)", Japanese


• ついに解明!!クロコオロギGryllus bimaculatus雄の喧嘩行動誘起フェロモン

  山崎まどか, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 松山茂, 秋野順治, 山岡亮平

  12 Mar. 2010, 日本応用動物昆虫学会大会講演要旨, 54th, 115, Japanese


• 数理モデルによるミツバチの8の字ダンスの生物的意義の解析

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2010, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 32nd, 29, Japanese


• ミツバチの採餌行動は尻振りダンス行動によって効率的になるのか?

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 赤松忠明, 岩田可南子, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2010, 日本動物学会中国四国支部会報, (62) (62), 12, Japanese


• 2A1-A01 Study on cricket's neuronal modeling for behavior selection : Examination of application to sweeping task of behavior selection model

  FUJII Takashi, KAWABATA Kuniaki, AONUMA Hitoshi, SAKURA Midori, SUZUKI Tsuyoshi, OTA Jun, ASAMA Hajime

  An insect generates an environmental adaptive behavior by a small brain. The authors think that such ability for environmental adaptation brings useful knowledge for behavior control of a multi-robot system. Therefore, ability for environmental adaptation of a cricket was modeled as a behavior selection model. Such ability for environmental adaptation of insects is not yet elucidated enough. Therefore, in this study, the authors discuss about an engineering application of proposed cricket's behavior selection model. In particular about this paper, proposed model was discussed and compared w...

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 2010, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2010(0) (0), "2A1 - A01(1)"-"2A1-A01(4)", Japanese


• Behavior change of crickets in a robot-mixed society

  2010, J. Rob. Mech., 22(4) (4), 524 - 531


• 2A1-B10 A Study on a cricket's neuronal modeling for behavior selection : Consideration to between internal state and behavior selection

  FUJII Takashi, KAWABATA Kuniaki, AONUMA Hitoshi, SUZUKI Tsuyoshi, ASHIKAGA Masatoshi, OTA Jun, ASAMA Hajime

  In this research we model a cricket's neuronal system of the adaptive behavior selection mechanism. In our model, it assumes that the biogenic amine(Octopamin) and efficacy to sensory input from an antenae to generate adaptive behavior. In this paper, we hypothesize that the internal state(Octopamine) regulates behavior transition probability in fighting behavior the computer simulations are done by using our model.

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 25 May 2009, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2009(0) (0), "2A1 - B10(1)"-"2A1-B10(2)", Japanese


• A Study on a cricket's neuronal modeling for behavior selection-Consideration to between internal state and behavior selection-

  FUJII TAKASHI, KAWABATA KUNIAKI, AONUMA HITOSHI, SUZUKI TSUYOSHI, ASHIKAGA MASATOSHI, OTA JUN, ASAMA HAJIME

  24 May 2009, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2009, ROMBUNNO.2A1-B10, Japanese


• クロコオロギの行動選択機構のモデリングに関する研究(喧嘩行動実験による神経機構モデルの考察)

  藤井喬, 川端邦明, 青沼仁志, 鈴木剛, 足利昌俊, 太田順, 淺間一

  16 Mar. 2009, ロボティクスシンポジア予稿集, 14th, 35 - 41, Japanese


• クロコオロギ(Gryllus bimaculatus)雄の喧嘩行動誘起フェロモン

  山崎まどか, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 松山茂, 秋野順治, 山岡亮平

  12 Mar. 2009, 日本応用動物昆虫学会大会講演要旨, 53rd, 54, Japanese


• Development of neurotransmitter modulation on aggression and dominance hierarchy in cricket, Gryllus Bimaculatus

  Yano S, Ikemoto Y, Aonuma H, Asama H

  2009, ICCAS-SICE 2009 - ICROS-SICE International Joint Conference 2009, Proceedings, 2254 - 2259

  [Refereed]


• Effects of a waggle dance on the honeybee foraging behavior

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2009, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 80th (Web)


• ミツバチの尻振りダンスとコロニーの集蜜量の関係

  岡田龍一, 赤松忠明, 岩田可南子, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2009, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 31st, 69, Japanese


• セイヨウミツバチの偏光知覚機構の解明

  佐倉緑, 岡田龍一, 青沼仁志

  2009, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 31st, 70, Japanese


• シロアリの兵隊‐ワーカーにおける脳内チラミン‐オクトパミン系の解析

  石川由希, 青沼仁志, 佐々木謙, 三浦徹

  2009, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 31st, 71, Japanese


• Establishment of Social Status without Individual Discrimination in the Cricket

  Masatoshi Ashikaga, Midori Sakura, Mika Kikuchi, Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Ryosuke Chiba, Hitoshi Aonuma, Jun Ota

  Agonistic behavior in crickets was investigated to understand socially adaptive behavior, which assists with the understanding of the design of an artificial autonomous system in a social organization. Agonistic behavior between male crickets is released by the perception of cuticular substances of conspecific males. The degree of aggressiveness in crickets escalates from antennal fencing to tactical contact until one male quits fighting, at which time social status is established. The question of whether crickets are able to recognize one another to establish social status in an agonist interaction is worthy of pursuit. However, it would be difficult to conduct an experiment to explore this issue while using many individuals. Hence, we examined the social organization among male crickets using a two-step approach: (i) an experiment involving a simulated cricket behavior model and (ii) an experiment involving a behavior experiment using real animals. Our results suggest that crickets establish social status without recognition of their opponents. (c) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden and The Robotics Society of Japan, 2009

  VSP BV, 2009, ADVANCED ROBOTICS, 23(5) (5), 563 - 578, English


• 昆虫の社会的経験にもとづく行動選択のモデル化

  青沼仁志, 佐倉緑, 足利昌俊, 藤木智久, 藤井喬, 川端邦明, 太田順, 淺間一

  23 Oct. 2008, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 18th(CD-ROM) (CD-ROM), ROMBUNNO.E2-2, Japanese


• 巣内での追従バチの行動パターン

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  20 Aug. 2008, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 79th, 132, Japanese


• クロコオロギの攻撃行動発現における一酸化窒素シグナル系の関与

  佐倉緑, 頼経篤史, 青沼仁志

  20 Aug. 2008, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 79th, 89, Japanese


• 2P2-I13 Environment dependent order generation among insect-based robots

  FUNATO Tetsuro, Nara Masahito, Kurabayashi Daisuke, Aonuma Hitoshi, Ashikaga Masatoshi

  Crickets have a fixed habit to avoid the fighting for a certain minutes after their defeat. If the fighting opportunity is too frequent, some crickets cannot recover the militancy, which limits the number of fighting crickets depending on their group density. This phenomenon shows the property of crickets as an autonomous system that adapts to the density variation, i.e., environmental change, only by a local interaction. In this research, the mechanism of such a biological adaptability is discussed from the viewpoint of brain function. The behaviour selector is modelled using oscillator ne...

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 06 Jun. 2008, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2008(0) (0), "2P2 - I13(1)"-"2P2-I13(4)", Japanese


• 2P2-I18 A study on adaptive behavior selection model of cricket : A modeling of mechanism to regulate the sensitivity of the antenna

  FUJII Takashi, KAWABATA Kuniaki, AONUMA Hitoshi, SUZUKI Tsuyoshi, ASHIKAGA Masatoshi, OTA Jun, ASAMA Hajime

  Understanding the mechanism underlying insect's behavior selection leads to comprehend useful knowledge to design principle of adaptive system based on the interactions between the individuals. The aim of this research is to modelsocial-adaptive behavior mechanism focusing on the cricket's fighting behavior as one typical example of social adaptation. In the cricket's fighting behavior, the antennae play very important role and it is considerable as key element to emerge of social behavior adaptation. This paper describes to attempt to model the antennal information processing system based ...

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 06 Jun. 2008, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2008(0) (0), "2P2 - I18(1)"-"2P2-I18(3)", Japanese


• Environment dependent order generation among insect-based robots

  FUNATO TETSURO, NARA MASAHITO, KURABAYASHI DAISUKE, AONUMA HITOSHI, ASHIKAGA MASATOSHI

  05 Jun. 2008, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2008, ROMBUNNO.2P2-I13, Japanese


• A study on adaptive behavior selection model of cricket-A modeling of mechanism to regulate the sensitivity of the antenna-

  FUJII TAKASHI, KAWABATA KUNIAKI, AONUMA HITOSHI, SUZUKI TSUYOSHI, ASHIKAGA MASATOSHI, OTA JUN, ASAMA HAJIME

  05 Jun. 2008, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2008, ROMBUNNO.2P2-I18, Japanese


• Cholinergic neurotransmission from mechanosensory afferents to giant interneurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Oak Yono, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Crickets respond to air currents with quick avoidance behavior. The terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG) has a neuronal circuit for a wind-detection system to elicit this behavior. We investigated neuronal transmission from cercal sensory afferent neurons to ascending giant interneurons (GIs). Pharmacological treatment with 500 mu M acetylcholine (ACh) increased neuronal activities of ascending interneurons with cell bodies located in the TAG. The effects of ACh antagonists on the activities of identified GIs were examined. The muscarinic ACh antagonist atropine at 3-mM concentration had no obvious effect on the activities of GIs 10-3, 10-2, or 9-3. On the other hand, a 3-mM concentration of the nicotinic ACh antagonist mecamylamine decreased spike firing of these interneurons. Immunohistochemistry using a polyclonal anti-conjugated acetylcholine antibody revealed the distribution of cholinergic neurons in the TAG. The cercal sensory afferent neurons running through the cercal nerve root showed cholinergic immunoreactivity, and the cholinergic immunoreactive region in the neuropil overlapped with the terminal arborizations of the cercal sensory afferent neurons. Cell bodies in the median region of the TAG also showed cholinergic immunoreactivity. This indicates that not only sensory afferent neurons but also other neurons that have cell bodies in the TAG could use ACh as a neurotransmitter.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, May 2008, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 25(5) (5), 517 - 525, English


• 振動子網を用いた行動切替によるロボット群の挙動分化

  奈良維仁, 舩戸徹郎, 倉林大輔, 足利昌俊, 青沼仁志, 森山拓郎

  16 Mar. 2008, ロボティクスシンポジア予稿集, 13th, 338 - 343, Japanese


• クロコオロギ(Gryllus bimaculatus)雄の喧嘩行動誘起フェロモン

  山崎まどか, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 秋野順治, 山岡亮平

  日本応用動物昆虫学会, 12 Mar. 2008, 日本応用動物昆虫学会大会講演要旨, 52nd(52) (52), 141 - 141, Japanese


• H203 クロコオロギ(Gryllus bimaculatus)雄の喧嘩行動誘起フェロモン

  山崎 まどか, 佐倉 緑, 青沼 仁志, 秋野 順治, 山岡 亮平

  日本応用動物昆虫学会, 12 Mar. 2008, 日本応用動物昆虫学会大会講演要旨, (52) (52), 141 - 141, Japanese


• Advanced Robotics: Preface

  Hosoda, K., Aonuma, H.

  2008, Advanced Robotics, 22(15) (15), 1603 - 1604

  [Refereed]


• Advanced Robotics: Preface

  Hosoda, K., Aonuma, H.

  2008, Advanced Robotics, 22(15) (15), 481 - 482

  [Refereed]


• オスクロコオロギの体表物質に含まれる攻撃行動誘起成分

  山崎まどか, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志, 秋野順治, 山岡亮平

  2008, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 30th, 27, Japanese


• 巣内ミツバチの歩行パターン

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 木村敏文, 大橋瑞江, 青沼仁志, 伊藤悦朗

  2008, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 30th, 29, Japanese


• Biological Insights Into Robotics: Honeybee Foraging Behavior by a Waggle Dance

  Ryuichi Okada, Hidetoshi Ikeno, Hitoshi Aonuma, Etsuro Ito

  A honeybee informs her nestmates of flower locations by a unique behavior called a 'waggle dance'. We regard this behavior as a good model of the 'propagation and sharing of knowledge' to maintain a society. We have attempted to reveal how this dance benefits the colony using mathematical models and computer simulation based on parameters obtained from observations of bee behavior. Our simulation indicated that the most successful forages were made by a putative bee colony that used the dance to communicate. Video analysis of worker honeybee behavior in the field showed that a bee does not dance in a single, random place in the hive, but waggles several times in one place and several times in another. The orientation and duration of waggle runs varied from run to run, within ranges of +/- 15 degrees and +/- 15%, respectively. We also found that most of the bees that listened to the waggle dance turned away from the dancer after listening to one or two runs. These data suggest that honeybees use the waggle dance as a method of communication, but that they must base their forages oil ambiguous information about the location of a food source. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden and The Robotics Society of Japan, 2008

  VSP BV, 2008, ADVANCED ROBOTICS, 22(15) (15), 1665 - 1681, English


• Switching mechanism of sensor-motor coordination through an oscillator network model

  Funato, T., Kurabayashi, D., Nara, M., Aonuma, H.

  Insects have small brains, but their behavior is highly adaptive; this leads us to conclude that their brains possess a simple adaptation mechanism. This paper focuses on the pheromone processing of crickets, varying their aggression depending on their global neural connection, and proposes a behavior selection mechanism that can be controlled by network transformation. The controller is composed of an oscillator network, and its behavior is decided by the synchrony of organic oscillations. Furthermore, every network component corresponds to a certain brain module. A model is realized by using an analog circuit, and it is applied to a simple robot that displays the behavior of a real insect.

  IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC, 2008, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B: Cybernetics, 38(3) (3), 764 - 770, English


• 生物の社会適応機能の解明とその工学的応用 社会的適応行動から学ぶ情報共有システムの構築―ミツバチの8の字ダンスを対象として

  岡田龍一, 池野英利, 青沼仁志, 倉林大輔, 伊藤悦朗

  計測自動制御学会, 10 Dec. 2007, 計測と制御, 46(12) (12), 916 - 921, Japanese


• Mobiligence and Social Adaptation

  ASAMA Hajime, AONUMA Hitoshi, OTA Jun, CHIBA Ryusuke

  10 Dec. 2007, 計測と制御 = Journal of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 46(12) (12), 885 - 886, Japanese


• Round-Table Discussion : Mobiligence, Social Adaptation, and Integrated Approach of Biology and Engineering

  ASAMA Hajime, KANZAKI Ryohei, AONUMA Hitoshi, MIURA Toru, KURABAYASHI Daisuke, OTA Jun

  計測自動制御学会, 10 Dec. 2007, 計測と制御 = Journal of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 46(12) (12), 951 - 957, Japanese


• 1P216 NO-mediated regulation of firing activity of wind-sensitive intemeurons in the cricket(Neural network and brain computing,Poster Presentations)

  Ogawa Hiroto, Baba Yoshichika, Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Aonuma Hitoshi, Oka Kotaro

  日本生物物理学会, 20 Nov. 2007, Biophysics, 47(SUPPLEMENT_1) (SUPPLEMENT_1), S77, English


• Localization of glutamate-like immunoreactive neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system of the adult and developing pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis

  Dai Hatakeyama, Hitoshi Aonuma, Etsuro Ito, Karoly Elekes

  We investigated the distribution and projection patterns of central and peripheral glutamate-like immunoreactive (GLU-LIR) neurons in the adult and developing nervous system of Lymnaea. Altogether, 50-60 GLU-LIR neurons are present in the adult central nervous system. GLU-LIR labeling is shown in the interganglionic bundle system and at the varicosities in neuropil of the central ganglia. In the periphery, the foot, lip, and tentacle contain numerous GLU-LIR bipolar sensory neurons. In the juvenile Lymnaea, GLU-LIR elements at the periphery display a pattern of distribution similar to that seen in adults, whereas labeled neurons increase in number in the different ganglia of the central nervous system from juvenile stage P1 up to adulthood. During embryogenesis, GLU-LIR innervation can be detected first at the 50% stage of embryonic development (the E50% stage) in the neuropil of the cerebral and pedal ganglia, followed by the emergence of labeled pedal nerve roots at the E75% stage. Before hatching, at the E90% stage, a few GLU-LIR sensory cells can be found in the caudal foot region. Our findings indicate a wide range of occurrence and a broad role for glutamate in the gastropod nervous system; hence they provide a basis for future studies on glutamatergic events in networks underlying different behaviors.

  MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, Oct. 2007, BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 213(2) (2), 172 - 186, English


• Development of a Robot Model by Structural Function of Oscillator Network

  FUNATO TETSURO, NARA MASAHITO, D'ANGELO A, PAGELLO E, KURABAYASHI DAISUKE, AONUMA HITOSHI

  13 Sep. 2007, 日本ロボット学会学術講演会予稿集(CD-ROM), 25th, 1D16, Japanese


• Modeling of Neuronal Mechanism of Social Adaptive Behavior in Crickets

  KAWABATA KUNIAKI, OTA JUN, AONUMA HITOSHI, ASAMA HAJIME

  13 Sep. 2007, 日本ロボット学会学術講演会予稿集(CD-ROM), 25th, 1F14, Japanese


• クロコオロギの喧嘩行動における触角の役割

  佐倉緑, 頼経篤史, 青沼仁志

  31 Aug. 2007, 日本動物学会大会要旨集, 78th, 100, Japanese


• クロコオロギの喧嘩行動の修飾に関わる脳内アミン

  菊地美香, 足利昌俊, 太田順, 長尾隆司, 青沼仁志

  31 Aug. 2007, 日本動物学会大会要旨集, 78th, 99, Japanese


• クロコオロギ触角葉の3次元構築

  頼経篤史, 佐倉緑, 青沼仁志

  31 Aug. 2007, 日本動物学会大会要旨集, 78th, 101, Japanese


• Modeling of socially adaptive behavior in crickets

  ASHIKAGA MASATOSHI, KIKUCHI MIKA, HIRAGUCHI TETSUTARO, SAKURA MIDORI, CHIBA RYOSUKE, AONUMA HITOSHI, OTA JUN

  10 Aug. 2007, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 17th, 191 - 196, Japanese


• Neuronal activity changes in adaptive behavior after fight.

  HIRAGUCHI TETSUTARO, AONUMA HITOSHI, KURABAYASHI DAISUKE

  10 Aug. 2007, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 17th, 189 - 190, Japanese


• Artificial model for behaviour switching by using network transition through neuromodulation effect

  D. Kurabayashi, H. Aonuma, T. Funato, T. Fujiki, M. Ashikaga, J. Ota, H. Asama

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Aug. 2007, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY, 148, S32 - S32, English

  Summary international conference


• 2A1-A09 A Study of Neural Circuit Model of Insects for Adaptive Behavior Selection : A Model for Initiation/Termination Condition of Fighting Behavior

  KAWABATA Kuniaki, FUJIKI Tomohisa, AONUMA Hitoshi, ASAMA Hajime

  This current research aims to model adaptive behavior selection in crickets fighting behavior from physiological knowledge. We have already proposed an action selection model by NO/cGMP cascade-OA model and it can be an adequate model for adaptive behavior selection in cricket's brain. In this report, we examine to model a condition for initiation/termination condition of fighting behavior after interaction between the crickets.

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 11 May 2007, The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2007(0) (0), "2A1 - A09(1)"-"2A1-A09(4)", Japanese


• A Study of Neural Circuit Model of Insects for Adaptive Behavior Selection-A Model for Initiation / Termination Condition of Fighting Behavior-

  KAWABATA KUNIAKI, FUJIKI TOMOHISA, AONUMA HITOSHI, ASAMA HAJIME

  10 May 2007, 日本機械学会ロボティクス・メカトロニクス講演会講演論文集(CD-ROM), 2007, 2A1-A09, Japanese


• Nitric oxide synthase in crayfish walking leg ganglia: Segmental differences in chemo-tactile centers argue against a generic role in sensory integration

  Swidbert R. Ott, Hitoshi Aonuma, Philip L. Newland, Maurice R. Elphick

  Nitric oxide (NO) is a diffusible signaling molecule with evolutionarily conserved roles in neural plasticity. Prominent expression of NO synthase (NOS) in the primary olfactory centers of mammals and insects lead to the notion of a special role for NO in olfaction. In insects, however, NOS is also strongly expressed in non-olfactory chemo-tactile centers of the thoracic nerve cord. The functional significance of this apparent association with various sensory centers is unclear, as is. the extent to which it occurs in other arthropods. We therefore investigated the expression of NOS in the pereopod ganglia of crayfish (Pacifastacus lenisculus and Procambarus clarkii). Conventional NADPH diaphorase (NADPHd) staining after formaldehyde fixation gave poor anatomic detail, whereas fixation in methanol/formalin (MF-NADPHd) resulted in Golgi-like staining, which was supported by immunohistochemistry using NOS antibodies that recognize a 135-kDa protein in crayfish. MF-NADPHd revealed an exceedingly dense innervation of the chemo-tactile centers. As in insects, this innervation was provided by a system of prominent intersegmental neurons. Superimposed on a putatively conserved architecture, however, were pronounced segmental differences. Strong expression occurred only in the anterior three pereopod ganglia, correlating with the presence of claws on pereopods one to three. These clawed pereopods, in addition to their role in locomotion, are crucially involved in feeding, where they serve both sensory and motor functions. Our findings indicate that strong expression of NOS is not a universal feature of primary sensory centers but instead may subserve a specific requirement for sensory plasticity that arises only in particular behavioral contexts.

  WILEY-LISS, Mar. 2007, JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 501(3) (3), 381 - 399, English


• Gaseous neuromodulator-related genes expressed in the brain of honeybee Apis mellifera

  Takayuki Watanabe, Mika Kikuchi, Dai Hatakeyama, Takumi Shiga, Takehiro Yamamoto, Hitoshi Aonuma, Masakazu Takahata, Norio Suzuki, Etsuro Ito

  Nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and carbon monoxide (CO) are thought to act as gaseous neuromodulators in the brain across species. For example, in the brain of honeybee Apis mellifera, NO plays important roles in olfactory learning and discrimination, but the existence of H2S- and CO-mediated signaling pathways remains unknown. In the present study, we identified the genes of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS), and heme oxygenase (HO) from the honeybee brain. The honeybee brain contains at least one gene for each of NOS, CBS, and HO. The deduced proteins for NOS, CBS, and HO are thought to contain domains to generate NO, H2S, and CO, respectively, and to contain putative Ca2+/calmodulinbinding domains. On the other hand, the honeybee brain contains three subunits of sGC: sGC alpha 1, sGC beta 1, and sGC beta 3. Phylogenetic analysis of sGC revealed that Apis sGC alpha 1 and sGC beta 1 are closely related to NO- and CO-sensitive sGC subunits, whereas Apis sGC beta 3 is closely related to insect O-2-sensitive sGC subunits. In addition, we performed in situ hybridization for Apis NOS mRNA and NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in the honeybee brain. The NOS gene was strongly expressed in the optic lobes and in the Kenyon cells of the mushroom bodies. NOS activity was detected in the optic lobes, the mushroom bodies, the central body complex, the lateral protocerebral lobes, and the antennal lobes. These findings suggest that NO is involved in various brain functions and that H2S and CO can be endogenously produced in the honeybee brain. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, Mar. 2007, DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, 67(4) (4), 456 - 473, English


• Development of Behavioral Transition Model by using Oscillator Network

  Funato T, Kurabayashi D, Nara M, Aonuma H

  Insects have only a little brain but the behavior is highly adaptive. We consider that physical structure of the neural network works on the creation of the brain function and model the behavioral processor that controlled by its structural disposition. Nonlinear oscillator changes the behavior depends on the connection relationship, and the existence of oscillator and the function have been shown in antennal lobe(AL) of locust. Moreover, the structure of cricket AL changes by battle experience. Therefore, we model the function of AL using an oscillator network. Then, we realized the model ...

  物性研究刊行会, 20 Jan. 2007, Bussei Kenkyu, 87(4) (4), 579 - 582, Japanese


• Development of Behavioral Transition Model by using Oscillator Network

  舩戸徹郎, 倉林大輔, 奈良維仁, 青沼仁志

  Insects have only a little brain but the behavior is highly adaptive. We consider that physical structure of the neural network works on the creation of the brain function and model the behavioral processor that controlled by its structural disposition. Nonlinear oscillator changes the behavior depends on the connection relationship, and the existence of oscillator and the function have been shown in antennal lobe(AL) of locust. Moreover, the structure of cricket AL changes by battle experience. Therefore, we model the function of AL using an oscillator network. Then, we realized the model with electrical circuit, and proposed a simple robot model which follows a real insect behavior.

  物性研究刊行会, 20 Jan. 2007, 物性研究, 87(4) (4), 579 - 582, Japanese


• コオロギ最終腹部神経節における一酸化窒素の生理機能の解析

  小川宏人, 馬藤欣哉, 北村美一郎, 青沼仁志, 岡浩太郎

  2007, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 29th, 25, Japanese


• Mobiligence and Social Adaptation

  ASAMA Hajime, AONUMA Hitoshi, OTA Jun, CHIBA Ryusuke

  公益社団法人 計測自動制御学会, 2007, Journal of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 46(12) (12), 885 - 886, Japanese


• Round-Table Discussion: Mobiligence, Social Adaptation, and Integrated Approach of Biology and Engineering

  ASAMA Hajime, KANZAKI Ryohei, AONUMA Hitoshi, MIURA Toru, KURABAYASHI Daisuke, OTA Jun

  公益社団法人 計測自動制御学会, 2007, Journal of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 46(12) (12), 951 - 957, Japanese


• Serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the antennal sensory system of the brain in the carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus

  Tsuji, E., Aonuma, H., Yokohari, F., Nishikawa, M.

  Social Hymenoptera such as ants or honeybees are known for their extensive behavioral repertories and plasticity. Neurons containing biogenic amines appear to play a major role in controlling behavioral plasticity in these insects. Here we describe the morphology of prominent serotonin-immunoreactive neurons of the antennal sensory system in the brain of an ant, Camponotus japonicus. Immunoreactive fibers were distributed throughout the brain and the subesophageal ganglion (SOG). The complete profile of a calycal input neuron was identified. The soma and dendritic elements are contralaterally located in the lateral protocerebrum. The neuron supplies varicose axon terminals in the lip regions of the calyces of the mushroom body, axon collaterals in the basal ring but not in the collar region, and other axon terminals ipsilaterally in the lateral protocerebrum. A giant neuron innervating the antennal lobe has varicose axon terminals in most of 300 glomeruli in the ventral region of the antennal lobe (AL) and a thick neurite that spans the entire SOG and continues towards the thoracic ganglia. However, neither a soma nor a dendritic element of this neuron was found in the brain or the SOG. A deutocerebral projection neuron has a soma in the lateral cell-body group of the AL, neuronal branches at most of the 12 glomeruli in the dorsocentral region of the ipsilateral AL, and varicose terminal arborizations in both hemispheres of the protocerebrum. Based on the present results, tentative subdivisions in neuropils related to the antennal sensory system of the ant brain are discussed. © 2007 Zoological Society of Japan.

  2007, Zoological Science, 24(8) (8), 836 - 849, English


• Role of NO signaling in switching mechanisms in the nervous system of insect

  2007, Proc. SICE Ann. Conf., 2477 - 2482


• A study on neural circuit model of insects for adaptive behavior selection - Verification of action selection model in multi-individual environments -

  2007, Proc. International Symp. Mobiligence, 2, 187 - 190


• 3-D atras of the cricket antennal lobe

  2007, Proc. International Symp. Mobiligence, 2, 187 - 190


• Fighting experiences modulate aggressive and avoidance behaviors in crickets against male cuticular substances

  2007, Proc. International Symp. Mobiligence, 2, 243 - 246


• Social experience dependent behavior selection in the cricket - from neuroethological approach to modeling -

  2007, Proc. International Symp. Mobiligence, 2, 16 - 19


• Distributions of aminergic and nitric oxidergic neurons

  2007, Proc. International Symp. Mobiligence, 2, 239 - 242


• Modeling of socially adaptive behavior in crickets

  足利昌俊, 菊地美香, 平口鉄太郎, 佐倉緑, 千葉龍介, 青沼仁志, 太田順

  2007, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 2, 191 - 194


• Foraging task of multiple mobile robots in a dynamic environments using adaptive behaviors in crickets

  ASHIKAGA M.

  2007, J Rob Mech., 19(4) (4), Accepted - 473


• A neuromodulation model for adaptive behavior selection of the cricket

  2007, J. Robot. Mech., Accepted


• Modeling of social interaction in the male crickets

  Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Masatoshi Ashikaga, Midori Sakura, Mika Kikuchi, Jun Ota, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2006, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 23(12) (12), 1203 - 1203, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Nitric oxide signaling system regulates the level of biogenic amines in the cricket brain during agonistic behavior

  Jun Murakami, Hitoshi Aonuma, Takashi Nagao

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2006, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 23(12) (12), 1190 - 1190, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Neural control mechanisms in chromatophore organs of squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana

  Mamiko Suzuki, Tetsuya Kimura, Hiroto Ogawa, Hitoshi Aonuma, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Kohji Hotta, Kotaro Oka

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2006, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 23(12) (12), 1187 - 1187, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Physiological role of NO production in invertebrate nervous system

  Y. Kitamura, H. Aonuma, K. Oka, H. Ogawa

  ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Nov. 2006, COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 145(3-4) (3-4), 405 - 406, English

  Summary international conference


• 2P368 Acetylcholine-induced calcium-NO signaling in the cricket terminal abdominal ganglion(44. Neuro-biophysics,Poster Session,Abstract,Meeting Program of EABS & BSJ 2006)

  Ogawa Hiroto, Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Aonuma Hitoshi, Oka Kotaro

  日本生物物理学会, 01 Oct. 2006, Biophysics, 46(SUPPLEMENT_2) (SUPPLEMENT_2), S387, English


• De Novo synthesis of CREB in a presynaptic neuron is required for synaptic enhancement involved in memory consolidation

  Akiko Wagatsuma, Sachiyo Azami, Midori Sakura, Dai Hatakeyama, Hitoshi Aonuma, Etsuro Ito

  Interaction between the activator type of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB1) and the repressor type (CREB2) results in determining the emergence of long-lasting synaptic enhancement involved in memory consolidation. However, we still do not know whether the constitutively expressed forms of CREB are enough or the newly synthesized forms are required for the synaptic enhancement. In addition, if the newly synthesized forms are needed, we must determine the time for translation of CREB from its mRNA. We applied the methods of RNA interference and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to CREB in the cerebral giant cells of Lymnaea. The cerebral giant cells play an important role in associative learning and employ a CREB cascade for the synaptic enhancement to neurons such as the B1 moto-neurons. We injected the small interfering RNA (siRNA) of CREB1 or CREB2 into the cerebral giant cells and examined the changes in amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) recorded in the B1 motoneurons. The changes in the amounts of CREB1 and CREB2 mRNAs were also examined in the cerebral giant cells. The EPSP amplitude was suppressed 15 min after injection of CREB1 siRNA, whereas that was augmented 60 min after injection of CREB2 siRNA. In the latter case, the decrease in the amount of CREB2 mRNA was confirmed by real-time PCR. Our results showed that the de novo synthesized forms of CREB are required within tens of minutes for the synaptic enhancement in memory consolidation. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, Oct. 2006, JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, 84(5) (5), 954 - 960, English


• Effects of previous experience on the agonistic behaviour of male crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Masazumi Iwasaki, Antonia Delago, Hiroshi Nishino, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Male solitary animals frequently enter aggressive interactions with conspecific individuals to protect their territory or to gain access to females. After an agonistic encounter, the loser (subordinate individual) changes its behaviour from aggression to avoidance. We investigated agonistic interactions between pairs of male crickets to understand how dominance is established and maintained. Two naive males readily entered into agonistic interactions. Fights escalated in a stereotyped manner and were concluded with the establishment of dominance. If individuals were isolated after the first encounter and placed together 15 minutes later, subordinate crickets tended to avoid any further contact with the former dominant opponent. Moreover, subordinate males also avoided unfamiliar dominant and naive opponents. They displayed aggressive behaviour only towards unfamiliar subordinate opponents. This suggests that the subordinate male change their behaviour depending on the dominance status of the opponent. Dominant crickets, in contrast, displayed aggressive behaviour towards familiar as well as unfamiliar opponents. If the interval between the first and second encounter was longer than 30 minutes, the former subordinate male showed aggressive behaviour again. However, if the subordinate cricket was paired with the same opponent three consecutive times within 45 minutes, it avoided the former dominant opponent for up to 6 hours following the third encounter. Our results suggest that the maintenance of dominance in male crickets depends largely on the behavioural change of subordinate individuals. Possible mechanisms to maintain dominance are discussed.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Oct. 2006, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 23(10) (10), 863 - 872, English


• Foraging behavior of multiple mobile robots using fighting model in crickets

  ASHIKAGA MASATOSHI, KIKUCHI MIKA, HIRAGUCHI TETSUTARO, SAKURA MIDORI, AONUMA HITOSHI, OTA JUN

  In this paper, we propose a model of foraging behavior in multiple mobile robots. In this model, robots select behavior using their activities, which adjusted by interaction between other robots. And this model is using a mechanism of fighting behavior in male crickets. We simulate this model, and which shows that this model is better than a model of multiple robots without their activities about the working efficiency at dynamical working space.

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 25 Sep. 2006, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 16th, 17 - 22, Japanese


• A Study on Neural Circuit Model for Adaptive Behavior Selection of Insects-A Model of Adaptive Action Selection from NO/cGMP Cascade-

  FUJIKI TOMOHISA, KAWABATA KUNIAKI, IKEMOTO YUSUKE, AONUMA HITOSHI, ASAMA HAJIME

  Recent physiological research has revealed the importance of neuromodulator (e.g. NO) in the pheromone behavior such as fighting behavior in insects. This research aims to model the function of neuromodulator in fighting behavior of crickets, and to emerge adaptive action selection by constructive approach. In this report, we assume a model for adaptive behavior selection by NO/cGMP cascade according to the physiological knowledge, and run some computer simulations.

  一般社団法人日本機械学会, 25 Sep. 2006, インテリジェント・システム・シンポジウム講演論文集, 16th, 23 - 26, Japanese


• Development of Behavioral Processor Model using Oscillator Network

  FUNATO TETSURO, KURABAYASHI DAISUKE, NARA MASAHITO, AONUMA HITOSHI

  14 Sep. 2006, 日本ロボット学会学術講演会予稿集(CD-ROM), 24th, 1K33, Japanese


• Experience-based agonistic behavior in female crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Antonia Delago, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Fighting behavior in male crickets is already well described, and some of the mechanisms underlying aggression and aggressive motivation have already been revealed. Much less is known about female/female interactions. Here, we report that adult female crickets that had been isolated for several days readily entered into agonistic interactions with conspecific individuals. Characteristic dyadic encounters between isolated females escalated in a stepwise manner and were concluded with the establishment of a dominant/subordinate relationship. For 15 to 30 minutes following an initial fight, former subordinate females showed a dramatic change in agonistic behavior. If they were paired with the former dominant opponent during this interval, a significant majority did not enter into any aggressive interaction but instead actively avoided the opponent. A similar experience-based and time-dependent increase in avoidance was observed when former subordinate females were paired with unfamiliar naive opponents. However, when faced with an unfamiliar subordinate individual in the second encounter, no such increase in avoidance behavior was observed. We propose that the observed changes in the behavior of former subordinate females are the consequence of a change in the general state of arousal and of the recognition of dominance status, but not of individual recognition. The fact that former dominant individuals did not show similar experience-based changes in agonistic behavior suggests that dominant/subordinate relationships between pairs of female crickets are maintained mainly by the behavior of subordinate individuals.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Sep. 2006, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 23(9) (9), 775 - 783, English


• Reactive oxygen species mediate shear stress-induced fluid-phase endocytosis in vascular endothelial cells

  K Niwa, J Sakai, T Karino, H Aonuma, T Watanabe, T Ohyama, O Inanami, M Kuwabara

  To elucidate the role of shear stress in fluid-phase endocytosis of vascular endothelial cells (EC), we used a rotating-disk shearing apparatus to investigate the effects of shear stress on the uptake of lucifer yellow (LY) by cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells ( BAEC). Exposure of EC to shear stress (area-mean value of 10 dynes/cm(2)) caused an increase in LY uptake that was abrogated by the antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), the NADPH oxidase inhibitor, acetovanillone, and two inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), calphostin C and GF109203X. These results suggest that fluid-phase endocytosis is regulated by both reactive oxygen species (ROS) and PKC. Shear stress increased both ROS production and PKC activity in EC, and the increase in ROS was unaffected by calphostin C or GF109203X, whereas the activation of PKC was reduced by NAC and acetovanillone. We conclude that shear stress-induced increase in fluid-phase endocytosis is mediated via ROS generation followed by PKC activation in EC.

  TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, Feb. 2006, FREE RADICAL RESEARCH, 40(2) (2), 167 - 174, English


• Modeling of adaptive behaviors in crickets

  ASHIKAGA Masatoshi, HIRAGUCHI Tetsutaro, SAKURA Midori, AONUMA Hitoshi, OTA Jun

  26 Jan. 2006, 自律分散システム・シンポジウム資料 = SICE Symposium on Decentralized Autonomous Systems, 18, 189 - 194, Japanese


• ヤマトアシナガアリ脳内におけるNO/cGMPシグナル系の作用領域

  佐倉緑, 平口鉄太郎, 大河原恭祐, 青沼仁志

  2006, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 28th, 38, Japanese


• 神経生物学とナノテク

  青沼仁志

  2006, 日本比較内分泌学会大会及びシンポジウムプログラム・講演要旨, 31st, 15, Japanese


• Critical role of nitric oxide-cGMP cascade in the formation of cAMP-dependent long-term memory

  Y Matsumoto, S Unoki, H Aonuma, M Mizunami

  Cyclic AMP pathway plays ail essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. Here we describe a new role of the NO-cGMP pathway, namely, stimulation of the cAMP pathway to induce LTM. We have studied the signaling cascade Underlying LTM formation by systematically coinjecting various "LTM-inducing" and "LTM-blocking" drugs in crickets. Multiple-trial olfactory conditioning led to LTM that lasted for several days, while memory induced by single-trial conditioning decayed away within several hours. Injection of inhibitors of the enzyme forming NO, cGMP, or cAMP into the hemolymph prior to multiple-trial conditioning blocked LTM, whereas injection of ail NO donor, cGMP analog, or cAMP analog prior to single-trial conditioning induced LTM. Induction of LTM by injection of an NO donor or cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning was blocked by inhibitors of the cAMP pathway, but induction of LTM by a cAMP analog was unaffected by inhibitors of the NO-cGMP pathway. Inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNG channel) or calmodulin-blocked induction of LTM by cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning, but they did not affect induction of LTM by cAMP analog. Our findings suggest that the cAMP pathway is a downstream target of the NO-cGMP pathway for the formation of LTM, and that the CNG channel and calcium-calmodulin intervene between the NO-cGMP pathway and the cAMP pathway.

  COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS, PUBLICATIONS DEPT, Jan. 2006, LEARNING & MEMORY, 13(1) (1), 35 - 44, English


• NO/cGMP SIGNALING PATHWAY IN THE TERMINAL ABDOMINAL GANGLION OF THE CRICKET(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 76^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Aonuma Hitoshi, Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Ogawa Hiroto, Oka Kotaro

  The Zoological Society of Japan, 25 Dec. 2005, Zoological science, 22(12) (12), 1481 - 1481, English


• NEURAL NETWORKS CONTROLLING SQUID CHROMATOPHORE ORGANS IN LOCAL SKIN AREA(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 76^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Suzuki Mamiko, Kimura Tetsuya, Aonuma Hitoshi, Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Ogawa Hiroto, Hotta Kohji, Oka Kotaro

  The Zoological Society of Japan, 25 Dec. 2005, Zoological science, 22(12) (12), 1489 - 1489, English


• Neural networks controlling squid chromatophore organs in local skin area

  Mamiko Suzuki, Tetsuya Kimura, Hitoshi Aonuma, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Hiroto Ogawa, Kohji Hotta, Kotaro Oka

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(12) (12), 1489 - 1489, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Different stages of memory formation in female cricket fighting

  Antonia Delago, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(12) (12), 1488 - 1488, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Role of nitric oxide signaling and biogenic amines in the cricket brain

  Jun Murakami, Hitoshi Aonuma, Takashi Nagao

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(12) (12), 1484 - 1484, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• No/cGMP signaling pathway in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the cricket

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Hiroto Ogawa, Kotaro Oka

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(12) (12), 1481 - 1481, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Modulatory effects of nitric oxide on the neurons of antennal lobe in the cricket

  Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(12) (12), 1481 - 1481, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• 日本比較生理生化学会第27回大会シンポジウムBをおえて

  青沼 仁志

  30 Nov. 2005, 比較生理生化学, 22(3) (3), 122 - 123, Japanese


• 3P263 Nitric oxide production and physiological function in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the cricket

  Kitamura Y, Aonuma H, Oka K, Ogawa H

  日本生物物理学会, 19 Oct. 2005, Biophysics, 45(SUPPLEMENT_1) (SUPPLEMENT_1), S269, Japanese


• Discrimination of conspecific individuals via cuticular Pheromones by males of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  J Nagamoto, H Aonuma, M Hisada

  Cuticular substances on the body surface of crickets serve as pheromones that elicit a variety of different behaviors in male crickets. Antennal contact between males and females resulted in courtship behavior, and that between two males resulted in aggressive displays. As a first step in elucidating how crickets recognize and discriminate individuals, behavioral responses of male individuals to cuticular substances of conspecific males or females were investigated. The behavioral responses of males to antennal or palpal stimulation with an isolated antenna from a male or a female were recorded. To both antennal and palpal stimulation with female antennae, the majority of males responded with courtship behavior; to stimulation with male antennae, males responded with aggressive displays. To gain insight into the chemical nature of the behaviorally relevant components, isolated antennae were washed in either n-hexane, acetone or ethanol before behavior assays. Washed antennae no longer elicited courtship or aggressive responses in males. Next, polypropylene fibers were smeared with substances from the body surface of females and used for antennal stimulation. This experiment showed that the quality and quantity of cuticular substances appear to be highly age-dependent. Significantly more males responded with courtship behavior to cuticular substances from younger females. Isolated males generally showed higher levels of aggression than males reared in groups. Grouped males also were more likely to display courtship behavior towards antennae from younger females, and aggressive behavior towards antennae from older females. These results suggest that male discrimination of mating partners depends on the nature of female cuticular substances.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Oct. 2005, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 22(10) (10), 1079 - 1088, English


• シェアストレスによる血管内皮細胞のピノサイトーシス活性化における細胞内活性酸素の役割

  丹羽光一, 青沼仁志, 狩野猛

  01 Mar. 2005, 日本生理学雑誌, 67(3) (3), 130, Japanese


• コオロギ脳内における一酸化窒素産生細胞と生体アミン含有細胞の分布

  濱徳行, 高畑雅一, 青沼仁志

  2005, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 27th, 29, Japanese


• セイヨウミツバチApis mellifera脳におけるガス神経伝達物質合成・受容酵素の遺伝子クローニングとその発現解析

  渡邊崇之, 菊池美香, 青沼仁志, 鈴木範男, 伊藤悦朗

  2005, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 27th, 23, Japanese


• クロオオアリ脳内ニューロパイルにおけるセロトニン様免疫陽性ニューロンの局在

  西川道子, 辻衣里子, 青沼仁志, 横張文男

  2005, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 27th, 30, Japanese


• コオロギ脳内のフェロモン情報処理に関するNOの修飾効果

  平口鉄太郎, 青沼仁志

  2005, 日本比較生理生化学会大会予稿集, 27th, 29, Japanese


• Nitric oxide regulate efficacy of neuronal activities in the antennal lobe of the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Koutarou Oka, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1323 - 1323, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Courtship, avoidance and aggressive behaviors were introduced by different components of cuticular pheromones in male cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Masazumi Iwasaki, Chihiro Katagiri, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1322 - 1322, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Role of NO/cGMP signaling in a switching mechanism of pheromone behavior in the cricket

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Masazumi Iwasaki

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1321 - 1321, English

  [Refereed]

  Summary international conference


• Role of NO/cGMP signaling in a switching mechanism of pheromone behavior in the cricket

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Masazumi Iwasaki

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1321 - 1321, English

  Summary international conference


• Courtship, avoidance and aggressive behaviors were introduced by different components of cuticular pheromones in male cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Masazumi Iwasaki, Chihiro Katagiri, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1322 - 1322, English

  Summary international conference


• Nitric oxide regulate efficacy of neuronal activities in the antennal lobe of the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

  Tetsutaro Hiraguchi, Yoshiichiro Kitamura, Koutarou Oka, Hitoshi Aonuma

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, Dec. 2004, ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 21(12) (12), 1323 - 1323, English

  Summary international conference


• Intercellular synchronization of intracellular Ca^<2+> oscillation in cultured cardiac myocytes.

  NAKAYAMA Yukako, KAWAHARA Koichi, AONUMA Hitoshi, YAMAUCHI Yoshiko, NAKAJIMA Takayuki, HACHIRO Takeru

  Cultured cardiac myocytes from neonatal rats show spontaneous and cyclic contractions. The intracellular concentration of free Ca^<2+> also changes cyclically associated with the rhythmic contraction of myocytes (Ca^<2+> oscillation). This study aims at elucidating the mechanisms responsible for the intercellular synchronization of intracellular Ca^<2+> oscillation in cultured cardiac myocytes. In cultures at 4 days in vitro (4 DIV), Ca^<2+> oscillation was synchronized among myocytes in an aggregate. The oscillation was also synchronized between the myocytes in an aggregate and a remote my...

  一般社団法人電子情報通信学会, 08 Nov. 2004, IEICE technical report. ME and bio cybernetics, 104(429) (429), 41 - 44, Japanese


• NO-cGMP signaling in non-associative learning of the earthworm

  Y Kitamura, H Aonuma, K Niwa, K Mizutani, H Ogawa, K Oka

  ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, Aug. 2004, NITRIC OXIDE-BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY, 11(1) (1), 106 - 107, English

  Summary international conference


• NO/cGMP signaling regulates short-term memory in the cricket

  H Aonuma, M Iwasaki

  ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, Aug. 2004, NITRIC OXIDE-BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY, 11(1) (1), 107 - 107, English

  Summary international conference


• Effects of nitric oxide on proprioceptive signaling.

  Schuppe, H., Araki, M., Aonuma, H., Nagayama, T., Newland, P.L.

  We have analysed the effects of the neuromodulator nitric oxide (NO) on proprioceptive information processing by ascending intersegmental interneurons that form part of the local circuits within the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish. NO modulates the synaptic inputs to ascending interneurons, enhancing the amplitude of class I interneurons and reducing the amplitude of class 11 interneurons. Repetitive proprioceptive stimulation leads to rapid depression in a specific set of identified interneurons but not in others. Bath application of a nitric oxide scavenger, PTIO, causes a significant decrease in the rate of depression of the interneurons showing a rapid depression, independent of interneuron class, but has no effect on the dynamic responses of the interneurons that show little initial depression. These results indicate that NO exerts multiple effects at the very first stage of synaptic integration in local circuits.

  ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN, 2004, Zoological science, 21(1) (1), 1 - 5, English


• H. Schuppe, M. Araki, H. Aonuma, T. Nagayama and P. L. Newland Effects of nitric oxide on proprioceptive signaling, Zool. Sci., 21(1): 1-5 (2004)*

  2004


• H. Aonuma, M. Iwasaki and K. Niwa Role of NO signaling in switching mechanisms in the nervous system of insect, Proceeding of SICE Annual Conference , 2004: 2477-2482 (2004)*

  2004


• T. Nagayama, k. Kimura, M. Araki, H. Aonuma and P. L. Newland Distribution of glutamatergic immunoreactive neurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish, J. Comp. Neurol., 474(1): 123-135 (2004)*

  2004


• S. Hisayo, H. Sato, S. Kobayashi, J. Murakami, H. Aonuma, H. Ando, Y. Fujito, K. Hamano, M. Awaji, K. Lukowiak, A. Urano and E. Ito CREB in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis -Cloning, gene expression and function in identifiable neurons of the central n・・・

  S. Hisayo, H. Sato, S. Kobayashi, J. Murakami, H. Aonuma, H. Ando, Y. Fujito, K. Hamano, M. Awaji, K. Lukowiak, A. Urano and E. Ito CREB in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis -Cloning, gene expression and function in identifiable neurons of the central nervous system-, J. Neurobiol., 58(4): 455-466 (2004)*

  2004


• H. Aonuma and K. Niwa Nitric oxide regulates the levels of cGMP accumulation in the cricket brain, Act. Biol. Hung., 55(1-4): 65-70 (2004)*

  2004


• PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF NO-cGMP SIGNALING IN EARTHWORM NERVOUS SYSTEM(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 74^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Ogawa Hiroto, Kitamura Yoshiichiro, Hashii Hideaki, Mizutani Kenji, Aonuma Hitoshi, Oka Kotaro

  社団法人日本動物学会, 25 Dec. 2003, Zoological science, 20(12) (12), 1579 - 1579, English


• 昆虫の脳内におけるNO‐cGMPシグナル

  青沼仁志, 丹羽光一

  01 Dec. 2003, 日本生理学雑誌, 65(12) (12), 421 - 422, Japanese


• Effect of NO-cGMP signaling on neural activity of the earthworm ventral nervous system

  Kitamura Y, Hashii H, Mizutani K, Aonuma H, Ogawa H, Oka K

  日本生物物理学会, 25 Aug. 2003, Biophysics, 43(SUPPLEMENT_1) (SUPPLEMENT_1), S237, Japanese


• NO SIGNALING INCREASE cGMP LEVEL IN THE CRICKET BRAIN(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 74^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan) :

  Aonuma Hitoshi, Niwa Koichi

  Zoological Society of Japan, 2003, Zoological science, 20(12) (12), 1579 - 1579, English


• PROJECTION MAP OF PHEROMONE AND GENERAL ODOR PROCESSING PATHWAYS IN THE PROTOCEREBRUM OF THE MALE SILKWORM MOTH(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 74^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan) :

  Seki Yoichi, Aonuma Hitoshi, Kanzaki Ryohei

  Zoological Society of Japan, 2003, Zoological science, 20(12) (12), 1580 - 1580, English


• CUTICULAR PHEROMONE CHANGES NEURONAL ACTIVITIES IN THE BRAIN OF THE CRICKET GRYLLUS BIMACULATUS(Physiology,Abstracts of papers presented at the 74^ Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan) :

  Iwasaki Masazumi, Aonuma Hitoshi

  Zoological Society of Japan, 2003, Zoological science, 20(12) (12), 1583 - 1583, English


• NITRIC OXIDE (NO)-cGMP SIGNALING INDUCES LONG-TERM MEMORY IN THE CRIKET GRYLLUS BIMACULATUS(Physiology)(Proceedings of the Seventy-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Matsumoto Y, Aonuma H, Mizunami M

  社団法人日本動物学会, 25 Dec. 2002, Zoological science, 19(12) (12), 1476 - 1477, English


• DISTRIBUTION OF NO-GENERATING NEURONS AND TARGET NEURONS IN THE CRICKET BRAIN GRYLLUS BIMACULATUS(Physiology)(Proceedings of the Seventy-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Aonuma H, Matsumoto Y, Ott S.R, Elphick M.R, Mizunami M

  社団法人日本動物学会, 25 Dec. 2002, Zoological science, 19(12) (12), 1477 - 1477, English


• ザリガニ神経系における一酸化窒素の神経修飾作用

  青沼仁志

  01 Jan. 2002, 日本生理学雑誌, 64(1) (1), 25, Japanese


• Aonuma, H. and Newland, P. L. (2002). Synaptic inputs onto spiking local interneurons in crayfish are depressed by nitric oxide. Journal of Neurobiology, 52, 144-55.*

  2002


• Aonuma, H. (2002). Distribution of NO-induced cGMP-like immunoreactive neurones in the abdominal nervous system of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii. Zoological Science, 19:969-979.*

  2002


• Fujie, S., Aonuma, H., Ito, I., Gelperin, A. and Ito, E. (2002). The nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in olfactory processing system of the terrestrial slug Limax marginatus. Zoological Science, 19: 15-26.*

  2002


• INHIBITION OF NITRIC OXIDE (NO)-cGMP PATHWAY IMPAIRS MEDIUM-TERM MEMORY IN THE CRICKET Gryllus bimaculatus.(Physiology)(Proceeding of the Seventy-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan)

  Matsumoto Y, Aonuma H, Mizunami M

  社団法人日本動物学会, 15 Dec. 2001, Zoological science, 18(Supplement) (Supplement), 117 - 117, English


• チャコウラナメクジLimax marginatusの中枢および末梢神経系におけるNOS活性とNO誘導性cGMP含有細胞の分布

  藤江紗代子, 青沼仁志, 伊藤伊織, 伊藤悦朗

  26 Sep. 2001, 日本神経科学大会プログラム・抄録集, 24th, 326, Japanese


• チャコウラナメクジLimax marginatusの中枢および末梢神経系におけるNOS活性とNO誘導性cGMP含有細胞の分布

  藤江紗代子, 青沼仁志, 伊藤伊織, 伊藤悦朗

  01 Sep. 2001, 神経化学, 40(2/3) (2/3), 382, Japanese


• イギリスから帰国して

  青沼 仁志

  日本比較生理生化学会, 31 Aug. 2001, 比較生理生化学, 18(2) (2), 123 - 125, Japanese


• NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish (vol 303, pg 289, 2001)

  H Schuppe, H Aonuma, PL Newland

  SPRINGER-VERLAG, Mar. 2001, CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH, 303(3) (3), 451 - 451, English

  Others


• Nitergic modulation through NO-cGMP signalling pathway in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish(Physiology)(Proceeding of the Seventy-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan) :

  Aonuma H

  Zoological Society of Japan, 2001, Zoological science, 18(0) (0), 102 - 102, English


• NO/cGMP pathway in the peripheral and central olfactory organs of the terrestrial slug Limax marginatus(Physiology)(Proceeding of the Seventy-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoological Society of Japan) :

  Fujie S, Aonuma H, Ito I, Ito E

  Zoological Society of Japan, 2001, Zoological science, 18(0) (0), 104 - 104, English


• Aonuma, H. and Newland, P.L. (2001). Opposing actions of nitric oxide on synaptic inputs of identified interneurones in the central nervous system of the crayfish. Journal of Experimental Biology, 204: 1319-1332.*

  2001


• Aonuma, H. and Newland, P.L. (2001). The action of nitric oxide and cGMP on intersegmental interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion. in The Crustacean Nervous System. (Wiese K., ed.). Springer. P305-312.*

  2001


• NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in the terminal ganglion of the crayfish

  H Schuppe, H Aonuma, PL Newland

  BLACKWELL SCIENCE LTD, 2000, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, 12, 34 - 34, English

  Summary international conference


• Modulatory effects of nitric oxide on intersegmental ascending interneurones in the terminal ganglion of the crayfish

  H Aonuma, PL Newland

  BLACKWELL SCIENCE LTD, 2000, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, 12, 34 - 34, English

  Summary international conference


• Frontiers Crustacean Neurobiology に参加して

  青沼 仁志

  日本比較生理生化学会, 31 Dec. 1999, 比較生理生化学, 16(4) (4), 297 - 300, Japanese


• GABAergic and non-GABAergic spiking interneurons of local and intersegmental groups in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion

  H Aonuma, T Nagayama

  In the first step toward identifying the neurotransmitter released from spiking interneurons of both local and intersegmental groups in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion, the authors examined whether spiking local interneurons and ascending intersegmental interneurons contain the transmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In this paper, 17 identified ascending interneurons and three spiking local interneurons were stained by intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow and subsequently treated for immunocytochemical staining against GABA. Double-labeling experiments revealed that six identified ascending interneurons are GABAergic, but no spiking local interneurons show GABA-like immunoreactivity Four ascending interneurons with GABA-like immunoreactivity (reciprocal closing ascending neuron 5 [RC-5], reciprocal opening ascending neuron 6 [RO-6], variable-effect ascending interneuron 1 [VE-1], and no-effect ascending: interneuron 4[NE-4]) had cell bodies that formed a duster on the ventral surface of the rostral edge of the ganglion, whereas two GABAergic interneurons (coinhibiting ascending interneuron 2 [CI-2] and NE-2) had cell bodies in a caudal region around the cell body of the seventh flexor inhibitor (FI) motor neuron. Another four rostral interneurons (RC-2, RC-3, RC-4, and NE-3) and seven caudal interneurons (CI-3, RC-7, RO-1, RO-2, RO-3, RO-4, and NE-1) had no GABA-like immunoreactivity. Because VE-1 is known to make direct inhibitory connections with other ascending interneurons, whereas RC-3 and RO-1 are known to make direct excitatory connections, the immunocytochemical results from this study are consistent with previous physiological studies. Although many spiking local interneurons (including spiking local interneuron 1 of the anterior group [sp-ant1]) made direct inhibitory connections with nonspiking local interneurons, three spiking local interneurons (sp-ant1, spiking local interneuron 6 of the medial group [sp-med6], and spiking interneuron 5 of the posterior group [sp-post]) do not show GABA-like immunoreactivity. These results suggest that the inhibitory transmitter released from spiking local interneurons is not GABA but that another substance mediates the inhibitory action of these interneurons. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-BLACKWELL, Aug. 1999, JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 410(4) (4), 677 - 688, English


• Modulatory effects of amino acids on neuromuscular transmission on the crayfish fast flexor muscle

  H Aonuma, T Nagao, T Nagayama, M Takahata

  The modulatory effects of amino acids on neuromuscular transmission from an identified giant motor neuron (MoG) and abdominal fast flexor muscles of the crayfish were examined using electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques. The distribution of amino acids in the cell body and axon of a single MoG was revealed using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Eight different amino acids-aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, arginine, glycine, taurine, alanaine and gamma-aminobutyric acid-were simultaneously detected in either the cell body or the axon of MoG. Aspartate, glutamate, alanine and arginine were present at relatively high concentration. Local pressure ejection of glutamate caused a depolarization of the abdominal fast flexor muscle fibers. On the other hand, aspartate, alanine and arginine had no clear effects on the same muscle fibers. Aspartate and arginine, however, had modulatory effects on neuromuscular transmission. Alanine had no significant effect on the neuromuscular transmission. Aspartate at a concentration of 200 mu M decreased the amplitude of EJPs in the fast flexor muscle mediated by stimulation of both the MoG and non-giant fast flexor motor neurons. Arginine at a concentration of 200 mu M reduced the EJP amplitude of the muscle fibers in response to MoG stimulation but enhanced the EJP amplitude of the same muscle fibers by stimulation of non-giant fast flexor motor neurons. Although rather high concentration (1 mM) were required, aspartate increased and arginine decreased the depolarization of the muscle fibers induced by local ejection of glutamate. The opposite effect of arginine on the fast flexor muscles in response to the stimulation of different motor neurons suggested its modulatory role in the different effects of these motor neurons (depression and facilitation) in the fast flexor muscles. J. Exp. Zool. 283:531-540, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, May 1999, JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY, 283(6) (6), 531 - 540, English


• Distribution of GABAergic premotor nonspiking local interneurones in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish

  T Nagayama, H Namba, H Aonuma

  The inhibitory neurotransmitter of premotor nonspiking local interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion was investigated physiologically and immunocytochemically. Depolarization of a nonspiking interneurone evoked a hyperpolarization in a uropod motor neurone. The amplitude of hyperpolarization in the motor neurone was gradually decreased under low-calcium/high-magnesium saline. Local pressure injection of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) into the neuropil caused a similar hyperpolarization of the motor neurone. These physiological studies suggested a GABAergic inhibitory interaction between nonspiking interneurones and the motor neurones. Premotor nonspiking interneurones are classified into two subgroups of posterolateral (PL) and anterolateral (AL) interneurones, and AL interneurones are further divided into three subtypes. A combination of intracellular staining from nonspiking local interneurones with Lucifer yellow and immunocytochemical staining with an antiserum directed against GABA revealed that all the PL interneurones sampled in this study showed GABA-like immunoreactivity. A population of cell bodies (n = 6-11) with a small diameter (15-30 mu m) packed together forming a cluster showed GABA-like immunoreactivity, and the cell bodies of most PL interneurones were found in this cluster. To compare the number and the pattern of main branches of PL interneurones, cells were classified into three identifiable sets of interneurones, called PL-1, PL-2, and PL-3. By contrast, about one-half of AL interneurones, especially the third subtype of AL interneurones, which have cell bodies located ventrolaterally in the ganglion, did not show GABA-like immunoreactivity. Furthermore, the position of cell bodies of GABA-immunoreactive AL interneurones was scattered compared to that of PL interneurones. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, Dec. 1997, JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 389(1) (1), 139 - 148, English


• Self receptor sensory nerve of Americal crayfish and synapse connection of lateral giant intervening nerve (LG).

  AONUMA HITOSHI, NAGAYAMA TOSHIKI, TAKAHATA MASAKAZU, NYURANDO FIRIPPU

  Oct. 1997, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 68th, 69, Japanese


• Distribution in center of crayfish GABA actuating non-spiking connector neuron.

  NAGAYAMA TOSHIKI, AONUMA HITOSHI, NAMBA TOSHIAKI

  Oct. 1997, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 68th, 69, Japanese


• Effects of glutamic acid and serotonin in the Procambarus clarkii neuromuscular junction.

  AONUMA HITOSHI, NAGAYAMA TOSHIKI, TAKAHATA MASAKAZU

  Sep. 1996, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 67th, 74, Japanese


• Distribution of autofluorescent cell bodies in the crayfish central nervous system

  H Aonuma, T Nagayama, M Takahata

  Some central neurons in the crayfish have autofluorescent cell bodies. The yellow fluorescence of cell bodies was induced in the whole-mount preparation by using blue-violet light from a high-pressure mercury lamp. From the first to the fifth abdominal ganglion, a pair of cell bodies fluoresced in each segmental ganglion. In the sixth abdominal ganglion, two pairs of fluorescent cell bodies were detected. A pair of cell bodies also fluoresced in the posterior (fourth and fifth) thoracic ganglia, while the probability of finding fluorescent cell bodies in the anterior (first to third) thoracic ganglia was very low. Intracellular staining revealed 1) that autofluorescent cells were motor giants (MoGs) and 2) their homologue in the abdominal and thoracic ganglia. This characteristic of autofluorescence provides the cue of ready identification of particular crayfish central neurons, which are one of the most essential neural components for intrinsic escape behavior. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  WILEY-LISS, Aug. 1996, JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY, 275(6) (6), 406 - 412, English


• ケンブリッジ(ICN)を振り返って

  青沼 仁志

  27 Dec. 1995, 比較生理生化学, 12(4) (4), 425 - 427, Japanese


• Presynaptic inhibition in Procambarus clarkii abdomen last ganglion mechanical sense nerve.

  AONUMA HITOSHI, NAGAYAMA TOSHIKI, TAKAHATA MASAKAZU, NYURANDO FIRIPPU

  Sep. 1995, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 66th, 102, Japanese


• ザリガニ腹部神経系の自家蛍光ニューロンの同定

  青沼仁志, 長山俊樹, 高畑雅一

  Nov. 1993, 日本動物学会大会予稿集, 64th, 54, Japanese


• OUTPUT EFFECTS OF ASCENDING INTERNEURONS UPON THE ABDOMINAL POSTURAL SYSTEM IN CRAYFISH(Physiology)Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Meeting of the Zoologiacal Socistry of Japan :

  Aonuma H., Nagayama T., Hisada M.

  Zoological Society of Japan, 1992, Zoological science, 9(6) (6), 1224 - 1224, English

• 最先端コオロギ学 ~世界初! 新しい生物学がここにある~

  野地澄晴

  Joint work, 13章コオロギの行動学13.1闘争を支配するもの 13.2コオロギの集団における振る舞い, 北隆館, Apr. 2022, Japanese, ISBN: 4832610120


• Cricket as a model organism for the 21st century; Development, Regeneration, and Behavior

  AONUMA Hitoshi

  Contributor, Fighting behavior: Understanding the mechanisms of group-size-dependent aggression, Synthetic approaches for observing and measuring cricket behaviors, Springer, 2017


• 行動生物学辞典

  青沼 仁志

  Contributor, 東京化学同人, 2013


• (シリーズ移動知) 第4巻 社会適応 発現機構と機能障害

  太田 順, 青沼 仁志

  Joint editor, オーム社, Mar. 2010, ISBN: 4274502791

  


• 身近な動物を使った学実験4 ミツバチ コオロギ スズメガ

  三共出版, 2009


• 動物は何を考えているのか？：学習と記憶の比較生物学

  共立出版, 2009


• 昆虫ミメティクス－昆虫の設計に学ぶ

  エヌ・ティー・エス企画, 2008


• COE成果本 基礎編 IV-3個体のバイオサイエンス

  北大出版会, 2006


• The Crustacean Nervous System (ed. Wiese K.)

  Springer-Verlag, 2001


• 社会適応 : 発現機構と機能障害 : [軽装]

  太田 順, 青沼 仁志

  オーム社, Japanese, ISBN: 9784274502804

• 小さい脳でもやっていける

  青沼仁志

  自己組織化論と制御論から紐解く生命知, Mar. 2025, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Public discourse


• 虫の気持ちになって行動を理解する

  青沼仁志

  計測自動制御学会 第12回 制御部門マルチシンポジウム, Mar. 2025, Japanese

  Nominated symposium


• Understanding the mechanisms of adaptive behavior in insects: Insights from the trap-jaw ant

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  Symposium on Adaptive Behavior and its Ecological Foundations, Feb. 2025, English

  Nominated symposium


• Unveiling the Physiological Mechanisms Underlying the Loser Effect in insects by Manipulating Aggressiveness with a Small Robot

  Tatsuya Ueda, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Symposium on Adaptive Behavior and its Ecological Foundations, Feb. 2025, English

  Poster presentation


• Effective Tactics for Winning in Cricket Fighting

  Akihisa Murata, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Symposium on Adaptive Behavior and its Ecological Foundations, Feb. 2025, English

  Poster presentation


• Roles of an elastic protein resilin in the trap-jaw ant, O. kuroiwae

  Takuto Kikuchi, Hitoshi Aonuma

  Symposium on Adaptive Behavior and its Ecological Foundations, Feb. 2025, English

  Poster presentation


• Elucidating the mandible latch mechanism with Agitoid, a trap-jaw ant robot-

  Kazuki Yukiue, Tetsuya Kinugasa, Keisuke Naniwa, Hitoshi Aonuma

  30th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics (AROB 2025), Jan. 2025, English

  Oral presentation


• 合目的的な行動発現

  青沼仁志

  計測自動制御学会 第37回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2025, Japanese

  Nominated symposium


• オキナワアギトアリにおける弾性タンパク質の局在解析

  菊池匠十, 青沼仁志

  計測自動制御学会 第37回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2025, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 小型ロボットを用いたコオロギの攻撃性の操作

  上田竜也, 竹本夏奈子, 杉本靖博, 青沼仁志

  計測自動制御学会 第37回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2025

  Oral presentation


• Manipulation of aggressive behavior in the cricket using a small robot

  Tatsuya Ueda, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Hitoshi Aonuma

  日本比較生理生化学会 第46回名古屋大会, English

  Poster presentation


• Swarm of Pumps in a Brittle Star

  Daiki Wakita, Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The 8th International Symposium on Swarm Behavior and Bio-Inspired Robotics 2024, English

  Oral presentation


• 紫外線蛍光観察法を用いたオキナワアギトアリの頭部外骨格における弾性タンパク質レジリンの局在解析

  菊池匠十, 青沼仁志

  日本動物学会 第95回大会, Sep. 2024, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• クロコオロギの闘争行動における攻撃動作のバイオメカニクス解析

  村田彰久, 青沼仁志

  日本動物学会第95会大会, Sep. 2024, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• ヤスデの増節変態から探る多足類の脱皮・変態機構

  千代田創真, 小口晃平, 青沼仁志, 三浦徹

  日本動物学会 第95回大会, Japanese

  Nominated symposium


• ロボットによる再現からひもとくアギトアリ大顎の超高速度運動を可能にするラッチ機構

  衣笠哲也, 雪上和輝, 浪花啓右, 青沼仁志

  第42回日本ロボット学会学術講演会, Sep. 2024, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• Constructive approach to investigate ultra-fast movement in the trap-jaw ant

  Hitoshi Aonuma

  the 27th International Congress of Entomology, Aug. 2024, English

  Oral presentation


• 小型移動ロボットtoio を用いたクロコオロギの闘争行動に介入可能なシステム開発

  杉本靖博, 青沼仁志

  第６８回システム制御情報学会研究発表講演会（SCI）, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• ヤスデの増節変態において脱皮時に追加される体節の形態形成過程

  千代田創真, 小口晃平, 青沼仁志, 三浦徹

  日本動物学会東京支部会, Mar. 2024, Japanese

  Poster presentation


• The sequential motion of the mail cricket to win a fight

  Akihisa Murata, Kanako Takemoto, Hitoshi Aonuma

  日本比較生理生化学会第45回大阪大会, Dec. 2023, English

  Poster presentation


• Fighting Strategies employed by the winner of the fight in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  村田 彰久, 竹本夏菜子, 青沼 仁志

  日本動物学会第94会大会, Sep. 2023, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 28th International Conference on Statistical Physics, Statphys28

  Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma, Satoshi Takahara, Takahiro Sakaue, Shun’ichi Kaneko, Hiizu Nakanishi

  Fold analysis of crumpled sheets using microcomputed tomography, Aug. 2023, English

  Oral presentation


• Musculoskeletal systems that generate extremely fast movements in the trap-jaw ants

  Hitoshi Aonuma, Keisuke Naniwa, Kyohsuke Ohkawara

  The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines (AMAM2023), Jun. 2023, English

  Poster presentation


• Fast adaptive jump of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  Akihisa Murata, Hitoshi Aonuma

  The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines (AMAM2023), Jun. 2023, English

  Poster presentation


• Unveiling Electromagnetic Fields’ Effects on Ant Brains: Changes in Biogenic Amines Levels and Behavior

  Valeria Zeni, Giovanni Benelli, Angelo Canale, Philip L. Newland, Suleiman Sharkh, Hitoshi Aonuma

  the Italian congress of entomology, Jun. 2023, English

  Oral presentation


• 気分で変わる環世界：動物の⾏動制御

  青沼仁志

  「いきもの- AI 共創⼯学」第２回フォーラム, Mar. 2023, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Invited oral presentation


• 昆虫の攻撃行動を調節する脳内生体アミン

  青沼仁志

  第67回日本応用動物昆虫学会, Mar. 2023, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Invited oral presentation


• Brittle stars do not synchronize five body parts but do synchronize six

  Daiki Wakita, Yumino Hayase, Hitoshi Aonuma

  計測自動制御学会 システム・情報部門 学術講演会, Jan. 2023

  Oral presentation


• コオロギの種内闘争における攻撃の運動解析

  村田 彰久, 竹本 夏奈子, 青沼 仁志

  第35回自律分散システム・シンポジウム, Jan. 2023, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 「環世界ベースド制御学の創成」に関する一考察

  大須賀公一, 岩本真裕子, 石黒章夫, 脇大, 杉本靖博, 青沼仁志, 安井浩太郎, 佐倉緑, 岡田美智男

  第35回自律分散システム・シンポジウム, Jan. 2023, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 動物の環世界を観る

  大脇 大, 杉本 靖博, 青沼 仁志, 大須賀 公一

  第35回 自律分散システム・シンポジウム, Jan. 2023, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• Quantitative analysis of the fighting behavior in the cricket

  Akihisa Murata, Kanako Takemoto, Hitoshi Aonuma

  日本比較生理生化学会, Nov. 2022, English

  Poster presentation


• Towards understanding adaptive motor control mechanisms underlying walking and swimming in centipedes

  K. Yasui, T. Kano, E. M. Standen, H. Aonuma, A. J. Ijspeert, A. Ishiguro

  The 42nd Annual Meeting of The Japanese Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Nov. 2020, English

  Poster presentation


• Gait recovery with prosthetic legs in the cricket after leg amputation

  D. Owaki, H. Aonuma

  The 42nd Annual Meeting of The Japanese Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Nov. 2020, English

  Poster presentation


• X線マイクロCTを使ったイメージングから紐解く昆虫の運動制御

  青沼仁志

  第14回NIBBバイオイメージングフォーラム, Nov. 2020, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Nominated symposium


• 動物の多様な振る舞いの源泉を求めて

  青沼仁志

  計測自動制御学会・自律分散サマースクール, Aug. 2020, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Public discourse


• 神経が切断されたクロコオロギの歩行，遊泳における脚間位相関係

  浪花 啓右, 青沼 仁志

  計測自動制御学会第 32 回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Feb. 2020, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• Neurobiology and biomechanics of ultra fast movement in the trap-jaw ant

  Hitoshi AONUMA

  The 3rd International Symposium on Swarm Behavior and Bio-Inspired Robotics (SWARM 2019), Nov. 2019, English

  Nominated symposium


• A structural analysis based on kinetic model of trap-jaw in Odontomachus

  A. Matsuda, H. Aonuma, S. Kaneko

  AISM2019(The 7th Asia International Symposium on Mechatronics), Sep. 2019, English

  Poster presentation


• X線マイクロイメージングから切り拓く昆虫の運動制御メカニズム

  青沼仁志

  第89回日本動物学会シンポジウム「シンクロトロン放射光X線は動物学どう役立つか？ −SPring-8 先端利用技術ワークショップ−」, Sep. 2019, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Nominated symposium


• Insulin rescues memory impairment caused by the increased 5-HT content in the central nerves system in Lymnaea

  Y. Totani, H. Aonuma, J. Nakai, E. Ito

  The 10th IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience, Sep. 2019, English

  Poster presentation


• アギトアリの大顎の超高速運動解析のための画像計測手法

  松田 朝陽, 青沼 仁志, 金子 俊一

  2019年度 精密工学会 北海道支部 学術講演会, Aug. 2019, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• Defecation initiates a stereotyped behavior in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

  K. Naniwa, Y. Sugimoto, K. Osuka, H. Aonuma

  The 9th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines(AMAM2019), Aug. 2019, English

  Poster presentation


• Attempt to identify body structure generating a balloon-like rhythmic movement in the green brittle star

  D. Wakita, H. Aonuma

  1st Symposium on Invertebrate Neuroscience, Aug. 2019, English

  Oral presentation


• Interplay of past and present behavioral experiences in the molluscan CNS

  V. Dyakonova, G. Sultanachmetov, H. Aonuma, Y. Totani, M. Mazheritskiy, D. Vorontsov, E. Ito, T. Dyakonova

  1st Symposium on Invertebrate Neuroscience, Aug. 2019, English

  Oral presentation


• Effect of 5-HT and insulin on learning and memory

  Y. Totani, H. Aonuma, J. Nakai, E. Ito

  1st Symposium on Invertebrate Neuroscience, Aug. 2019, English

  Poster presentation


• Mechanism underlying generating ultra fast movement in insect

  Hitoshi AONUMA

  9th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM 2019), Jul. 2019, English

  Nominated symposium


• アギトアリの大顎の超高速運動計測のための回転照合法

  松田 朝陽, 青沼 仁志, 金子 俊一

  SSII2019(The 25th Symposium on Sensing via Image Information, Jun. 2019, Japanese

  Poster presentation


• Modeling of group size dependent aggression in the cricket

  Hitoshi AONUMA

  9th Federation of the Asian and Oceanian Physiological Society Congress (FAOPS 2019), Mar. 2019, English

  [Invited]

  Nominated symposium


• Autonomous decentralized coordination in the disk of the green brittle Star

  脇田 大輝, 浪花 啓右, 早瀬 友美乃, 青沼 仁志

  計測自動制御学会第31回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2019, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 排便に伴い誘発するクロコオロギの定型的行動

  浪花 啓右, 杉本 靖博, 大須賀 公一, 青沼 仁志

  計測自動制御学会第31回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2019, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• ムカデの歩行・遊泳間の遷移に内在する自律分散制御則

  安井 浩太郎, 古川 和貴, 加納 剛史, Standen M Emily, 青沼 仁志, 石黒 章夫

  計測自動制御学会第31回自律分散システムシンポジウム, Jan. 2019, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• 昆虫で見られる集団サイズに応じた攻撃性のモデル化

  電子情報通信学会NC，NLP合同研究会, Jan. 2019, Japanese

  [Invited]

  Nominated symposium


• Automated learning apparatus for classical conditioning of the pond snail and its application to check of learning ability

  Y. Totani, J. Junko, H. Aonuma, M. Manabu, E. It

  日本比較生理生化学会第40回大会, Sep. 2018, English

  Poster presentation


• Image-based measurement of ultra-fast movement of mandible in trap-jaw ants

  A. Matsuda, H. Aonuma, K. Naniwa, S. Kaneko

  12th France-Japan and 10th Europe-Asia Congress on Mechatronics, Sep. 2018, English

  Poster presentation


• クモヒトデに見られるポンピングダイナミクス

  早瀬 友美乃, 脇田 大輝, 青沼 仁志

  日本物理学会, Sep. 2018, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• アギトアリの大顎の機構モデリング

  松田 朝陽, 青沼 仁志, 浪花 啓右, 金子 俊一

  018 年度精密工学会秋季大会学術講演会, Sep. 2018, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• X線マイクロCTによるクモヒトデ腕の3次元骨格形状抽出～多自由度ロボット設計に向けて～

  高原 聡, 青沼 仁志, 金子 俊一

  2018 年度精密工学会秋季大会学術講演会, Sep. 2018, English

  Oral presentation


• Synthetic approach to understand rhythmic movement of the brittle star

  Hitoshi AONUMA

  Seminar at Biochemistry Department, Queen Mary, University of London, Aug. 2018, English

  [Invited]

  Public discourse


• Change in electromyographic patterns after leg amputation in the cricket

  D. Owaki, Y. Sugimoto, A. Ishiguro, H. Aonuma

  International Congress for Neuroethology, Jul. 2018, English

  Poster presentation


• Latching mechanisms to generate ultrafast movement of the trap jaw in the ant Odontomachus kuroiwae

  H. Aonuma, K. Naniwa, K. Kagaya, K. Osuka

  International Congress for Neuroethology, Jul. 2018, English

  Poster presentation


• クモヒトデ模倣ロボット設計に向けたX線マイクロCTによる骨格形状抽出

  高原 聡, 青沼 仁志, 金子 俊一

  第24回画像センシングシンポジウム SSII2018, Jun. 2018, Japanese

  Oral presentation


• アギトアリの顎の超高速回転運動の機構モデル構築のための画像パタン計測

  松田 朝陽, 青沼 仁志, 浪花 啓右, 金子 俊一

  第24回画像センシングシンポジウム SSII2018, Jun. 2018, Japanese

  Oral presentation

• 日本進化学会


• 日本動物学会


• 日本比較生理生化学会


• International Society for Invertebrate Neurobiology


• International Society of Neuroethology

• Environment Adaptation Mechanisms Decoded from Control of Insect-Peripersonal Space (i-PPS) Through Sensory, Motor, and Brain Interventions

  大脇 大, 青沼 仁志, 志垣 俊介

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Tohoku University, 01 Apr. 2023 - 31 Mar. 2027


• Canalization-based control: Learning from centipedes to establish strategies for self-organization of purposive behavior

  青沼 仁志, 石黒 章夫, 安井 浩太郎

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Kobe University, 01 Apr. 2022 - 31 Mar. 2027


• 闘争行動への介入によるコオロギの群れのソーシャルディスタンス形成メカニズム解明

  杉本 靖博, 青沼 仁志

  日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業 挑戦的研究(萌芽), 挑戦的研究(萌芽), 大阪大学, 30 Jun. 2022 - 31 Mar. 2024


• Source of various behaviors of living things that understands from zombification of insects

  Osuka Koichi

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S), Osaka University, 31 May 2017 - 31 Mar. 2022

  In this study, we proposed a methodology for obtaining zombie crickets that specifically and pharmacologically inhibit the function of crickets in the cranial nerve system. This zombie cricket has minimal cranial nerve function embedded in it for gait. Therefore, we sought a mathematical model of the control structure that causes the zombie cricket to walk in various places by external stimuli and produces the gait changes that may exist in the interaction of the brain, body, and environment at that time. , Tested that hypothesis with an incompetent robot.


• A constructive understanding of antennal fencing that causes fighting behavior through interventions in the movement

  Sugimoto Yasuhiro

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory), Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory), Osaka University, 29 Jun. 2018 - 31 Mar. 2021

  In this study, we aimed to elucidate how antenna fencing, a characteristic and interesting behavior observed in fighting behavior between male crickets, contributes to fighting behavior. In particular, we inserted electrodes into the muscles that move the antennas and electrically stimulated the antennas to perform fighting behaviors with external intervention. The results of the experiments suggested that the external intervention enhanced the fighting behavior of the crickets in the antenna fencing.


• Design principle of super-resilient system inspired by creature that can autotomize

  Kano Takeshi

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Tohoku University, 19 Jul. 2016 - 31 Mar. 2020

  Current artificial systems have difficulty in adapting to their physical damages and changes in the environment. To address this issue, we focused on brittle stars which can occasionally lose some of their arms and promptly coordinate the remaining arms to escape from predators, and aimed to elucidate the control mechanism underlying their resilient locomotion through behavioral experiments, mathematical modeling, and robot experiments. Specifically, we observed the way of inter- and intra-arm coordination during the locomotion of brittle stars whose arms were partially removed, and proposed a mathematical model on this basis. The proposed model was validated by real-world experiments with a brittle star-like robot developed. We also performed behavioral experiments in which circumoral nerve ring was partially transected, and clarified the mechanism for the determination of moving direction.


• Decoding Flexibility of Motor Control by Studying Amphibious Locomoion

  Ishiguro Akio

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Tohoku University, 01 Apr. 2016 - 31 Mar. 2020

  Amphibious animals traverse different environmental media by flexibly changing the coordination of body movements. However, the neural mechanisms underlying flexible motor control in amphibious locomotion remain elusive. Here, we focused on a centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans) and explore the interplay between central and peripheral control mechanisms during transition between walking on land and swimming in water. Based on the findings obtained through behavioral experiments, we hypothesized that walking or swimming signals generated in the brain are sent posteriorly via distributed neural networks belonging to the central nervous systems and located along the body; these brain signals, can be overridden by sensory signals felt by the peripheral nervous system of the legs when they touch the ground during waling. We described this mechanism mathematically, and well reproduced the behavior of centipedes in different situations through computer simulations.


• Understanding Interlimb Coordination Mechanism Based on Walking Intervention with Prosthetic Legs

  Owaki Dai, Miyazawa Sakiko, Goda Masashi, Ishiguro Akio

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Tohoku University, 01 Apr. 2016 - 31 Mar. 2019

  This study aims to elucidate the interlimb coordination mechanism in adaptive insect locomotion with the intervention method into walking by using prosthetic legs. To this end, at the first fiscal year, we developed a simultaneous recording system of leg motions and leg muscle electromyography (EMG) by using high-speed camera and EMG amplifier. Then, using the developed system, we simultaneously measured leg motions and muscle activities in cricket walking before and after leg amputation. By analyzing the obtained data in 5 female crickets, we found that muscle activation timings of the both middle legs tend to be in-phase synchronization pattern from anti-phase synchronization pattern according to the “amount” of remaining leg parts. In the final fiscal year, we conducted a preliminary prosthetic experiments, suggesting that gait patterns were “reproduced” with the prosthetic legs even after leg amputation.


• Predicting spatio-/temporal-variation of parasite-mediated energy flow by revealing neural mechanisms of host manipulation by nematomorph parasites

  Sato Takuya, Aonuma Hitoshi

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Kobe University, 01 Apr. 2015 - 31 Mar. 2017

  Nematomorph parasites indirectly strengthen energy flow through ecosystems via behavioral manipulation of their terrestrial hosts. However, neural mechanisms underlying this behavioral manipulation by the nematomorphs have not yet been clarified, which is making us difficult to predict the temporal-/spatial- variations of the parasite-mediated energy flow. To bridge the gaps between ecological and neuro-ethological knowledge about host manipulations, we examined behavior and brain biogenic monoamine levels in two Mantodea species parasitized by the nematomorphs to elucidate the neural mechanisms of the nematomorphs’ host manipulation. Overall, the locomotion activities of mantis harboring mature nematomorphs tended to be high irrespective of time of the day. In the parasitized mantis, dopamine and octopamine levels in the brain tended to be higher than those in the un-parasitized one, which might be one of the neural mechanisms of the behavioral manipulation by the nematomorphs.


• マルチモーダルな刺激に対する雌コオロギの応答を修飾する生体アミンの役割

  青沼 仁志, DIRIENZO NICHOLAS

  日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業 特別研究員奨励費, 特別研究員奨励費, 北海道大学, 29 Jul. 2015 - 31 Mar. 2016

  本研究では，動物の行動に見られる行動の個体差（パーソナリティー）に着目して，その生態学的な意義と生理学的な基盤を明らかにする目的で研究を進めた．昆虫のコオロギの攻撃性の違いを個体差と捉えて，メスの生殖行動における配偶者の選択行動における脳内の生態アミン類のはたらきについて調べた．DiRienzoの帰国にともない，一旦実験は終了し，結果については現在解析中である．一方，コオロギの捕食者として使う予定だったセアカゴケグモで行動のパーソナリティについて興味深い結果が得られた． セアカゴケグモが糸で作る巣には，身を守るシェルターの機能と餌となる小型の節足動物の捕獲の機能がある．セアカゴケグモの巣を観察したところ，シェルター部分を頑丈に作り上げ，捕獲ネットの部分は貧弱な作りの巣の構造と，シェルター部分は貧弱ではあるが，捕獲ネット部分はしっかりとした構造に作り上げた巣の２タイプが観察された．シェルター部分をしっかりと作ると外敵から身を守ることはできるが，餌の捕獲効率は下がる．従って，この２タイプにはトレードオフの関係が成り立つ．行動観察の結果，未交尾のセアカゴケグモは，振動刺激に対して忌避行動を示したが，交尾後の個体では攻撃行動を示した．未交尾個体は交尾個体に比べて攻撃性が低く，刺激に対してシェルターに逃げ込むような行動を示した．この交尾の有無の観点で，クモがした巣の構造を観察したところ，未交尾のメスのセアカゴケグモでシェルター部分を頑丈に作り，交尾後の個体では，より多くの餌を捕獲できるような巣の構造を作ることが明らかになった．現在，交尾個体と未交尾個体が構築した巣の構造について詳細に解析中である．また，それぞれの個体の脳内アミンの働きについても現在解析中である． 研究成果については，今後投稿論文として発表する予定である．


• Understanding of Mating Behavior Mechanism of Cricket based on Multi-modal Interactions by utilizing Mobile Robot

  Kawabata Kuniaki, AONUMA HITOSHI

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, 01 Apr. 2013 - 31 Mar. 2016

  The subject of this research is the investigations for understating the mating behavior of the crickets by integrated approach with the robotics and neurophysiology. In this research, we developed an interaction system in the same scale with the cricket by utilizing a mobile robot that can realize the pheromone and the song presentation. By the pheromone interaction experiments with developed robot's behavior algorithm, the understanding to the mating behavior of the cricket was deepened. Sound source localization behavior was also observed by the experiments with the devices that can play recorded calling song arbitrary. The changes of the biogenic amine in the cricket's brain by pheromone stimuli and its homeostatic characteristics were investigated. W also investigated how the biogenic amines in the crickets' s brain respond to the calling song of the crickets.


• Toward realization of resilient behavior inspired by ophiuroid locomotion

  Ishiguro Akio, AONUMA HITOSHI, MATSUZAKA YOSHIYA, KANO TAKESHI, SAKAMOTO KAZUHIRO

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Tohoku University, 01 Apr. 2012 - 31 Mar. 2016

  Most robots are vulnerable to changes in environment and their own morphology such as failures. To overcome this problem, we drew inspiration from an ophiuroid, which is a primitive living organism. An ophiuroid, which consists of a central disc and five functionally interchangeable arms that diverge radially from the central disc, can move away from predators or harmful stimuli by autotomizing its arms. Very interestingly, an ophiuroid can maintain locomotion after losing its arms arbitrarily. In this study, we modeled the control principle underlying this resilient behavior. We showed that a simple decentralized control scheme could well reproduce that behavior by performing numerical simulations as well as experiments with real physical ophiuroid-like robots.


• Understanding neuronal mechanisms underlying female preference and sexual selection in cricket

  Aonuma Hitoshi, WATANABA TAKAYUKI

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Hokkaido University, 2014 - 2015, Principal investigator

  The aim of this project is understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior, and we focused on mating behavior that is one of the common behaviors of animals. In crickets, males sound calling song and courtship song to attract a female. The female can decide to mate or not to mate with the male sounding. In order to understand the neuronal mechanism of mating selection, we have investigated the roles of biogenic amines, in particular dopamine (DA). Behavioral and pharmacological experiments demonstrated that metabolism of DA in the brain increased when female respond to the calling song. We then asked which neurons release or receive DA in the brain? In order to identify these neurons, we challenged to develop novel method to create transgenic crickets (in vivo RMCE). As a first step, we succeeded in creating transgenic crickets carring attP sequence. Using them, we have challenged to create transgenic crickets using phiC31 integrase.

  Competitive research funding


• Understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying emergence of adaptive behavior in insect

  AONUMA Hitoshi, HOSODA Koh, WATANABE Takayuki

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Hokkaido University, 2011 - 2013, Principal investigator

  We focused on the aggressive behavior between male crickets to understand how animals alter their behaviors on the demand of changing circumstances. Biogenic amines modulate motivation of many kinds of behaviors. In our behavior and pharmacological studies demonstrate that octopamine in the brain initiates aggressive motivation in the cricket. In order to get better understand, we have been developing transgenic technique to manipulate octopaminergic system in the brain. We identified biogenic amine related genes including octopamine, serotonin, dopamine and tyramine. We also developed some tools for genetic approaches. We also developed micro robot system to manipulate cricket aggressive behavior. This system makes us perform electrophysiological experiment using free moving animal with predicting the result of fight between male crickets.

  Competitive research funding


• Understanding of Behavior Selection Mechanism utilizing Active interaction between Insect and Micro-mobile Robot

  KAWABATA Kuniaki, AONUMA Hitoshi

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, 2011 - 2012, Coinvestigator not use grants

  For active interaction with the cricket, we constructed a system with real-time recording of the behavior and on-line control of micro-mobile robot. We also implemented control algorithm inspired by the interaction behavior of the cricket and confirmed that adaptive behavior switching was emerged by the interactions utilizing the robot. In order to elucidate how crickets change motivation for mating and aggression, we investigated change in the level of brain amines and found that change in dopamine level links with mating behavior and that change in octopamine level links with aggression.

  Competitive research funding


• Analysis of insulin-regulated mechanism affecting feeding behavior

  Hisayo SADAMOTO, Hitoshi AONUMA, Noriyuki HAMA, Suguru KOBAYASHI, Jyun MURKAMI, Etsuro ITO, Yutaka FUJITO

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(若手研究(B)), 若手研究(B), 徳島文理大学, 2009 - 2010, Coinvestigator not use grants

  In the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, the neural circuitry underlying feeding is well described. I here studied the insulin-regulated mechanism affecting feeding behavior in the central nervous system (CNS) of Lymnaea. First, I examined the gene expression of molluscan insulin-related peptide II(MIPII) in the CNS. As a result, several days of hunger or satiation did not have effects on gene expression of MIPII. More, the feeding response to sucrose did not correlate to MIPII gene expression. Next, I examined to identify the neurons that respond to insulin or sucrose application to animals. The neurons that respond to those stimuli were in the buccal ganglia that contain the neural circuitry for feeding.

  Competitive research funding


• Steering Research on Emergence of Adaptive Motor Function through Interaction among the Body, Brain and Environment

  Hajime ASAMA, 高草木 薫, 土屋 和雄, 伊藤 宏司, 矢野 雅文, 青沼 仁志, 大須賀 公一, 太田 順, Jun OTA

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(特定領域研究), 特定領域研究, 東京大学, 2005 - 2010, Coinvestigator not use grants

  Research subjects were coordinated in each group to facilitate the fused collaboration between biologists and engineering scientists, which characterizes this program, and joint group meetings and open group meetings were organized to promote the inter-group collaboration effectively. Following events were organized ; an international symposium, a domestic closed symposium for internal review, tutorials, workshops, and seminars. The internal review to the research activities of each project was performed. Many organized sessions are organized at international and domestic conferences. A series of text books (four volumes) on mobiligence were planned, edited and publicized. The homepage for publicity and the database to record the activities in the program were maintained and updated. Research report was edited and published. Activities of Junior Academy of the mobiligence program were supported.

  Competitive research funding


• Systematic understanding of neuronal mechanisms for adaptive behavior in changing environment

  Hitoshi AONUMA, 神崎 亮平

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(特定領域研究), 特定領域研究, 北海道大学, 2005 - 2009, Principal investigator

  We have investigated the design principle of neuronal mechanisms for social adaptation in animals, by focusing on how animals determine their behavior depending on previous social experiments. We focused on cricket agonistic behavior that is released by cuticle pheromones. We are to reveal behavioral and physiological aspects of socially adaptive behaviors. Nitric oxide system and octopamine system in the central nervous system could mediate aggressive behavior of the crickets. Based on our experimental results, we establish dynamic behavior models and neurophysiological models. We found one of important structure that maintains social adaptive behaviors, that is multiple feedback structure which is composed of feedback loop in nervous systems and through social interactions.

  Competitive research funding


• 多細胞化の直接的生存価に関する熱雑音仮説

  下澤 楯夫, 青沼 仁志, 西野 浩史

  文部科学省, 科学研究費補助金(萌芽研究), 萌芽研究, 北海道大学, 2005 - 2006, Coinvestigator not use grants

  受精卵は卵割を繰り返して単細胞から多細胞へと移行する。受精卵の卵割を、単細胞生物から多細胞へと移行した進化過程のモデルとして扱い、多細胞化が、単細胞に比べて、熱雑音に埋もれた微弱な観測信号の信頼性(情報量)を加算平均化によって改善していることを実証する。これまでに、コオロギの気流感覚細胞は分子1個の平均運動エネルギー【approximately equal】k_BT(常温で約4×10〜<-21>Joule)に応答できることを実測し、この熱雑音感受性が神経系の基本構造である並列伝送回路の起源であることを示した。ここで重要なのは、単一分子の熱揺動エネルギーを検出する程の高感度は進化の結果ではなく拘束である、という結論にある。その根拠は、もし細胞がかって低かった感度を上げてk_BT領域に近づいたのなら、自ら熱雑音の中に埋もれて行ったことになり、観測装置としての自殺行為に他ならないからである。時間的空間的に偏った資源環境は、情報伝送速度を上げる向きの淘汰圧として働く。生命誕生前の原始のスープで利用可能なエネルギーは熱揺らぎ幅k_BTの程度であり、このk_BTの程度のエネルギー差を観測して情報(負のエントロピー)に変換する非平衡系が生命である。生命の起源にとって、k_BTの程度のエネルギー感度は必然である。細胞表面に複数のレセプター分子を並べることも加算平均化になる。観測装置としての細胞が複数結合した加算平均化が生存価を増す。多細胞生物への進化は、単細胞生物に比べて、熱雑音に埋もれた微弱な観測信号の信頼性(情報量)を加算平均化によって改善した例である、ことの情報理論的検証を目的とした。当初計画は、割球数の増加にともなう膜電位雑音の振幅減少の実測によって、加算平均原理を実証するものであった。しかし膜電位雑音の計測は不安定で卵割前後の比較が困難であった。また代替法として試みた膜電位固定下での電流雑音の計測も不調に終わった。このため、多細胞化の熱雑音仮説の実証は達成できなかったが、その情報論的考察の拡張に寄与した。

  Competitive research funding


• 昆虫の行動発現の神経生理機構に関わるNO/cGMPシグナルの役割

  青沼 仁志, DELAGO Antonia

  日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業, 特別研究員奨励費, 北海道大学, 2004 - 2006

  動物が状況に応じて適切に行動を選択し発現する神経生理機構の解明を目指してきた.一酸化窒素(NO)は神経伝達の修飾機構に関与するばかりではく,学習や記憶の基盤となる神経の可塑性に重要な役割を担う生理活性物質である.行動の切り換えや発現の神経生理機構においてNO/cGMPシグナルの中枢神経系での役割について昆虫をモデル動物として行動学実験,薬理学実験,生化学実験を行った. コオロギの喧嘩行動の切り換えと発現機構にはNO/cGMPカスケードが関与することが薬理行動学実験から明らかになってきた.そこで,NOの脳内発現機構を調べる第一段階として,コオロギのNO合成酵素mRNAの塩基配列を部分配列を決定し結果をGenBankに登録した(AB245472).この結果を基にin situ hybridization法によりNOS細胞の局在を調査中である. また,行動学的な実験では,行動履歴が行動発現にいかに関与するのかを雌雄の行動パタンを比較しながら検討してきた.これまで,オスのコオロギの喧嘩行動については多くの研究者が研究を行ってきたが,メス同士の喧嘩行動についてはよく知られていなかった.今回,メスのコオロギ同士も,オス同様に喧嘩をすることが行動学実験から証明することができた.オスのコオロギは相手の体表物質によって喧嘩行動を解発するが,メスでは別の信号が鍵刺激になることが示唆された.さらに,喧嘩行動のパタンはオスと類似することから,喧嘩を発現する脳内回路はオスとメスでは共有していると考えられ,今後は,その神経回路がいかに選択されて行動が発現するかを調べる必要が生じた.


• Why nerves are bundles of fibers? - Experimental verification to the origin of the parallel structure

  Tateo SHIMOZAWA, Hiroshi NISHINO, Hitoshi AONUMA

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(B)), 基盤研究(B), 北海道大学, 2003 - 2005, Coinvestigator not use grants

  Why nerves are bundles of a large number of fibers? Is this a simple consequence of multi-cellular organization of metazoan life? This naive question will reaches, in the end, what type of selection pressure the nervous system was adaptive to or gaining a survival value in the evolution? and also what kind of constraints has been tied on the adaptation?Acquisition of information (i.e. measurement) inevitably requires dissipation of energy (entropy in accurate). Energy cost of information in cricket wind receptor cell was measured as very close to the limit of thermodynamic theory (0.7 kBT Joule/bit). Results revealed by this research are followings.1) Optical measurement of the Brownian motion of the cricket wind receptor hair revealed the validity of fluctuation-dissipation theorem in living tissue.2) Cricket sensory cell is sensitive to thermal noise and therefore operates as a very poor informational element because of low signal to noise ratio.3) The present study confirmed that the principle of summation average, i.e. reliability of mean value depends on inverse square root of sample size, is effective principle in the nervous system where cells are largely stochastic because of thermal noise.The extremely high sensitivity of living cell to thermal noise is not achieved by evolution, but this is rather constraint retroactively to the beginning of life. Spatio-temporally uneven distribution of resource and harm in living environment act as selection pressure for increase in transmission rate of information. Biological solution by living cells which are tied on the constraint of poor signal to noise ratio is the summation average by parallel transmission.

  Competitive research funding


• Analysis of the roles of NO-cGMP signaling cascade for long-term memory formation in an insect.

  Makoto MIZUNAMI, 青沼 仁志, 松本 幸久

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(B)), 基盤研究(B), 東北大学, 2003 - 2005, Coinvestigator not use grants

  Cyclic AMP pathway plays an essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. The aim of this study was to clarify the roles of the NO-cGMP pathway for the LTM formation. We have studied the signaling cascade underlying LTM formation by systematically co-injecting various 'LTM-inducing' and 'LTM-blocking' drugs in crickets. Multiple-trial olfactory conditioning led to LTM that lasted for several days, while memory induced by single-trial conditioning decayed away within several hours. Injection of inhibitors of the enzyme forming NO, cGMP or cAMP into the hemolymph prior to multiple-trial conditioning blocked LTM, whereas injection of an NO donor, cGMP analogue or cAMP analogue prior to single-trial conditioning induced LTM. Induction of LTM by injection of an NO donor or cGMP analogue paired with single-trial conditioning was blocked by inhibitors of the cAMP pathway, but induction of LTM by a cAMP analogue was unaffected by inhibitors of the NO-cGMP pathway. Inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide gated channel (CNG channel) or calmodulin blocked induction of LTM by cGMP analogue paired with single-trial conditioning, but they did not affect induction of LTM by cAMP analogue. This study suggests, for the first time, that the cAMP pathway is a downstream target of the NO-cGMP pathway for the formation of LTM and that the CNG channel and calcium-calmodulin intervene between the NO-cGMP pathway and the cAMP pathway.

  Competitive research funding


• 節足動物中枢神経系における行動制御機構に関わる一酸化窒素の役割

  青沼 仁志

  文部科学省, 科学研究費補助金(若手研究(A)), 若手研究(A), 北海道大学, 2002 - 2004, Principal investigator

  動物は、環境への適応機構のひとつとして神経系を進化の過程で獲得した。刻々と変化する状況に即して動物は様々な行動を発現し、外部環境の変化に適応している。では、動物は状況に応じてどの様な神経生理機構で適切な行動を発現し、切替えているのか?本研究では、いかに状況に応じた行動が発現されるのかその神経機構を理解しようとしている。神経の可塑的な性質は行動を切り換える際に必要な生理機構である。この様な神経の可塑的な変化には一酸化窒素(NO)が重要な役割を担っていると考え、節足動物、特にザリガニやコオロギを実験材料として、同定可能な神経回路網においてNOがどの様な修飾効果をもつのか細胞レベルでの詳細な解析を進めるとともに、行動レベルでの効果、役割を解析してきた。その成果として、1.組織化学染色法でNO産生細胞と標的細胞の局在をこれまでに確かめ、さらに、昆虫の脳では常にNOが100-200nM程度放出されていること、刺激により更に放出量が増加することを電極法で計測し示した。2.NOの光学的な計測を行い、中枢神経系の中でどの程度の一酸化窒素が産生されているのか突き止めるため、既存の共焦点レーザー走査顕微鏡を改造するため備品としてレーザー光源ユニットを購入し、NO感受性色素を使って光学的に解析を続けている。3.電気生理学的にNO産生細胞と標的細胞の両方の細胞から活動を計測し、一酸化窒素やcGMPの合成を促進或いは抑制する薬物を灌流投与し、一酸化窒素の修飾効果を解析し、神経系におけるNOの修飾効果を示した。これまでの成果は国際シンポジウム及び国内学会で発表し、また、その一部は既に国際学会誌等に論文として発表し、残りの成果については現在発表の準備に取りかかっている。

  Competitive research funding


• 神経系の基本構造の起源に関する熱雑音仮設

  下澤 楯夫, 水波 誠, 青沼 仁志, 西野 浩史

  文部科学省, 科学研究費補助金(萌芽研究), 萌芽研究, 北海道大学, 2002 - 2003, Coinvestigator not use grants

  神経細胞は熱雑音感受性をもっており、そのことが神経系に共通する基本構造である並列伝送回路の起源であることを、1.神経細胞は情報受容に当たってエネルギーを散逸する抵抗体として動作し、揺動散逸定理に従ったブラウン運動を観察できること、2.異なる細胞のブラウン運動は互いに無相関であること、3.感覚細胞がブラウン運動を用いて確率サンプリングした信号は介在神経でシナプス加算によって再構成されること、を実証するため研究を進めてきた。コオロギ気流感覚毛の機械特性の計測から感覚閾値で感覚細胞が受け取るエネルギーが常温における分子1個の熱揺動エネルギーk_BTに近いこと、閾値付近の刺激に対する応答発火揺らぎの解析から感覚細胞は内部の熱雑音源をパルス符号化に用いるStochastic Samplingで中枢へ信号を送っていること、感覚細胞の情報伝送容量の測定から、信号対雑音比は0.1程度と非常に低いこと、このため情報伝送素子としての細胞1個の性能は400ビット/秒程度に制限されている。これまでの研究で、気流感覚毛先端のブラウン運動が10nm程度であることを予想して、光学顕微鏡を改造し感覚毛のレーザー照明強拡大像(900倍)を4分割受光素子上に結ばせたブラウン運動計測装置(分解能3nmでの計測が可能)を実用化(平成12年度基盤研究(B)で製作)し、コオロギ気流感覚毛のブラウン運動を光学的に測定した。現在引き続き、2本の気流感覚毛のブラウン運動を同時計測し、近傍のものでも感覚細胞は互いに無相関な熱雑音に曝されていることを実証すべく解析を続けている。

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• Mechanical analysis for the initial process of stimulus tarnsduction in insect mechano-sensory cell

  Tateo SHIMOZAWA, 馬場 欣哉, Hitoshi AONUMA, Hiroshi NISHINO, Makoto MIZUNAMI, Yoshitika BABA

  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(B)), 基盤研究(B), 北海道大学, 2000 - 2002, Coinvestigator not use grants

  Mechanoreception is a fundamental element of animal-environment interaction and it is essential for the understanding of animal evolution. Mechanoreception has mainly been considered by a rather simple and macroscopic scheme of ionic channels deformed by membrane tension. Enormous high-sensitivities of mechanoreceptors have been reported in the eardrums of human and lacewing as 0.1 Angstrom i.e. one-tenth of a hydrogen atom diameter. It is obviously erroneous, however, to express the sensitivity of mechanical detector by displacement. Sensory cell is a measurement tool that converts external energy to informational entropy. The sensitivity must be discussed in terms of energy. All sensory cells receive a certain amount of energy, because any measurement without energy cost results in the thermodynamic inconsistency of Maxwell's demon. Energy threshold of the wind sensory cells in cricket is measured as very small values about 4×10^<-21> [Joule]. These mechanoreceptors would give rise a response shaken by Brownian motion of a single molecule.Pathway of conversion from mechanical energy to cellular response, particularly of its initial process is still beyond our comprehension. In order to reveal its cellular mechanisms, a direct measurement of membrane current in response to the extremely weak mechanical stimuli near Brownian motion is attempted.The receptor current was measured through a voltage clamp electrode, which also gives displacement to hair shaft. Shaft of a 1000 m long hair is clipped at 100 m to have electrical conduction through the hollow of hair shaft. Amount of energy estimated for the electrical current in response to 10-100 nm displacement at 100 m clipped shaft showed an energy amplification of about 10^6 times when compared to the mechanical energy given as the stimulus. The result suggests that the open-close of ionic channels is not a direct initial process of energy transduction in the mechanoreceptor cell.

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• 昆虫機械受容系の熱雑音感受性と中枢における微弱信号抽出機構

  下澤 楯夫, 馬場 欣哉, 青沼 仁志, 西野 浩史

  文部科学省, 科学研究費補助金(特定領域研究(A)), 特定領域研究(A), 北海道大学, 2000 - 2001, Coinvestigator not use grants

  昆虫の機械受容器は、常温の熱揺動エネルギーk_BT(約4×10^<-21>J、可視光フォトンのエネルギーの1/100)をも検出できる最高度に進化した刺激受容系である。コオロギ気流感覚細胞が熱雑音(ブラウン運動)に揺すられて発火するほど高感度なこと、中枢の介在神経は熱雑音の無相関性を利用して閾値以下の微弱な信号を抽出することを明らかにする目的で本プロジェクトを遂行した。フォトンのような量子を持たない機械受容器、化学受容器、イオンチャンネル、シナプス受容体などは必然的に熱雑音に出会うから、雑音揺らぎやシナプス加重機構が神経系一般に広くみられることなど、情報機械としての神経系が究極の乱数発生器としての熱雑音を利用する設計原理の解明につながる。コオロギを実験材料に、気流感覚器の機械的構造と感覚細胞のエネルギー変換応答とを分離し、分子熱雑音限界までエネルギー感度を進化させた機械感覚細胞の刺激受容機構解明の手がかりを得、情報機械としての感覚細胞の性質を解明するため感覚細胞が運ぶ情報、感覚細胞が介在神経に伝える情報量の定量化を試みた。中枢の介在神経から記録をとり、閾値付近の気流刺激への応答から、感覚細胞から介在神経への情報伝送量を測定した。コオロギの気流感覚細胞が運ぶ情報量はスパイク1つ当たり2〜4bit。入力感覚繊維1本あたりの情報量はおよそ300bits/secであることを示した。また、中枢の気流感覚介在神経の樹状突起部から細胞内記録をとり、閾値付近の人口白色雑音波形を繰り返し与え、後シナプス集合電位の変動分から、気流から介在神経までの情報伝送量(bits/sec)を測定した結果、50〜200bits/sec程度とばらつきはあるが1個の感覚細胞が伝える情報量より遥かに小さいことがわかった。昆虫の機械受容器は究極感度まで進化し熱雑音に直面している、逆説的に熱雑音のエネルギーと無相関性を利用してさらに微弱な信号を検出する中枢機構が進化したことが示唆された。

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• 行動切替えの神経機構に関する研究

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