We aim to understand the neurobiological mechanisms behind various human cognitions as neural dynamics on a complex network. Our research target includes both healthy individuals and those with psychiatric conditions, and our methodological approach varies from human behavioural experiments using fMRI, EEG, TMS and motion capture devices to numerical and data-science-like manners. 

PhD course

From the year 2025, we will accept PhD candicates. If you are interested, please check out this event.   

Hiring

We are not hiring now, but some positions may be open in April (or later).  

News

Mar 2024. [Paper] A new paper led by Dr Islam and Prof Masuda has been out in BMC Neurosci. This paper shows that energy landscape analysis for human fMRI data can survive test-retest examination. [link] 

Nov 2023. [Poster] Dr Murai will present his latest work on the intrinsic neural timescale at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in Washington DC in the US. 

Sep 2023. [Talk] Watanabe talked about brain state dynamics seen in CDKL5 disorder at CDKL5 Asia in Tokyo, Japan. 

Aug 2023. [People] Prof Sanes has finished his sabbatical here. Thank you for coming and joining our lab!!

Aug 2023. [Talk] Drs Murai and Watanabe talked at the annual meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society in Miyagi, Japan.

Aug 2023. [Preprint] A new preprint has been out on comparisons of the models to infer brain states from resting-state fMRI data. [link]

July 2023. [Paper] A new paper, which was led by Mr Daichi Watanabe (UC Berkeley), has been now out in eNeuro: ASD+ADHD comorbid condition is not a simple overlap of autism and ADHD. [link][Press release]

June 2023. [Preprint] A new preprint has been out in medRxiv. We reported that the left angular gyrus appears to be a key brain region whose neural atrophy and resultant unstable neural activity disturb the activity of default mode network and lead to some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. [link]

June 2023. [People] Ms Horikoshi has joined our team as a research assistant!

May 2023. [Preprint] A new preprint on the reliability of energy landscape analysis was now out as a preprint in arXiv. This work was done through collaboration with Masuda lab at SUNY Baffalo [arXiv].

March 2023. [Paper] A new review paper by Watanabe was out in Folia pharmacologica Japonica.

Jan 2023. [Paper] Congratulations! Dr Murai's paper has been published in J Comp Physiology [link]

Jan 2023. [Talk] Watanabe talked on the control of global brain state dynamics at IRCN-iPlasticity International Symposium. 

Old news

Some Publications

Watanabe, D. Watanabe, T.

Distinct Frontoparietal Brain Dynamics Underlying the Co-Occurrence of Autism and ADHD.

eNeuro. 2023. doi:10.1523/eneuro.0146-23.2023. [Press Release] [Press Release (Jpn)]  

Watanabe T

Causal roles of prefrontal cortex during spontaneous perceptual switching are determined by brain state dynamics.

eLife. 2021. Full text. eLife Digest. Press release (E). Press release (J). 

Watanabe T, Lawson P R, Walldén YSE, Rees G. 

A neuroanatomical substrate linking perceptual stability to cognitive rigidity in autism. 

J Neurosci. 2019, DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2831-18.2019. Full text Press release (E) Press release (J)

Watanabe T, Rees G, Masuda N. 

Atypical intrinsic neural timescale in autism. 

eLife. 2019;8:e42256. Full text RIKEN press release Insight article 

Watanabe T, Rees G.

Brain network dynamics in high-functioning individuals with autism.  

Nature Communications. 2017. 8, 16048–14. Full Text | Press release (J) 

Watanabe T, Kuroda M, Kuwabara H, Aoki Y, Iwashiro N, Natsubori T, Takao H, Nippashi Y, Kawakubo Y, Kunimatsu A, Kasai K, Yamasue H.

Clinical and neural effects of six-week administration of oxytocin on core symptoms of autism.

Brain. 2015. 138(Pt 11):3400-3412. Full Text | Video 

Watanabe T, Masuda N, Megumi F, Kanai R, Rees G.

Energy landscape and dynamics of brain activity during human bistable perception.

Nature Communications. 2014. 5, 4765. Full Text

Watanabe T, Takezawa M, Nakawake Y, Kunimatsu A, Yamasue H, Nakamura M, Miyashita Y, Masuda N.

Two distinct neural mechanisms underlying indirect reciprocity.

Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2014. 111:3990–3995. Full Text

Watanabe T, Abe O, Kuwabara H, Yahata N, Takano Y, Iwashiro N, Natsubori T, Aoki Y, Takao H, Kawakubo Y, Kamio Y, Kato N, Miyashita Y, Kasai K, Yamasue H. 

Mitigation of Sociocommunicational Deficits of Autism Through Oxytocin-Induced Recovery of Medial Prefrontal Activity: A Randomized Trial.

JAMA Psychiatry. 2014. 71:166–175. Full Text | PDF 

Watanabe T, Hirose S, Wada H, Imai Y, Machida T, Shirouzu I, Konishi S, Miyashita Y, Masuda N.

A pairwise maximum entropy model accurately describes resting-state human brain networks.

Nature Communications. 2013. 4: 1370. Full Text

Where research money comes/came from:

KAKEN, JSPS, European Council, Wellcome Trust, Neurocreative Lab, Fukuhara Foundation, Senshin-iyaku Foundation, Yamaha sports foundation, AMED, US National Academy of Medicine, Asteralls Foundation, UTokyo, WPI, JST