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| Sensory information from the external world
is transmitted from the cerebral cortex to the hippocampus,
but not everything transmitted is memorized. Rather, information
is selected, linked and fixed. One goal of our laboratory
is to clarify how the hippocampus processes information, focusing
on the flow of electric signals and neuronal connections.
Slices of living hippocampus tissue are trimmed from rat brains
and artificial electric signals with various pulse speeds
and combinations are inputted through the neurons to determine
which signal patterns are easily transmitted and how the hippocampus
responds. The neurons are also stained in order to observe
the intercellular connections. |
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| Students
experiment on living hippocampus preparations from rat
brains, stimulating them electrically and measuring
electric potential to develop the basic skills required
for electrophysiological experiments. Engineering students
usually study signals through textbooks and simulations,
but in our program they apply stimuli directly to living
tissue to experience how electric signals are expressed
and successively transmitted. This increases the students'
familiarity with electrical signals transmitted through
the nerves. As good preparations can only be obtained
through the proper care and management of experimental
animals, students are also directly involved in all
aspects of animal care so that the lives of these animals
are not sacrificed wastefully. |
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