Evolutionary Neurobiology Unit

Research projects of the Evolutionary Neurobiology Unit include (1) anatomical and physiological dissections of the nervous systems of basal metazoans, mainly on diffused and regionally condensed nervous systems of cnidarians, and (2) analysis of genetic mechanisms underlying the development of the regionalized (semi-centralized) nervous system of cnidarians. The unit also carries out (3) a comprehensive analysis of chemical neurotransmission among the basal metazoan lineages. They combine cutting-edge genetic, neuroscientific, and neuroimaging techniques on cnidarians and other basal metazoans and phylogenetic analysis to reconstruct the early evolutionary processes of the nervous system.