Laboratory of Function and Morphology

Introduction of laboratory
The mechanisms of life in livestock and birds are so complex that these are hardly to understand by a single way to approach. In the Laboratory of Function and Morphology, three stuffs of different specialties cover the educations and researches. Professor Shoei Sugita, Associate Professor Katsuhiko Fujiwara and Assistant Professor Masato Aoyama specializes neuroanatomy, physiology and ethology, respectively.

Students
United Graduate School of Agricultural Science (doctor's course),
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
3rd grade Mohammad Lutfur Rahman (from Bangladesh),
      Naoki Tsukahara,   Rui Furutani
2nd grade Mizuki Ichise (working in
experimental farm)
1st grade Eun ok Lee (from Korea)
              Yoku Kato (working in
experimental farm)

Graduate School of Agriculture (master's course)
2nd grade Yuichiro Koike, Syunji Nakamura, Yuta Natsume
1st grade  Naoki Kamada, Yuri Tani

Undergraduate 4th grade
Eriko Iwagami, Sayaka Endou, Kengo Kuroda, Satoshi Sugawara,
Takeshi Shinohara, Tatsunori Takahashi, Syosuke Nakayanagi,
Yasunao Matsuda, Hitomi Murata, Takumi Motegi, Chihiro Yonezawa


As the name of this laboratory shows, we study the body construction of animals and their function for understanding the life science in animals. Each of three stuffs can provide the morphological, physiological and ethological technic for approaching. The research themes in this laboratory are as follows.

Professors' theme of research
Shoei SUGITA
Comparative anatomy of the brain.
The visual system of livestock, domestic fowls and crows: the morphology of the retina and the neural projections from retina to the central nervous system.
Central regulations of motility of stomach in animals: the morphological study of the vagal nervous projections from the medulla oblongata to the stomach, the forestomach or the gizzard.
Learning behavior in crows.

Katsuhiko FUJIWARA
Electrophysiology in the vagal nervous control of stomach motility.
Comparative physiology of electrocardiogram.
Effects of the early environments on the learning behavior and temperaments after grown up in mice.

Masato AOYAMA
Sex differences in the stress responses to road transportation in goats: It has been known sex differences exist in the stress responses in various species of animals, but their physiological mechanisms in livestock are not known. I try to make clear the physiological mechanisms of sex differences, especially the effects of gonadal hormones, in the stress responses to road transportation.
Facial expressions and body languages in horses, and horsemen's ability to recognize it.
The resting behavior patterns in the stable horses and the effects of stable environments on it.

Theme of thesis and dissertation
1) The structure of visual systems in animals and birds.
2) The sex differences in the stress response to road transportation.
3) Comparative anatomical study in the brain in mammals, especially in whales.
4) Development and sexual differences in vocals in mallard dacks.
5) Histological changes in the uterus following pregnancy and parturition in rats.
6) Some studies of emotions and behavior in horses.
7) The morphology of the brain, anatomy of the various organs, the feathers, learning behavior, vocal communication and so on in crows.

 

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