Unit Leader
Kumi KURODA (M.D., Ph.D.)

Research Areas

< Research Unit for Affiliative Social Behavior >
Our research unit aims to elucidate the brain mechanisms responsible for parent-infant bond in mammals.
Mammalian infants require intense care to grow up, including nursing (provision of mother's milk), protection, and education. To guarantee survival and well-being of their young, parents are equipped with innate motivation to nurture them. Infants are also born with attachment instincts, including suckling, crying and following their caregivers. These drives are hard-wired in the mammalian brain, and postnatal learning experiences refine these actual behaviors. The family bond experienced in early life forms the foundation of various kinds of affiliative social behaviors in the adult.
Our goal is to determine the neural mechanisms that mediate parenting and attachment. As an experimental model, we are currently focusing on the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus), a species of which both parents and even juveniles provide a high level of care toward the young. The strong analytical tools of behavioral genetics and molecular biology are best applicable for this species among mammals. Our methods encompass behavioral assays, brain area mapping, neural circuit analyses, and identification of relevant molecules and intracellular signaling pathways.

Research Subject

1. Cellular and molecular organization of the mouse medial preoptic area (MPOA), the brain center for parental behavior
2. Role of the MPOA neural circuit in information processing for parental care
3. Identification of molecules and neural circuits necessary for attachment behavior of offspring

Related links

1. RIKEN Brain Science Institute Website_Laboratories Page
2. Individual Website Laboratory Page