Research Interests:
In our laboratory, we are interested in how early events in brain development such as patterning of the neural tube and cell type specification eventually lead to the formation of specific neuronal connectivity and development of animal behavior. We are particularly interested in the thalamus and brain regions that are connected to the thalamus, including the neocortex. We extensively use mouse genetics and in vivo gene delivery to study 1) how multiple thalamic nuclei are formed and 2) how the thalamus development influences the formation of mature areas in the neocortex.
Selected Publications:
(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)
Amin Alishahi, Naoko Koyano-Nakagawa and Yasushi Nakagawa (2009) Regional expression of MTG genes in the developing mouse central nervous system. Developmental Dynamics, 238 , 2095-2102.
Vue, TY., Bluske, K., Alishahi, A., Yang, L., Koyano-Nakagawa, N., Novitch, B., and Nakagawa, Y. (2009) Sonic hedgehog signaling controls thalamic progenitor identity and nuclei specification in mice. Journal of Neuroscience 29: 4484-4497
Kim, EJ., Battiste, J., Nakagawa, Y., Johnson, JE. (2008) Ascl1 (Mash1) lineage cells contribute to discrete cell populations in CNS architecture. Mol. Cell. Neurosci, 38: 595-606
Vue, TY., Aaker, J., Taniguchi, A., Kazemzadeh, C., Skidmore, JM., Martin, DM., Martin, JF., Treier, M., and Nakagawa, Y Characterization of progenitor domains in the developing mouse thalamus Journal of Comparative Neurology 2007 505: 73-91
Burns TC, Ortiz-Gonzalez XR, Gutierrez-Perez M, Keene CD, Sharda R, Demorest ZL, Jiang Y, Nelson-Holte M, Soriano M, Nakagawa Y, Luquin MR, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Prosper F, Low WC, Verfaillie CM. Thymidine analogs are transferred from prelabeled donor to host cells in the central nervous system after transplantation: a word of caution. Stem Cells. 2006 Apr;24(4):1121-7.
Nakagawa, Y. and O'Leary, DDM. (2003) Patterned expression of orphan
nuclear receptor genes RORa and RORb in developing mouse forebrain.
Developmental Neuroscience (in press)
O'Leary, DDM. and Nakagawa, Y. (2002) Patterning center, regulatory
genes, and extrinsic mechanisms controlling the arealization of
the neocortex. Current
Opinions in Neurobiology, 12: 14-25
Nakagawa, Y. and O'Leary, DDM. (2001) Combinatorial expression
patterns of LIM-homeodomain and other regulatory genes parcellate
developing thalamus. Journal
of Neuroscience, 21: 2711-2725
Current Graduate Students:
Krista Bluske (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota)
Tou Vue (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota) |
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