University of Tokyo

About: University of Tokyo is a education organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 134564 authors who have published 337567 publications receiving 10178620 citations. The organization is also known as: Todai & Universitas Tociensis.

Schemas and memory consolidation

Abstract: Memory encoding occurs rapidly, but the consolidation of memory in the neocortex has long been held to be a more gradual process. We now report, however, that systems consolidation can occur extremely quickly if an associative "schema" into which new information is incorporated has previously been created. In experiments using a hippocampal-dependent paired-associate task for rats, the memory of flavor-place associations became persistent over time as a putative neocortical schema gradually developed. New traces, trained for only one trial, then became assimilated and rapidly hippocampal-independent. Schemas also played a causal role in the creation of lasting associative memory representations during one-trial learning. The concept of neocortical schemas may unite psychological accounts of knowledge structures with neurobiological theories of systems memory consolidation.

Essential role of MD-2 in LPS responsiveness and TLR4 distribution.

Abstract: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mediates lipopolysaccharide (LPS) signaling in a variety of cell types. MD-2 is associated with the extracellular domain of TLR4 and augments TLR4-dependent LPS responses in vitro. We show here that MD-2(-/-) mice do not respond to LPS, do survive endotoxic shock but are susceptible to Salmonella typhimurium infection. We found that in MD-2(-/-) embryonic fibroblasts, TLR4 was not able to reach the plasma membrane and predominantly resided in the Golgi apparatus, whereas TLR4 was distributed at the leading edge surface of cells in wild-type embryonic fibroblasts. Thus, MD-2 is essential for correct intracellular distribution and LPS-recognition of TLR4.

Mechanically induced luminescence changes in molecular assemblies.

Abstract: Altering the shape and properties of a material through external factors such as heat, light, pressure, pH, electric or magnetic fields, or the introduction of a guest molecule, is an attractive prospect. In this Perspective, piezochromic luminescent materials - which change the colour of their luminescence in response to mechanical stimuli - are described. Such piezochromism has been observed for a few molecular materials that contain luminescent cores in liquid-crystalline and crystalline solid states, as well as for polymeric materials doped with dyes. These changes in photoluminescent colour can be activated by various types of mechanical pressure such as shearing, grinding or elongation, which can trigger different mechanisms of producing the colour. Such stimuli-responsive materials have potential for various applications, including sensors, memory and displays.

Observation of the spin-Peierls transition in linear Cu2+ (spin-1/2) chains in an inorganic compound CuGeO3

Abstract: The magnetic susceptibility of single-crystal ${\mathrm{CuGeO}}_{3}$, a linear ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+}$ (spin-1/2) chain compound, was measured. The susceptibilities in all the directions rapidly drop to small constant values with decreasing temperature below a phase transition temperature near 14 K. The magnetic-field dependence of the transition temperature quantitatively agrees with both theoretical predictions and experimental results for organic spin-Peierls systems. This Letter is the first report of an unambiguous determination of the existence of the spin-Peierls transition in an inorganic compound.