Team Leader
Atsushi Iriki
D.D.S., Ph.D., D.M.Sc.
Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development
[Closed Mar. 2023]
E-mailatsushi.iriki[at]riken.jp
Please replace [at] with @.
We aim to find out evolutionary and neurobiological mechanisms that lead human mind to emerge in the primate brain that subserves our modern civilized societies. Utilizing cutting-edge molecular genetic, functional imaging, and complexity mathematics technologies, we will pursuit fundamental principles of how the human mind emerges through interactions of biological matters, and try to develop and implement quantitative evaluation methods for the length of its dynamical transitions from earlylife through aging processes, both in human and non-human primates, that should eventually contribute to foster human healthy and sound societies.
Concretely, we try to uncover evolutionary precursors of human higher cognitive functions grounded onto bodily morphologies and patterns of structured physical actions, based on behavioral and neurophysiological analyses on non-human primates, which were trained to use tools and other hightech apparatuses. Further, we will elucidate neurobiological mechanisms of evolutionary aswell as developmental processes that give rise to human symbolic cognitive functions subserving inference, language, metaphysical thoughts, sef-consciousness, etc. that characterize human intelligence, which will be considered through the viewpoint of “mind-body interactions”, by reexamining the dynamical functional networks among brain and multiple internal organs, and immune systems in particular.
We also attempt to identify “gut-brain axis” contributing to regulatory mechanisms of early-life behavioral development of non-human primates in the wild-life habitat that using tools for foraging, to understand the functional relationships among mind, body and environment, through which we eventually try to establish methods to quantify its life-long transitionfor objective evaluation of dynamical social interaction mechanisms subserving such phenomena.
Research Theme
- Dynamical analyses of interactions among brain and multiple internal organ networks under the view of mind-body interactions.
- Mechanisms of primate brain evolution through the theory of "Triadic Niche-Construction" (interactions among brain, cognitive behavior, and environment).
- Principle of higher mental functions including self-consciousness to be elucidated through functional and structural brain imaging.
Selected Publications
Iriki A, Suzuki H, Tanaka S, et al.
The sapient paradox and the great journey: Insights from cognitive psychology, neurobiology and phenomenology.
Psychologia
(2021)
doi: 10.2117/psysoc.2021-B017
Tia B, Takemi M, Kosuge A, et al.
Spectral power and phase-amplitude coupling in marmoset frontal motor cortex during natural locomotor behavior.
Cerebral Cortex
31, 1077-1089 (2021)
doi: 10.3390/brainsci11020157
Bretas RV, Taoka M, Hihara S, et al.
Neural evidence of mirror self-recognition in the secondary somatosensory cortex of macaque: observations from a single-cell recording experiment and implications for consciousness
Brain Sciences
11(2), 157 (2021)
doi: 10.3390/brainsci11020157
Bretas RV, Taoka M, Suzuki H, et al.
Secondary somatosensory cortex of primates: Beyond body maps, towards conscious “self-in-the-world” map.
Experimental Brain Research
238, 259-272 (2020)
doi: 10.1007/s00221-020-05727-9
Gumert MD, Tan A, Luncz L, et al.
Prevalence of tool behaviouris associated with pelage phenotype in intraspecific hybrid long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aureax M. f. fascicularis).
Behavior
156, 1083-1125 (2019)
doi: 10.1163/1568539X-00003557
Kato M, Yokoyama C, Kawasaki A, et al.
Individual identity and affective valence in marmoset calls: in vivo brain imaging with vocal soundplayback
Animal Cognition
21, 331-343 (2018)
doi: 10.1007/s10071-018-1169-z
Yamazaki Y, Kawarai S, Morita H, et al.
Faecal transplantation for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection in a marmoset.
BMC Veterinary Research
13, 150 (2017)
doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1070-z
Hihara S, Taoka M, Tanaka M, Iriki A.
Visual responsiveness of the neurons in secondary somatosensory area and its surrounding parietal opperculum regions of awake macaque monkeys.
Cerebral Cortex
25, 4535-4550 (2015)
doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv095
Hashimoto T, Kitajo K, Kajihara T, et al.
Neural correlates of electrointestinography: insular activity modulated by signals recorded from the abdominal surface.
Neuroscience
289, 1-8 (2015)
doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.12.057
Iriki A, Taoka M.
Triadic (ecological, neural, cognitive) niche construction: a scenario of human brain evolution extrapolating tool use and language from the control of reaching actions.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Science
367, 10-23 (2012)
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0190
Members
Yumiko Yamazaki
Deputy Team Director
Rafael Bretas Vieira
Research Scientist
Banty Tia
Research Scientist
Yoko Tomonaga
Technical Staff I
Mitsuyo Nobukawa
Assistant