Meet the Team
Daisuke Hattori, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator | Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology
Daisuke received his bachelor's degree from the University of Tokyo in Japan. His thesis project in Masanori Taira’s lab focused on the early development of the vertebrate brain. For his graduate work in Larry Zipursky's lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, Daisuke studied molecular mechanisms that mediate neural circuit assembly. His work contributed to demonstrating that the diversity encoded by the Drosophila Dscam1 gene is essential to mediate neurite self-avoidance by generating unique neuronal identity labels. As a postdoc in Richard Axel's lab at Columbia University, Daisuke studied the anatomy and function of a neural circuit that supports learning and memory. He contributed to studies that identified a complete circuit diagram of the Drosophila learning center, the mushroom body. In addition, his work revealed a simple dopamine-dependent neural mechanism in Drosophila that mediates the detection of novelty and transition to familiarity. In 2018, Daisuke joined the faculty in the Department of Physiology with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neuroscience.
Research Interests
The Hattori Lab studies how neural circuits integrate sensorimotor information, memory, and internal state to guide behavior. We use Drosophila as a primary model and employ a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses molecular genetics, neural recording, and behavioral experiments, to uncover neural mechanisms that provide animals with behavioral flexibility.
Featured Publications
Representations of Novelty and Familiarity in a Mushroom Body Compartment.
Hattori D, Aso Y, Swartz KJ, Rubin GM, Abbott LF, Axel R. Cell (2017) 169 (5), 956-969
The neuronal architecture of the mushroom body provides a logic for associative learning.
Aso Y, Hattori D, Yu Y, Johnston RM, Iyer NA, Ngo TT, Dionne H, Abbott LF, Axel R, Tanimoto H, Rubin GM. eLife (2014) 3:e04577
Robust discrimination between self and non-self neurites requires thousands of Dscam1 isoforms.
Hattori D, Chen Y, Matthews BJ, Salwinski L, Sabatti C, Grueber WB, Zipursky SL. Nature (2009) 461 (7264), 644-648
Dscam-mediated cell recognition regulates neural circuit formation.
Hattori D*, Millard SS*, Wojtowicz WM*, Zipursky SL. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology (2008) 24, 597-620, Review
Dscam diversity is essential for neuronal wiring and self-recognition.
Hattori D*, Demir E*, Kim HW, Viragh E, Zipursky SL, Dickson BJ. Nature (2007) 449 (7159), 223-227
Dendrite self-avoidance is controlled by Dscam.
Matthews BJ, Kim ME, Flanagan JJ, Hattori D, Clemens JC, Zipursky SL, Grueber WB. Cell (2007) 129 (3), 593-604
Got diversity? Wiring the fly brain with Dscam.
Zipursky SL, Wojtowicz WM, Hattori D. Trends in Biochemical Sciences (2006) 31 (10), 581-588, Review
DNA methylation controls the timing of astrogliogenesis through the regulation of JAK-STAT signaling.
Fan G, Martinowich K, Chin MH, He F, Fouse SD, Hutnick L, Hattori D, Ge W, Shen Y, Wu H, ten Hoeve J, Shuai K, Sun YE. Development (2005) 132 (15), 3345-3356
Identification of target genes for the Xenopus Hes-related protein XHR1, a prepattern factor specifying the midbrain-hindbrain boundary.
Takada H*, Hattori D*, Kitayama A, Ueno N, Taira M. Developmental Biology (2005) 283 (1), 253-267
Analysis of Dscam diversity in regulating axon guidance in Drosophila mushroom bodies.
Zhan XL, Clemens JC, Neves G, Hattori D, Flanagan JJ, Hummel T, Vasconcelos ML, Chess A, Zipursky SL. Neuron (2004) 43 (5), 673-686
DNA methylation-related chromatin remodeling in activity-dependent BDNF gene regulation.
Martinowich K, Hattori D, Wu H, Fouse S, He F, Hu Y, Fan G, Sun YE. Science (2003) 302 (5646), 890-893
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Lab Fun
Members (2019-2021): Clockwise from top-left; Avirut, Kristin, Moise, Jack, Alexa, Analia, and Xinke Contact Us
Department of Physiology
UT Southwestern
5323 Harry Hines Blvd
MC9040, ND12.300
Dallas, TX 75390
(214) 645-6060 (office)
(214) 645-7030 (lab)
Email Daisuke Hattori