Nobuo Suga
Encyclopedia
Nobuo Suga is a Japanese biologist, famous for his research on the neurophysiology of hearing, and echolocation in bats.

Life

After achieving a bachelors degree in biology at Tokyo Metropolitan University in 1958, Nobuo studied for his doctoral thesis on the neurophysiology of hearing with Yatsuji Katsuki at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
is part of Japan's national university system. Tokyo Medical and Dental University offers baccalaureate and graduate degrees in medicine, dentistry, and related fields.- History :...

. His early research attracted the attention of Vincent Wigglesworth
Vincent Wigglesworth
Sir Vincent Brian Wigglesworth FRS was a British entomologist who made significant contributions to the field of insect physiology.In particular, he studied metamorphosis...

 of Cambridge University, a prominent insect researcher, and Donald Griffin of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, who studied bats. From there, his career took him to UCLA and UC San Diego School of Medicine
UC San Diego School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is a medical school located in La Jolla, California, USA.The school held its first class in 1968 and conferred its first degrees in 1972. The school aggressively recruited leading physician scientists of its era and rapidly gained a reputation...

, before finally arriving at Washington University. Suga became a U.S. citizen in 1993, prompted by an incident at Lambert International Airport where a customs agent couldn't recognize Suga's picture on his green card, issued in 1966.

Work

Suga's work revealed much about the location and function of auditory systems in the brain. Whilst at Washington, he mapped the areas of the bat brain involved in processing doppler shift (velocity) information, and in processing distance information. Suga's work demonstrated similarities between the human visual system and bat echolocation. Recent work has focused on the plasticity of the auditory system.

Selected publications

  • Suga, N. and Ma, X. (2003) Multiparametric corticofugal modulation and plasticity in the auditory system. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 4: 783-794.
  • Xiao, Z. and Suga, N. (2004) Reorganization of the auditory cortex specialized for echo-delay processing in the mustached bat. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 1769-1774.
  • Xiao, Z. and Suga, N. (2005) Asymmetry in corticofugal modulation of frequency-tuning in mustached bat auditory system. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 102: 19162-19167.
  • Ma, X. and Suga, N. (2005) Long-term plasticity evoked by electric stimulation and acetylcholine applied to the auditory cortex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 102: 9335-9340.
  • Ji, W., Suga, N. and Gao, E. (2005) Effects of agonists and antagonists of NMDA and ACh receptors on plasticity of bat auditory system elicited by fear conditioning. J. Neurophysiol. 94: 1199-1211.

External links

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