Shimpei Ishiyama
About me:
I am the Group Leader of the Research Group for Neurobiology of Positive Emotions at the Department of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry. My research investigates the neural mechanisms underlying positive affective states, with a particular focus on playful behaviors in rodents. By combining in vivo electrophysiology, behavioral analysis, and comparative approaches across species, my work aims to provide mechanistic insights into how positive emotions are generated in the brain, contributing to a better understanding of affective processes relevant to mental health.
Shimpei currently works as the group leader of the research group for neurobiology of positive emotions and was awarded with the Young Investigator Award of the Japan Neuroscience Society (JNS).
Expertise:
| Ultrasonic vocalizations | Data analysis framework development |
| In-vivo freely moving Electrophysiology | Data acquisition system |
Selected publications
- Dagher, S. et al. (2025) Comparative Analysis of Tickling and Conspecific Play in Tame Mice and Golden Hamsters. Behav. Brain Res., 115849. 10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115849
- Ishiyama, S. (2025) The neurobiology of ticklishness. Neurosci Res. 10.1016/j.neures.2025.05.002
- Dagher, S., and Ishiyama, S. (2024) Tickle fetishism: pleasure beyond playfulness. Front Psychol. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1342342
- Kaufmann, L.V., Brecht, M., Ishiyama, S. (2023). Tickle contagion in the rat somatosensory cortex, iScience, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105718
- Ishiyama, S., Kaufmann, L.V., and Brecht, M. (2019). Behavioral and Cortical Correlates of Self-Suppression, Anticipation, and Ambivalence in Rat Tickling. Curr. Biol. 29, 3153-3164.
- Ishiyama, S., and Brecht, M. (2016). Neural correlates of ticklishness in the rat somatosensory cortex. Science 354, 757-760.
Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit (ZI) - https://www.zi-mannheim.de