Research

Rehabilitation DentistryOral and Craniofacial Anatomy

First Department of Oral Anatomy was started at the Tohoku University Faculty of Dentistry in 1965 by Professor Saeki Masatomo. Then, the department has been renamed as Division of Oral and Craniofacial Anatomy by Professor Masayoshi Kikuchi. From July 1st, 2009, Dr. Hiroyuki Ichikawa has worked as a professor. At this division, Professor Ichikawa conducts education and research with the assistance of Assistant Professor Tadasu Sato and Mr. Shogo Kinoshita.

We teach the human anatomy, particularly focused on the oral structures for students at the Tohoku University Faculty of Dentistry. The students have training courses for human anatomy including the tooth morphology, and will get the basic and essential knowledge for a dentist. During the human anatomy course, the students also understand the complex and functional morphology of the human body and then think about life, death and medical ethics. We also have research projects about the function and morphology of craniofacial structures, particularly about the mechanism for sensory transduction.

Staff

Topics of Research

  • Macroscopic anatomical research on oral and craniofacial regions
  • Research on the distribution and function of various sensors in the orofacial regions
  • Research on the change and mechanism of the pain threshold in animal chronic pain models
  • Research on motor and sensory neurons in dystonia musculorum and muscular atrophy diseases

Recent Publications

  1. Nagayama T, Seiryu M, Deguchi T, Kano M, Suzuki T, Takano-Yamamoto T, Ichikawa H: Increase of CGRP-Containing Nerve Fibers in the Rat Periodontal Ligament After Luxation. Cell Mol Neurobiol, (in press).
  2. Kano M, Shimizu Y, Suzuki Y, Furukawa Y, Ishida H, Oikawa M, Kanetaka H, Ichikawa H, Suzuki T: Pituitary adenylatecyclase-activating polypeptide-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the rat epiglottis and pharynx. Ann Anat. 2011;193:494-499.
  3. Ichikawa H, Sato T, Kano M, Suzuki T, Matsuo S, Kanetaka H, Shimizu Y: Masseteric nerve injury increases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in microglia within the rat mesencephalic trigeminal tract nucleus. Cell Mol Neurobiol.
  4. Ichikawa H, Kano M, Shimizu Y, Suzuki T, Sawada E, Ono W, Chu LW, Côté PD: Increase of c-Fos and c-Jun expression in spinal and cranial motoneurons of the degenerating muscle mouse (Scn8a(dmu)). Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010;30:737-742.
  5. Ichikawa H, Zhao BR, Kano M, Shimizu Y, Suzuki T, Terayama R, Matsuo S, Sugimoto T: Tunicamycin-induced cell death in the trigeminal ganglion is suppressed by nerve growth factor in the mouse embryo. Cell Mol Neurobiol: 2010;30:461-467.

Laboratory Contacts

Research