Natsumi Komatsu Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California Berkeley
Title: Illuminating Neurochemical Signaling in Social Animal Models with Fluorescent Nanosensors
Abstract: Neurochemicals are fundamental to communication between neurons to drive brain function, and their imbalance lies at the core of numerous neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions. One such neurochemical, oxytocin, is a neuropeptide hypothesized to play a central role in social behaviors alongside molecules like dopamine and serotonin, and its dysregulations are implicated in social impairment disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. However, most neurochemicals remain invisible due to a lack of real-time biosensors, making neurochemistry the missing dimension of neurobiology. This hinders our understanding of when and where these neurochemicals are released, and how their release may be impaired (and thus treatable) in disorders.
To this end, I have developed a synthetic fluorescent oxytocin nanosensor based on my experience with functionalized nanomaterials, which enabled real-time imaging of oxytocin in living brain tissue slices. I have also developed a new assay to image oxytocin’s role in social behavior in prairie voles, a rodent species that uniquely exhibits human-like selective affiliation and social monogamy. By conducting the first real-time imaging of oxytocin release in prairie voles, my study revealed altered oxytocin release in transgenic voles lacking functional oxytocin receptors – information only accessible with high spatial resolution provided by the nanosensors. Together with behavioral studies suggesting disrupted social bonding, my research provides molecular insights into oxytocin release dynamics underlying social interactions, and how it may be disrupted in autism spectrum disorders.
Bio: Natsumi Komatsu is a Schmidt Science Fellow and Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at Scientific Interface Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Markita Landry at the University of California, Berkeley, where she develops and applies synthetic fluorescent nanosensors to image neurochemical signaling in the brain. Natsumi earned her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University with Prof. Junichiro Kono, engineering optical properties of carbon-based nanomaterials. By combining her PhD expertise in nanomaterial engineering and advanced optics with her current research in chemical engineering and neuroscience, her independent group aims to develop a versatile neuroimaging platform to illuminate neurochemistry across species and ages.