World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Hirokazu Hirai

Hirokazu Hirai

D-Index & Metrics

Neuroscience

D-Index
51
Citations
10704
World Ranking
5497
National Ranking
171

Overview

Hirokazu Hirai is a researcher affiliated with Gunma University in Japan, specializing primarily in the fields of Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology. Their work spans multiple subfields including Molecular Biology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Neurology, Genetics, and Immunology.

The research topics addressed by Hirokazu Hirai include Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms, Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases, Mitochondrial Function and Pathology, Neurogenesis and Neuroplasticity Mechanisms, Neuroscience of Respiration and Sleep, and RNA Interference and Gene Delivery.

Several recent papers authored by or involving Hirokazu Hirai illustrate the diversity of their research. These include:

  • Distinct temporal integration of noradrenaline signaling by astrocytic second messengers during vigilance (2020, Nature Communications)
  • Efficient whole brain transduction by systemic infusion of minimally purified AAV-PHP.eB (2020, Journal of Neuroscience Methods)
  • Plasticity of neural connections underlying oxytocin-mediated parental behaviors of male mice (2022, Neuron)
  • Synaptic pruning through glial synapse engulfment upon motor learning (2022, Nature Neuroscience)
  • Comparative study of neuron-specific promoters in mouse brain transduced by intravenously administered AAV-PHP.eB (2021, Neuroscience Letters)

Frequent collaborators have included Ayumu Konno, Nobutake Hosoi, Yuki Kurauchi, Hiroshi Katsuki, and Takahiro Seki. Ayumu Konno appears as the most frequent co-author.

Hirai's work has been published across various venues, with notable recurrent appearances in:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Proceedings for Annual Meeting of The Japanese Pharmacological Society
  • Nature Communications
  • Research Square (Research Square)
  • The Cerebellum

In total, their contributions involve a substantial number of publications in Neuroscience (93) and Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology (80), reflecting a broad and multidisciplinary engagement with their research areas.

Best Publications

  • Novel INK4 Proteins, p19 and p18, Are Specific Inhibitors of the Cyclin D-Dependent Kinases CDK4 and CDK6

    H. Hirai;M. F. Roussel;Jun-Ya Kato;R. A. Ashmun

  • CD38 is critical for social behaviour by regulating oxytocin secretion

    Duo Jin;Hong Xiang Liu;Hirokazu Hirai;Takashi Torashima

  • Molecular determinants of agonist discrimination by NMDA receptor subunits: analysis of the glutamate binding site on the NR2B subunit.

    Bodo Laube;Hirokazu Hirai;Mike Sturgess;Heinrich Betz

  • Calcium imaging reveals glial involvement in transcranial direct current stimulation-induced plasticity in mouse brain.

    Hiromu Monai;Masamichi Ohkura;Mika Tanaka;Yuki Oe

  • Cbln1 is essential for synaptic integrity and plasticity in the cerebellum.

    Hirokazu Hirai;Zhen Pang;Zhen Pang;Dashi Bao;Taisuke Miyazaki

  • Phosphorylation of Serine‐880 in GluR2 by Protein Kinase C Prevents Its C Terminus from Binding with Glutamate Receptor‐Interacting Protein

    Shinji Matsuda;Sumiko Mikawa;Hirokazu Hirai

  • The glycine binding site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit NR1: identification of novel determinants of co-agonist potentiation in the extracellular M3-M4 loop region

    Hirokazu Hirai;Joachim Kirsch;Bodo Laube;Heinrich Betz

  • Disruption of AMPA receptor GluR2 clusters following long‐term depression induction in cerebellar Purkinje neurons

    Shinji Matsuda;Thomas Launey;Sumiko Mikawa;Hirokazu Hirai

  • Two genetic variants of CD38 in subjects with autism spectrum disorder and controls.

    Toshio Munesue;Shigeru Yokoyama;Kazuhiko Nakamura;Ayyappan Anitha

  • Interaction of D-type cyclins with a novel myb-like transcription factor, DMP1.

    H Hirai;C J Sherr

  • Red fluorescent protein-based cAMP indicator applicable to optogenetics and in vivo imaging

    Kazuki Harada;Motoki Ito;Xiaowen Wang;Mika Tanaka

  • Retrograde Semaphorin Signaling Regulates Synapse Elimination in the Developing Mouse Brain

    Naofumi Uesaka;Motokazu Uchigashima;Takayasu Mikuni;Takanobu Nakazawa

  • Distinct temporal integration of noradrenaline signaling by astrocytic second messengers during vigilance

    Yuki Oe;Xiaowen Wang;Tommaso Patriarchi;Ayumu Konno

  • Intravenous administration of the adeno-associated virus-PHP.B capsid fails to upregulate transduction efficiency in the marmoset brain.

    Yasunori Matsuzaki;Ayumu Konno;Ryuta Mochizuki;Yoichiro Shinohara

  • The PtdIns(3,4)P 2 phosphatase INPP4A is a suppressor of excitotoxic neuronal death

    Junko Sasaki;Satoshi Kofuji;Satoshi Kofuji;Reietsu Itoh;Reietsu Itoh;Toshihiko Momiyama

  • Silencing Mutant Ataxin-3 Rescues Motor Deficits and Neuropathology in Machado-Joseph Disease Transgenic Mice

    Clévio Nóbrega;Isabel Nascimento-Ferreira;Isabel Onofre;David Albuquerque

  • New role of δ2-glutamate receptors in AMPA receptor trafficking and cerebellar function

    Hirokazu Hirai;Hirokazu Hirai;Hirokazu Hirai;Thomas Launey;Sumiko Mikawa;Takashi Torashima;Takashi Torashima

  • Arc/Arg3.1 is a postsynaptic mediator of activity-dependent synapse elimination in the developing cerebellum.

    Takayasu Mikuni;Naofumi Uesaka;Hiroyuki Okuno;Hirokazu Hirai

  • Lentivector‐mediated rescue from cerebellar ataxia in a mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia

    Takashi Torashima;Takashi Torashima;Chiho Koyama;Akira Iizuka;Kazuhiro Mitsumura

  • The Regulatory Connection between the Activity of Granule Cell NMDA Receptors and Dendritic Differentiation of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

    Hirokazu Hirai;Thomas Launey

Frequent Co-Authors

Yasuhiro Okada
Yasuhiro Okada Kobe University
Hajime Hirase
Hajime Hirase University of Copenhagen
Michisuke Yuzaki
Michisuke Yuzaki Keio University
Masahiko Watanabe
Masahiko Watanabe Hokkaido University
Masanobu Kano
Masanobu Kano University of Tokyo
Shin-ichi Muramatsu
Shin-ichi Muramatsu Jichi Medical University
Hiroshi Okamoto
Hiroshi Okamoto University of Tokyo
Taisuke Miyazaki
Taisuke Miyazaki Hokkaido University
Mami Noda
Mami Noda Kyushu University

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Best Scientists Citing Hirokazu Hirai

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles