<table class="infobox infobox-researcher">
<tr>
<th class="infobox-header" colspan="2">Susumu Tonegawa</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="infobox-image" colspan="2">
<em>Photo placeholder</em>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Affiliations</td>
<td>RIKEN-MIT<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Country</td>
<td>Japan/USA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">H-index</td>
<td>200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">ORCID</td>
<td><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4032-1875" target="_blank">0000-0002-4032-1875</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Research Focus</td>
<td>Alzheimer Disease, Memory Disorders</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Mechanisms</td>
<td>Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus</td>
</tr>
</table>
Susumu Tonegawa
Overview
Susumu Tonegawa is a leading researcher in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, affiliated with RIKEN-MIT and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their research focuses on Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus, with particular emphasis on Alzheimer Disease and Memory Disorders. With an h-index of 200, Tonegawa is among the most cited researchers in the neuroscience field[@orcid2026].
...<table class="infobox infobox-researcher">
<tr>
<th class="infobox-header" colspan="2">Susumu Tonegawa</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="infobox-image" colspan="2">
<em>Photo placeholder</em>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Affiliations</td>
<td>RIKEN-MIT<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Country</td>
<td>Japan/USA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">H-index</td>
<td>200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">ORCID</td>
<td><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4032-1875" target="_blank">0000-0002-4032-1875</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Research Focus</td>
<td>Alzheimer Disease, Memory Disorders</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="label">Mechanisms</td>
<td>Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus</td>
</tr>
</table>
Susumu Tonegawa
Overview
Susumu Tonegawa is a leading researcher in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, affiliated with RIKEN-MIT and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their research focuses on Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus, with particular emphasis on Alzheimer Disease and Memory Disorders. With an h-index of 200, Tonegawa is among the most cited researchers in the neuroscience field[@orcid2026].
Tonegawa's work spans multiple aspects of neurodegeneration, contributing to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie diseases such as Alzheimer Disease and Memory Disorders. Their research group has made significant contributions to the fields of Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus, publishing in high-impact journals including Nature.
Based at RIKEN-MIT and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tonegawa collaborates with researchers across multiple institutions worldwide, working to advance therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative conditions.
Research Focus
Disease Areas
- [Alzheimer's Disease](/diseases/alzheimers-disease)
- Memory Disorders
Mechanisms of Interest
- Memory Formation
- Synaptic Plasticity
- [Hippocampus](/brain-regions/hippocampus)
Programmatic Emphasis
Tonegawa's portfolio emphasizes mechanism-aware biomarker interpretation and translational hypothesis testing in Alzheimer Disease and Memory Disorders. Their group typically links molecular process readouts to clinically meaningful outcomes, including cognitive trajectories, motor phenotypes, and disease staging endpoints when relevant.
The work frequently sits at the interface of discovery science and implementation, using study designs that can be transferred from observational cohorts to interventional studies. This makes the profile especially relevant for NeuroWiki pages that connect molecular mechanisms to treatment strategy, trial design, and patient stratification.
Methods and Data Strategy
Within the Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus domain, this research profile is most aligned with multimodal integration: combining imaging, biofluid, genomic, and clinical metadata to derive robust disease signatures. In practice, this means prioritizing reproducibility (cohort harmonization, independent replication, and transparent analysis assumptions) over one-off findings.
The program also supports comparative interpretation across related disorders, helping distinguish disease-general stress biology from disease-specific pathomechanisms. That distinction is important for mechanistic ranking and for selecting therapeutic targets with realistic translational potential.
Translational Relevance
For NeuroWiki readers, the translational value of this researcher profile lies in three areas: first, operationalizing mechanism-informed biomarkers for diagnosis and progression tracking; second, identifying patient subgroups most likely to respond to targeted interventions; and third, connecting preclinical hypotheses to trial-ready outcome frameworks.
This orientation improves actionability of mechanistic knowledge graphs because it links entities and pathways to measurable clinical decisions. Pages connected to this profile should therefore prioritize explicit mechanism-to-outcome chains, with clear assumptions and evidence quality labels.
Key Publications
[Somatostatin and memory](https://doi.org/10.1038/271773a0). Nature, 1978.[@somatostatin1978]
Recent Research
Recent PubMed-indexed publications (2024-present):
[Dopamine induces fear extinction by activating the reward-responding amygdala neurons.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40294263/). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2025.
Collaborators and Research Network
Collaborator network pending enrichment.
Institutional Context
Primary institutional links: [RIKEN-MIT](/institutions/riken-mit), [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/institutions/massachusetts-institute-of-technology). These organizations provide critical infrastructure for longitudinal cohorts, mechanistic phenotyping, and translational trial partnerships in neurodegeneration research.
Open Questions and Future Directions
- How can Memory Formation, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampus signals be standardized across cohorts and sites without losing disease-stage sensitivity?
- Which biomarker combinations best separate causal mechanism activity from downstream epiphenomena?
- What trial designs can most efficiently translate mechanistic findings in Alzheimer Disease and Memory Disorders into clinically meaningful interventions?
External Links
- ORCID: [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4032-1875](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4032-1875)
- Google Scholar: [Search for Susumu Tonegawa](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=author%3A%22Susumu+Tonegawa%22)
- PubMed: [Author search for Susumu Tonegawa](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Susumu+Tonegawa%5BAuthor%5D)
See Also
- [Researchers and Institutions Index](/researchers)
- [Diseases Index](/diseases)
- [Mechanisms Index](/mechanisms)
References
[Unknown, Somatostatin and memory (1978)](https://doi.org/10.1038/271773a0)
Unknown, ORCID profile for Susumu Tonegawa (2026)