Associate Prof. Shimizu had a talk in a symposium session "Visceral afferent systems" of ISAN2007 in Kyoto. Title of his talk was "Evidence that activation of ghrelin receptors of autonomic preganglionic neurons stimulates autonomic outflows".

He also chaired an another symposium session "Dysfunction in neural control of the digestive system and the search for therapeutic targets".

Mr Shima has presented our data in the poster session. The title was "Modulatory mechanism of the striated muscle motility by a local neural reflex in the rat esophagus".

Dr. Takahiko SHINA will visit Erlangen-Nuremberg University in Germany (Prof. Neuhuber) for 4 months.

He will work on the morphological analysis of the neural network in the esophagus.

Most of the members in our lab went to the 4th Pfizer Science and Research Symposium (Gastrointestinal motility and Functional gastrointestinal disorders, Basic to Clinical).

Papers in the poster session were follows;

• Regulation of the quail rectum motility by purinergic and cholinergic neurons.
  T.Shiina, Y.Shimizu, A.El-Mahmoudy, T.Takewaki
  
  
• The regulatory roles of intrinsic nitrergic neurons in the peristalsis of the hamster ileum.
  H.Hirayama, T.Shiina, Y.Shimizu, T.Takewaki
  
  
• Evidence that activation of ghrelin receptors of preganglionic neurons in the spinal cord stimulates colorectal motility and defecation
  Y.Shimizu, A.D.Shafton, D.M.Ferens, B.Hunne, J.B.Furness
  
  
• Establishment of an in vivo experimental system to assess peristaltic motility of the striated muscle esophagus in rats
  T.Shima, Y.Shimizu, T.Shiina, J.B.Furness, T.Takewaki
  
  
• Key role of mucosal primary afferents in mediating the inhibitory influence of capsaicin on vagally mediated contractions in the mouse esophagus.
  S.Miyazawa, A.Boudaka, T.Shiina, Y.Shimizu, T.Takewaki
  
  
• Involvement of TRPV1-dependent and -independent components in the regulation of vagally induced contractions in the mouse esophagus
  K.Masuda, A.Boudaka, T.Shiina, Y.Shimizu, T.Takewaki