Hayashi Lab.

Our perceptual experiences are created by our brains and do not necessarily correspond to the physical properties of the world. To clarify the mechanisms by which the human brain generates perceptual experiences, Hayashi Laboratory in the Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet) studies human brains using psychophysics and functional brain imaging techniques. Furthermore, we are trying to clarify the causal relationship between the brain and perception by investigating how the perceptual experience changes when magnetic or electric current stimulation is applied to the brain. Our goal is to apply the findings from these studies to develop technologies that allow us to control our subjective senses at will and to create new perceptual experiences that we have never experienced before.

NEWS

UPCOMING
EVENTS

Hayashi will give a talk at the Advanced Neuroimaging Center, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (Feb 18, 2026).

• Nov 29, 2025

  Kanechi and Sakamoto presented their posters at The 44th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Psychonomic Society. Kanechi won the Best Presentation Award. Congratulations!

• Nov 16, 2025

  Our new preprint, entitled “Transcranial static magnetic stimulation dissociates the causal roles of the parietal cortex in spatial and temporal processing”, was posted on bioRxiv.

• Nov 3, 2025

  Our new preprint, entitled “Contextual scaling of representational uncertainty for size and number”, was posted on bioRxiv.

• Nov 1, 2025

  Sofia NAGISA joined our team as a Fixed-term Researcher. Welcome!

• Oct 18, 2025

  Maurya presented his research findings at the TRF4.

APPROACH

Uncovering
Neural Correlates

Through psychophysical and neuroimaging experiments, we clarify the neural basis of perception and cognition. Recently, we have been studying the neural mechanisms of temporal and numerical processing, with particular focus on their neural representations and its relationship with our percepts. In the future, I would like to deepen these researches, and also to study how the way information is represented constrains human thoughts and language.

• Kido T, Yotsumoto Y, Hayashi MJ (2025) Nat Commun.
• Hayashi MJ, Ivry RB (2020) J Neurosci.
• Hayashi MJ, van der Zwaag W, Bueti D, Kanai R (2018) Commun Biol.
• Hayashi MJ, Ditye T, Harada T, Hashiguchi M, et al. (2015) PLoS Biol.

Revealing
Causal Relationships

A weakness of neuroimaging techniques is that while it can reveal the correlation between perception / cognition and brain activity, it cannot reveal the causal relationship between them. Therefore, we use techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, tSMS) and transcranial electrical stimulation (tDCS, tACS) techniques, which can stimulate the brain non-invasively, to temporarily modulate neural activity and clarify the causal relationship between brain activity and perception / cognition. Currently, we are mainly investigating how the perception of time and number is modulated by brain stimulation.

• Hayashi MJ, Kanai R, Tanabe HC, Yoshida Y, et al. (2013) J Neurosci.

Augmenting
Human Abilities

Based on the knowledge obtained from psychophysical experiments, neuroimaging, and brain stimulation experiments, we will develop technologies that can improve human perception and cognitive abilities and control them at will. To achieve this goal, we combine wearable devices which allows us to collect external and internal biological information, machine learning techniques, and sensory and brain stimulation methods. In the future, we further expand this idea to develop a new technology that helps us to acquire new abilities that humans have never had before, and to implement it in society.

• JST PRESTO[The Future of Humans and Interactions]

FACILITIES

COMMON FACILITIES

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma, PrismaFit, Vida (3 Tesla)
Siemens MAGNETOM Terra(7 Tesla)

Magnetoencephalography

Elekta Neuromag 360-channel MEG System

LAB FACILITIES

Transcracial Magnetic Stimulation

Magstim 200², BiStim²
Deymed DuoMAG MP-Quad

TMS Navigation System

Rogue Research Brainsight

TMS Cobot

Axilum TMS-Cobot

Transcranial Static Magnetic Stimulation

Neurek MAG45r+, MAG50r+

TEAM

Researcher

Masamichi HAYASHI, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Senior Researcher, CiNet

Guest Associate Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

• perception of time and space
• subjectivity
• efficient coding
• human augmentation

• research map
• Google Scholar

Sofia NAGISA, Ph.D.

Fixed-term Researcher, CiNet

Visiting Researcher, RIKEN Center for Brain Science

• vision
• time perception
• effort
• vigilance
• psychophysics

• Google Scholar

Cooperative Visiting Researcher

Masakazu SUGIMOTO

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

JSPS Research Fellow (DC2)

• brain stimulation
• MRI
• time perception
• cognitive neuroscience

• research map

Ryo KANECHI

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

Fellowship Student, Next Generation Researcher Development Project

• duration perception
• temporal resolution
• psychophysics

Tomoki TAKAHASHI

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

Fellowship Student, Next Generation Researcher Development Project

• numerosity perception
• synesthesia
• multisensory integration

DAI Zerui

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

• time perception
• linguistics

Minto HASHIMOTO

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

• window of simultaneity
• time perception
• visual Perception

Naoya SUGIMOTO

Cooperative Visiting Researcher, CiNet

Graduate Student, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, The University of Osaka

• time perception
• cognitive neuroscience
• MRI

Assistant Staff

Ken ISOSAKI

Technical Staff

Systems Engineer, Media-X Co.,Ltd.

• Java
• corporate accounting
• shogi

Keiko SAWAI

Administrative Specialist

• rabbit
• camera

VACANCIES