Dr. Okihide Hikosaka is a preeminent neuroscientist renowned for his transformative investigations into the neural mechanisms governing eye movement control and reward processing. He currently serves as a senior investigator at the National Eye Institute's Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research within the National Institutes of Health. After completing his MD in 1973 and PhD in 1978 through foundational research with neurobiologist Hiroshi Shimazu on brain stem mechanisms of the vestibule-oculomotor system, he established his academic career in Japan. Following a faculty position at Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo, he joined the National Eye Institute in 1979 for postdoctoral research under Robert Wurtz, initiating his groundbreaking work on the basal ganglia's role in visual-motor control.
Dr. Hikosaka's pioneering research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the basal ganglia, demonstrating its critical involvement not only in motor function but also in cognitive processes including learning, memory, and reward valuation. He discovered that primates execute eye movements more rapidly toward locations associated with rewards, revealing how the caudate nucleus modulates behavior through strategic neural inhibition and its release. His work on the substantia nigra pars reticulata established essential neural pathways explaining how circuit disruptions contribute to movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. These discoveries have provided crucial physiological insights into voluntary eye movement control and its impairment in neurological conditions.
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Hikosaka has received numerous prestigious accolades including the 2018 Gruber Prize in Neuroscience for his paradigm-shifting contributions to the field. In 2024, he was named a Clarivate Citation Laureate, recognized as a Nobel-class scientist for his physiological studies of the basal ganglia central to motor control and behavior. His research continues to influence both fundamental neuroscience and clinical applications, with current investigations focused on unraveling complex neuronal networks governing eye movement and their integration with cognitive processes. As a leading authority in systems neuroscience, Dr. Hikosaka's work remains foundational to advancing brain function understanding and developing improved interventions for neurological disorders affecting movement and cognition.
