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Masao Udo, friend and colleague — a Scandinavian connection
Neuroscience Research, 17 (1993) 89-90 © 1993 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland, Ltd. All rights reserved 0168-0102/93/$06.00
89
NSR00650
Obituary
Masao U d o , friend and colleague - a Scandinavian connection Sten Grillner
a
and Hans Hultborn b
a Nobel Institute of Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, S-10401 Stockholm, Sweden, and b Department of Medical Physiology, The Panum Institute, Copenhagen Uniuersity, Blegdamsuej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark (Received 5 May 1993; accepted 5 May 1993)
The message of Masao Udo's untimely death on the 30th of January 1993 seems unreal, and we would like to give just a few fragmentary recollections of our interaction with a dear friend and colleague. Our interaction dates back to October 1968, when Masao Udo, just married to his wife Katsuko, arrived at Anders Lundberg's laboratory in G6teborg, Sweden, to work as a visiting scientist for a period of two years. As a graduate from Masao Ito's laboratory, he was well trained in cerebellar and brain stem physiology and all contemporary neurophysiological techniques. He came to train in Anders Lundberg's laboratory to broaden his area of expertise in the general area of motor control. During Masao Udo's time in G6teborg he worked in close interaction on different projects with Anders Lundberg himself, and separately with each of us in different series of experiments. These two years were happy; Katsuko, who had majored in English, decided to join the laboratory, and her happy laughter is still remembered by all of us who then worked in the laboratory. Although the scene in G6teborg must have been very foreign to the Udos, who had never been in a western laboratory before, they rapidly adapted to this environment, and became highly appreciated members of the laboratory. In his work Masao Udo was very determined and he quietly pushed forward in a persistent and systematic way. We remember the long, exciting, acute experiments often continuing throughout the night during which close bonds were formed. The time in G6teborg was very busy for Masao Udo. In his work with Anders Lundberg he dealt with the control exerted from the area around the red nucleus on the spinal cord circuitry. The close interaction with Hans Hultborn provided a detailed account for how the cortico-, vestibulo- and rubrospinal pathways inter-
act with the last order interneurons that mediate reciprocal inhibition from muscle spindle afferents. Studies with Sten Grillner focused on the different cellular mechanisms operating in the stretch reflex with regard to both the recruitment of new motor units and the descending control mechanisms. This work related closely to the neural mechanisms responsible for releasing walking movements in spinal cord preparations. After returning to Japan Udo started a novel research direction. He combined his interest in locomotor control with his previous interest in the role of the cerebellum in motor control. He soon became Associate Professor at Osaka University in Prof. Nakaakira Tsukahara's department. When Hans Hultborn joined Tsukahara as a postdoc in 1972, the friendship was again boosted. Masao Udo later changed over to the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences in Osaka in the early years of the eighties to become full professor. During this period he designed technically very demanding experiments in which decerebrate cats were made to walk on a treadmill belt. He then interfered selectively with different parts of the cerebellar cortex known to act on the spinal cord via separate pathways. To evaluate the changes in motor commands he designed a unique experimental paradigm in which the force exerted by each foot could be measured as the animal walked or galloped on the treadmill belt. These papers constitute an important contribution to our understanding of the role of the cerebellum in basic movement patterns like locomotion. He continued this development and proceeded to analyze the contribution of the substantia nigra and the basal ganglia and to elucidate the related circling locomotor behaviour from a neurophysiological perspective. In his new faculty position he also supervised and encouraged work on human motor control and we had the privilege of
90 receiving two of his postdoctoral students, Komei Ikuta and Hiroshi Kinoshita, in Stockholm to work with, in particular, Hans Forssberg. The Scandinavian connection thus continued. Dr. Udo's intense interest in the control mechanisms underlying locomotion was very strongly manifested in 1989 when he organized a most rewarding
small conference in Osaka, which combined neuroscience with a touch of ancient Japanese culture and classic theatre in a very charming way. The contribution of Masao Udo as a friend, scientist and a mentor for his younger colleagues will always live with us, and our sympathy now goes to his wife Katsuko and their children Shintaro and Lena.
89
NSR00650
Obituary
Masao U d o , friend and colleague - a Scandinavian connection Sten Grillner
a
and Hans Hultborn b
a Nobel Institute of Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, S-10401 Stockholm, Sweden, and b Department of Medical Physiology, The Panum Institute, Copenhagen Uniuersity, Blegdamsuej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark (Received 5 May 1993; accepted 5 May 1993)
The message of Masao Udo's untimely death on the 30th of January 1993 seems unreal, and we would like to give just a few fragmentary recollections of our interaction with a dear friend and colleague. Our interaction dates back to October 1968, when Masao Udo, just married to his wife Katsuko, arrived at Anders Lundberg's laboratory in G6teborg, Sweden, to work as a visiting scientist for a period of two years. As a graduate from Masao Ito's laboratory, he was well trained in cerebellar and brain stem physiology and all contemporary neurophysiological techniques. He came to train in Anders Lundberg's laboratory to broaden his area of expertise in the general area of motor control. During Masao Udo's time in G6teborg he worked in close interaction on different projects with Anders Lundberg himself, and separately with each of us in different series of experiments. These two years were happy; Katsuko, who had majored in English, decided to join the laboratory, and her happy laughter is still remembered by all of us who then worked in the laboratory. Although the scene in G6teborg must have been very foreign to the Udos, who had never been in a western laboratory before, they rapidly adapted to this environment, and became highly appreciated members of the laboratory. In his work Masao Udo was very determined and he quietly pushed forward in a persistent and systematic way. We remember the long, exciting, acute experiments often continuing throughout the night during which close bonds were formed. The time in G6teborg was very busy for Masao Udo. In his work with Anders Lundberg he dealt with the control exerted from the area around the red nucleus on the spinal cord circuitry. The close interaction with Hans Hultborn provided a detailed account for how the cortico-, vestibulo- and rubrospinal pathways inter-
act with the last order interneurons that mediate reciprocal inhibition from muscle spindle afferents. Studies with Sten Grillner focused on the different cellular mechanisms operating in the stretch reflex with regard to both the recruitment of new motor units and the descending control mechanisms. This work related closely to the neural mechanisms responsible for releasing walking movements in spinal cord preparations. After returning to Japan Udo started a novel research direction. He combined his interest in locomotor control with his previous interest in the role of the cerebellum in motor control. He soon became Associate Professor at Osaka University in Prof. Nakaakira Tsukahara's department. When Hans Hultborn joined Tsukahara as a postdoc in 1972, the friendship was again boosted. Masao Udo later changed over to the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences in Osaka in the early years of the eighties to become full professor. During this period he designed technically very demanding experiments in which decerebrate cats were made to walk on a treadmill belt. He then interfered selectively with different parts of the cerebellar cortex known to act on the spinal cord via separate pathways. To evaluate the changes in motor commands he designed a unique experimental paradigm in which the force exerted by each foot could be measured as the animal walked or galloped on the treadmill belt. These papers constitute an important contribution to our understanding of the role of the cerebellum in basic movement patterns like locomotion. He continued this development and proceeded to analyze the contribution of the substantia nigra and the basal ganglia and to elucidate the related circling locomotor behaviour from a neurophysiological perspective. In his new faculty position he also supervised and encouraged work on human motor control and we had the privilege of
90 receiving two of his postdoctoral students, Komei Ikuta and Hiroshi Kinoshita, in Stockholm to work with, in particular, Hans Forssberg. The Scandinavian connection thus continued. Dr. Udo's intense interest in the control mechanisms underlying locomotion was very strongly manifested in 1989 when he organized a most rewarding
small conference in Osaka, which combined neuroscience with a touch of ancient Japanese culture and classic theatre in a very charming way. The contribution of Masao Udo as a friend, scientist and a mentor for his younger colleagues will always live with us, and our sympathy now goes to his wife Katsuko and their children Shintaro and Lena.