Shigenobu Shibata
Papers
4
Total Citations
65
H-Index
3
About
Shigenobu Shibata is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics and behavioral neuroscience, whose work has opened new frontiers in understanding animal behavior and mental health. His primary research areas include bio-inspired robotics, animal-robot interaction, and the development of innovative animal models for psychiatric disorders. Shibata’s most significant contributions center on using small mobile robots—most notably the rat-like robot WR-4—to systematically modulate the behavior of live rats. In his highly cited 2013 study (40 citations), he demonstrated that a robot capable of generating stressful, friendly, or neutral behaviors could reliably influence rat activity levels, providing a controlled, repeatable method for studying social and emotional responses. This work led to a novel approach for creating animal models of depression and other mental disorders, as detailed in his 2013 and 2010 papers (13 and 11 citations, respectively). By exposing rats to robot-induced stress during both immature and mature developmental periods, Shibata’s research offers a more precise and ethical alternative to conventional animal models, with profound implications for psychotropic drug development. His innovative fusion of robotics and psychiatry continues to inspire new methodologies in behavioral science.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Modulation of rat behaviour by using a rat-like robot40 citations · 2013
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