Started new lab at Nagoya Institute of Technology!
NEWS
[Jul. 2025] An invited talk at Asia-Pacific Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience Conference (AP-CCN2025).
[Jun. 2025] An invited talk at OIST Computational Neuroscience Course 2025.
[Apr. 2024] Started new lab at Nagoya Institute of Technology!
[Mar. 2025] New preprint on the learning dynamics of LLMs with a sparse autoencoder!
[Mar. 2025] New preprint on phase trainsitions in LLMs!
[Mar. 2025] Presenting 5 papers at NLP 2025 (4 as the last author).
[Mar. 2025] An invited talk at 24th Workshop on the Mechanism of Brain and Mind.
[Feb. 2025] An invited talk at the University of Tokyo, Department of Mathematical Engineering & Information Physics
[Feb. 2025] New preprint for interpreting brain voxels (neurons) using LLMs!
[Oct. 2024] An invited lecture at the University of Tokyo, EEIC (Media Contents Special Lecture Series II)
[Sep. 2024] Our paper for the LLMs and Brain was accepted at EMNLP 2024 (long; main conference)!
[Sep. 2024] An invited talk at The 19th Symposium of Young Researcher Association for NLP Studies
[Jul. 2024] Contributed a chapter (Chapter 10) to the textbook Computational and Network Modeling of Neuroimaging Data
[May. 2024] An interview by NHK (Science ZERO)
[Jul. 2025] An invited talk at Asia-Pacific Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience Conference (AP-CCN2025).
[Jun. 2025] An invited talk at OIST Computational Neuroscience Course 2025.
[Apr. 2024] Started new lab at Nagoya Institute of Technology!
[Mar. 2025] New preprint on the learning dynamics of LLMs with a sparse autoencoder!
[Mar. 2025] New preprint on phase trainsitions in LLMs!
[Mar. 2025] Presenting 5 papers at NLP 2025 (4 as the last author).
[Mar. 2025] An invited talk at 24th Workshop on the Mechanism of Brain and Mind.
[Feb. 2025] An invited talk at the University of Tokyo, Department of Mathematical Engineering & Information Physics
[Feb. 2025] New preprint for interpreting brain voxels (neurons) using LLMs!
[Oct. 2024] An invited lecture at the University of Tokyo, EEIC (Media Contents Special Lecture Series II)
[Sep. 2024] Our paper for the LLMs and Brain was accepted at EMNLP 2024 (long; main conference)!
[Sep. 2024] An invited talk at The 19th Symposium of Young Researcher Association for NLP Studies
[Jul. 2024] Contributed a chapter (Chapter 10) to the textbook Computational and Network Modeling of Neuroimaging Data
[May. 2024] An interview by NHK (Science ZERO)
Hi, I am an Associate Professor at Nagoya Institute of Technology. My research interest lies at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. During my Ph.D., I worked on reliable techniques for predicting diverse individual differences from whole-brain functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at the ATR Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory. After obtaining my degree, I have been working on understanding dynamic computations during complex decision-making tasks using machine learning techniques at the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity at the University of Oxford, and Department of Psychology at the University of Tokyo. More recently, I investigated the connection between generative AI and the human brain at Osaka University and the Research and Development Center for Large Language Models at National Institute of Informatics
Publications/Preprints
*corresponding author; †equal contribution; ‡equal last author
Yuko Nakagi†, Takua Matsuyama†, Naoko Koide-Majima, Hiroto Yamaguchi, Rieko Kubo, Shinji Nishimoto*‡, Yu Takagi*‡
Unveiling Multi-level and Multi-modal Semantic Representations in the Human Brain using Large Language Models
EMNLP, 2024
Unveiling Multi-level and Multi-modal Semantic Representations in the Human Brain using Large Language Models
EMNLP, 2024
Timo I. Denk*†, Yu Takagi*†, Takuya Matsuyama, Andrea Agostinelli, Tomoya Nakai, Christian Frank, Shinji Nishimoto
Brain2Music: Reconstructing Music from Human Brain Activity
Project page
arXiv, 2023
Brain2Music: Reconstructing Music from Human Brain Activity
Project page
arXiv, 2023
Yu Takagi*, Shinji Nistimoto
High-resolution image reconstruction with latent diffusion models from human brain activity
Project page
CVPR, 2023
High-resolution image reconstruction with latent diffusion models from human brain activity
Project page
CVPR, 2023
Miriam C. Klein-Flügge*, ,Daria E. A. Jensen, Yu Takagi Luke Priestley, Lennart Verhagen, Stephen M. Smith, Matthew F. S. Rushworth
Relationship between nuclei-specific amygdala connectivity and mental health dimensions in humans (Open Access)
Nature Human Behaviour, 2022
Relationship between nuclei-specific amygdala connectivity and mental health dimensions in humans (Open Access)
Nature Human Behaviour, 2022
Yu Takagi*, Laurence T. Hunt, Ryu Ohata, Hiroshi Imamizu, Jun-ichiro Hirayama
Neural dSCA: demixing multimodal interaction among brain areas during naturalistic experiments
arXiv, 2021
Neural dSCA: demixing multimodal interaction among brain areas during naturalistic experiments
arXiv, 2021
Yu Takagi*, Naohiro Okada ,Shuntaro Ando ,Noriaki Yahata ,Kentaro Morita ,Daisuke Koshiyama ,Shintaro Kawakami ,Kingo Sawada , Shinsuke Koike ,Kaori Endo ,Syudo Yamasaki ,Atsushi Nishida ,Kiyoto Kasai , Saori C. Tanaka
Intergenerational transmission of the patterns of functional and structural brain networks (Open Access)
iScience, 2021
Intergenerational transmission of the patterns of functional and structural brain networks (Open Access)
iScience, 2021
Yu Takagi*, Laurence T Hunt, Mark W Woolrich, Timothy E.J. Behrens†, Miriam Klein-Flugge*†
Adapting non-invasive human recordings along multiple task-axes shows unfolding of spontaneous and over-trained choice (Open Access)
eLife, 2021
Adapting non-invasive human recordings along multiple task-axes shows unfolding of spontaneous and over-trained choice (Open Access)
eLife, 2021
Yu Takagi*, Steven W. Kennerley, Jun-ichiro Hirayama†, Laurence T. Hunt†
Demixed shared component analysis of neural population data from multiple brain areas (Open Access)
Cosyne, 2021
Demixed shared component analysis of neural population data from multiple brain areas (Open Access)
Cosyne, 2021
Yu Takagi*, Steven W. Kennerley, Jun-ichiro Hirayama†, Laurence T. Hunt†
Demixed shared component analysis of neural population data from multiple brain areas (Open Access)
NeurIPS (selected as a top 5% spotlight paper), 2020
Demixed shared component analysis of neural population data from multiple brain areas (Open Access)
NeurIPS (selected as a top 5% spotlight paper), 2020
Yu Takagi*, Jun-ichiro Hirayama†, Saori C. Tanaka†
State-unspecific patterns of whole-brain functional connectivity from resting and multiple task states predict stable individual traits (Open Access)
NeuroImage, 2019
State-unspecific patterns of whole-brain functional connectivity from resting and multiple task states predict stable individual traits (Open Access)
NeuroImage, 2019
Yu Takagi*, Yuki Sakai, Yoshinari Abe, Seiji Nishida, Ben J Harrison, Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín, Carles Soriano-Mas, Jin Narumoto, Saori C. Tanaka*
A common brain network among state, trait, and pathological anxiety from whole-brain functional connectivity (Open Access)
NeuroImage, 2018; 172: 506-516
A common brain network among state, trait, and pathological anxiety from whole-brain functional connectivity (Open Access)
NeuroImage, 2018; 172: 506-516
Yu Takagi†, Yuki Sakai†, Giuseppe Lisi, Noriaki Yahata, Yoshinari Abe, Seiji Nishida, Takashi Nakamae, Jun Morimoto, Mitsuo Kawato, Jin Narumoto, Saori C. Tanaka*
A neural marker of obsessive-compulsive disorder from whole-brain functional connectivity (Open Access)
Scientific Reports, 2017; 7(1)
A neural marker of obsessive-compulsive disorder from whole-brain functional connectivity (Open Access)
Scientific Reports, 2017; 7(1)
Conferences (not peer-reviewed)
Yu Takagi*, Wako Yoshida†, Saori C. Tanaka†
Model abstraction for model-based reinforcement learning in the human orbitofrontal cortex
2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN2019) Berlin, Germany, September 2019.
Model abstraction for model-based reinforcement learning in the human orbitofrontal cortex
2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN2019) Berlin, Germany, September 2019.
Yu Takagi, Jun-ichiro Hirayama, Saori C. Tanaka
A stably appeared latent neural representation across states is predictive of intelligence
40th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society Kobe, Japan, July 2018.
Invited as a symposist
A stably appeared latent neural representation across states is predictive of intelligence
40th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society Kobe, Japan, July 2018.
Invited as a symposist
Yu Takagi, Yuki Sakai, Saori C Tanaka
A neuromarker of anxiety from whole-brain functional connectivity
IEEE CISJ (Neurocomputing) Okinawa, Japan, July 2016.
Received the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Japan Chapter Young Researcher Award (Neurocomputing)
A neuromarker of anxiety from whole-brain functional connectivity
IEEE CISJ (Neurocomputing) Okinawa, Japan, July 2016.
Received the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Japan Chapter Young Researcher Award (Neurocomputing)
Yu Takagi, Yuki Sakai, Yoshinari Abe, Seiji Nishida, Takashi Nakamae, Jin Narumoto, Kei Yamada, Kenji Fukui, Saori C Tanaka
A neuromarker of obsessive-compulsive disoder from whole-brain functional connectivity
The 29th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence (JSAI 2015), Hakodate, Japan, June 2015.
Received the JSAI Annual Conference Student Incentive Award.
A neuromarker of obsessive-compulsive disoder from whole-brain functional connectivity
The 29th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence (JSAI 2015), Hakodate, Japan, June 2015.
Received the JSAI Annual Conference Student Incentive Award.
Yu Takagi
Invited Speaker (Title: Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting)
1st Neuroeconomics Workshop, Kanagawa, Japan, February 2015
Invited Speaker (Title: Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting)
1st Neuroeconomics Workshop, Kanagawa, Japan, February 2015
Yu Takagi, Yuki Sakai, Seiji Nishida, Takashi Nakamae, Jin Narumoto, Kei Yamada, Kenji Fukui, Saori C Tanaka
Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting
The Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS 2014), Hakodate, Japan, pp.44-45, August 2014.
Received the JNNS Young Presenter Award.
Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting
The Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS 2014), Hakodate, Japan, pp.44-45, August 2014.
Received the JNNS Young Presenter Award.
Yu Takagi, Saori C Tanaka, Yuki Sakai, Jin Narumoto and Mitsuo Kawato
Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting
Santander International Summer School “Frontiers in Neuroeconomics“ Heiderberg, April, 2014
Neural link between obsessive-compulsive disorders and delay discounting
Santander International Summer School “Frontiers in Neuroeconomics“ Heiderberg, April, 2014
Careers
2025 Apr -
Nagoya Institute of Technology
Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Computer Science
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Computer Science
Associate Professor
2024 Apr - 2025 Mar
National Institute of Informatics
Research and Development Center for Large Language Models
Project Associate Professor
Research and Development Center for Large Language Models
Project Associate Professor
2023 Oct -
Japan Science and Technology Agency
PRESTO Researcher
PRESTO Researcher
2021 Jun - 2024 Mar
Osaka University
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences
Assistant Professor
2020 Oct - 2021 May
JSPS Overseas Research Fellow (Stanford University)
Terminated due to COVID-19
Terminated due to COVID-19
2020 Jun - 2021 May
University of Tokyo
Department of Psychology
Specially appointed researcher
Supervisor: Hiroshi Imamizu
Department of Psychology
Specially appointed researcher
Supervisor: Hiroshi Imamizu
2018 Apr - 2020 Jun
University of Oxford
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN)
Visiting researcher
Supervisor: Laurence Hunt
Main collaborators: Miriam Klein-Fluegge, Jun-ichiro Hirayama, Mark Woolrich , Timothy Behrens , Steve Kennerley
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN)
Visiting researcher
Supervisor: Laurence Hunt
Main collaborators: Miriam Klein-Fluegge, Jun-ichiro Hirayama, Mark Woolrich , Timothy Behrens , Steve Kennerley
2018 Apr - 2019 Mar
University of Tokyo
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine
Specially appointed researcher
Supervisor: Kiyoto Kasai
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine
Specially appointed researcher
Supervisor: Kiyoto Kasai
Education
2015 Apr - 2018 Mar
Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST)
Graduate School of Information Science
Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience
Supervisor: Mitsuo Kawato and Saori C Tanaka
Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS DC1) [About]
Graduate School of Information Science
Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience
Supervisor: Mitsuo Kawato and Saori C Tanaka
Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS DC1) [About]
2013 Apr - 2015 Mar
Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST)
Graduate School of Information Science
M.S. in Computational Neuroscience
Supervisor: Mitsuo Kawato and Saori C Tanaka
Graduate School of Information Science
M.S. in Computational Neuroscience
Supervisor: Mitsuo Kawato and Saori C Tanaka
2007 Apr - 2011 Mar
Hitotsubashi University
Department of Economics
B.A. in Economics (major in Development Finance)
Supervisor: Hidenobu Okuda
Department of Economics
B.A. in Economics (major in Development Finance)
Supervisor: Hidenobu Okuda
Experience
2016 Aug - 2016 Sep
Preferred Networks
Reserach Internship (Implemented state-of-the-art deep learning model for anomaly detection from multi-modal dataset)
Supervisors: Daisuke Okanohara and Daisuke Tanaka
Reserach Internship (Implemented state-of-the-art deep learning model for anomaly detection from multi-modal dataset)
Supervisors: Daisuke Okanohara and Daisuke Tanaka
2016 Feb - 2016 Mar
DWANGO Co.,Ltd.
Research Internship (Trained deep recurrent neural network for video recommendation)
Supervisor: Yuri Odagiri
Research Internship (Trained deep recurrent neural network for video recommendation)
Supervisor: Yuri Odagiri
2015 Apr - 2018 Mar
Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS DC1) [About]
2011 Apr - 2013 Mar
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
Full-time financial officer (Loans and equity investments for overseas projects)
Full-time financial officer (Loans and equity investments for overseas projects)
Awards, Funding & Fellowships
Osaka University Award
Osaka University, 2023
Osaka University, 2023
Interdisciplinary Research Award
Telecommunications Advancement Foundation, 2023
Telecommunications Advancement Foundation, 2023
Best Presentation Award
The 12th CREST Research Area Meeting, 2023
The 12th CREST Research Area Meeting, 2023
PRESTO researcher
Japan Science and Technology Agency, 2023
Japan Science and Technology Agency, 2023
JSPS Overseas Research Fellowship (Stanford University)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2021
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2021
JSPS PD (declined)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020
FUNAI Research Promotion Award
Funai Foundation For Information Technology, 2020
Funai Foundation For Information Technology, 2020
Uehara Memorial Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellowship
Uehara Memorial Foundation, 2019
Uehara Memorial Foundation, 2019
JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2018
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2018
IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Japan Chapter Young Researcher Award (Neurocomputing).
IEEE CISJ (Neurocomputing), Okinawa, Japan, 7 July, 2016.
IEEE CISJ (Neurocomputing), Okinawa, Japan, 7 July, 2016.
JSAI Annual Conference Student Incentive Award
29th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI2015), Hakodate, Japan, 1 June, 2015.
29th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI2015), Hakodate, Japan, 1 June, 2015.
NAIST Excellent Student Scholarship
Nara Institute of Science and Technology Top Scholarship Student, 2015, JPY 535,800
Nara Institute of Science and Technology Top Scholarship Student, 2015, JPY 535,800
Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) Scholarship programs
Exemption from JASSO scholarship refund (100%) for excellent student, 2015, JPY 1,056,000
Exemption from JASSO scholarship refund (100%) for excellent student, 2015, JPY 1,056,000
Research Fellowship of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (JSPS DC1), 2015-2018, JPY 2,400,000 per year
JNNS Young Presenter Award
24th Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2014), Hakodate, Japan, August, 2014.
24th Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2014), Hakodate, Japan, August, 2014.
Travel Award: Santander International Summer School “Frontiers in Neuroeconomics“, Heiderberg, April, 2014
Creative and International Competitiveness Project (Team Leader), NAIST, 2013
Skills
Natural Languages
Japanese(Native), English(Fluent), Russian(1 year)
Programming Languages
Python, MATLAB, C, Java, Scala, Ruby
References & CV
Available on request