Prof. Yushi Ito tells that long long time ago mankind started to use poisons for hunting to paralyze animals, and “the pharmacology” originates in studies on the mechanisms involved in the actions of poisons. For example pharmacology revealed that tetorodotoxin (puffer fish toxin) blocks the electrical activity of the neuron, and an arrow poison antagonizes ACh receptors in the muscle.
Prof. Ito interested in the neural control of airway smooth muscle, and found the double braking system in the parasympathetic neural control of airway smooth muscle. This finding gives a new clue for understanding on obstructive airway diseases including asthma.