Greetings

Professor Katsuya Satoh, Director, Brain Science Unit. 　In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the "Decade of the Brain" resolution, a declaration to promote brain research on a national scale, which drew worldwide attention. However, this move did not indicate that the U.S. had advanced. In fact it was in 1990s, that brain research gradually began to incorporate molecular biology methods, and it was said that "the 21st century is the era of the brain.” In Japan, the Ise Foundation has been working on brain science since May 2016. Additionally, in preparation for the G7 Summit to be held in Ise-Shima, Japan, in May 2016, the Science Council of Japan, consisting of academies from 13 countries including the G7 and the African region, has identified “understanding the brain, protection against disease, and development of international brain-related resources,” as one of three science policy recommendations, indicating the importance of brain science. These three science policy recommendations demonstrate the importance of brain science.

Brain science has entered a period of dramatic development and is attracting attention as a leading scientific field of the 21st century. Understanding complex activities of the human brain requires genomic, protein, RNA, pathological, and imaging analyses as well as the formation of a diverse group of specialists in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroinfection, neuropathology, and radiology. In clinical fields (psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, and anesthesiology), the theme is to elucidate and overcome the pathophysiology of various diseases afflicting all, from children to the elderly. In the rehabilitation field, promotion of rehabilitation based on brain science and development of rehabilitation robots are required.

At Nagasaki University, basic research to elucidate the etiology of developmental disorders, aging, and neurological diseases is being conducted at the School of Medicine and clinical research to develop preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods at the School of Pharmacy. Professor Aruga and Professor Shinohara conduct unique research in the field of development. Professor Imamura has been appointed at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, established at the University Hospital. In the field of dementia, Professor Iwata's research group focusing on the development of treatment methods, Professor Sato's research group studying the development of diagnostic methods (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development), and Professor Ozawa's Nagasaki Core Research Center for Dementia are already in operation. In the field of neuroinfectious diseases, Professor Nishida's group conducts research on prion disease. Further, in the field of neurosurgery, in addition to research on brain tumors, practical research on bone marrow stem cell transplantation therapy following cerebrovascular disease is attracting attention. As for neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Matsumoto, Lecturer of Anatomy, and Dr. Ishibashi, Associate Professor of Infectious Molecules, conduct research on synucleinopathy and tauopathy. Professor Kudo and Associate Professor Fuchigami conduct clinical research on brain neuroimaging, and basic research on amyloid imaging. We expect that the inception of a place where researchers can gather and collaborate will lead to the creation of new and unique research.

Director of Brain Science Unit, Professor Katsuya Satoh