RIKEN Brain Science Institute (RIKEN BSI) RIKEN BSI News No. 10 (Dec. 2000)




How Far Will Brain Science Research Advance and What Will It Bring?


The Brain Science Institute (BSI) of RIKEN was established in October 1997; this year we are celebrating our third anniversary. On what concepts was the BSI founded, and how much progress has been made? The 21st century is considered to be the "century of the brain;" how far can brain science advance in this time? Mr. Takashi Tachibana, a journalist who has conducted numerous interviews in the field of brain science, and Dr. Masao Ito, Director of the BSI, discuss the current status and perspectives of brain science.

Three years since establishing the research center; Researchers at the 'golden age' of thirty-three are supporting the BSI
Tachibana: It has been exactly three years since the founding of the BSI. When I interviewed you at that time, you were still conducting research at the Frontier Research System (*1)
Ito: Initially, I started three brain-science-related research laboratories in the Frontier Research System. Over the next ten years, the kinds of research diversified and the number of laboratories increased to ten. Three years ago, we added ten more research groups and the BSI was established. We have since expanded to include 37 research laboratories.
Tachibana: Three years ago, when you wished to establish the BSI, what kind of institute were you thinking of creating?
Ito: I had in mind a center where it would be possible to deal with issues which

Masao Ito
Director of the BSI. Born in 1928. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo with his M.D. After graduation, he studied at a national university in Australia beginning in 1959 under Professor John Eccles, who received the Nobel Prize for his research on synapses. Dr. Ito is a world authority on the cerebellum. After working as a professor at the University of Tokyo, he has been in his present position since 1997.
had not previously been addressed.
Tachibana: I see. Could you tell us what you mean more specifically?
Ito: One issue was the fusing of disciplines. The many advances in all the classical disciplines of science over the last 50 years has made "Brain Science" completely different from what we usually think of as being a "Science". While we still seek to find the singular element or fact of nature, it has become clear that the working of the brain involves a highly complex interaction of a great many elements. The sciences to date, has never attempted to study and understand a system with such complexity. If we wish to study the brain, we must adopt an approach which takes various directions with the knowledge that the study is massively interdisciplinary. Such research is not possible within our current university structures. This is the main reason why we established this institute. Another important reason is internationalization or globalization. When I established the plans for this institute, a major policy item was that the research staff be comprised of 30% foreign researchers. In the last 3 years we have almost achieved this goal with the present number of foreign researchers at 20% among them, six are laboratory heads in a total of 37 laboratory heads.
Tachibana: I feel that the atmosphere of internationalization affects the entire research institute. I hear that conferences have been carried out in English.
Ito: Today, the universal language of Neuroscience is English. In order to strengthen our use of English, all of our seminars and meetings are held in English. I think this has been effective as I can often hear young Japanese researchers talking with each other in English.
Tachibana: Disciplinary fusion and internationalization. Are there any other issues that you would like to mention?
Ito: Yes, the youth of researchers. The average age of our researchers is 33. In my opinion, this is the age when most individuals are at their most "clear headed", it is the "golden age" of a researcher. The most significant secret to the success of the American research system is that individuals who have completed postdoctoral(*2) training, equivalent to that of research staff in the Japanese education system, are given a significant degree of freedom of action. When these individuals have completed their postdoctoral training and are accepted as assistant professors, they are able to apply to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a research grant. If they receive a research grant, they can go on to hire postdoctoral fellows and launch their own research .

The concept of disciplinary fusion

Takashi Tachibana
A nonfiction writer. Born in 1940. He graduated from the Department of French Literature at the University of Tokyo in 1964. He worked for a while at Bungei Shunju Co. and then resigned from the company in 1966 and entered the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tokyo. While studying at the University, his career as a journalistic critic began. His publications include メMaster the Brain,"
"The Brain and the Big Bang," "Universe, Earth, Life, Brain," "Science Millenium"and "Reclamation of Human Bodies."

Tachibana: From a global perspective, it is very unique that you included the discipline of creating the brain.
Ito: The three divisions of the institute, Understanding the brain, Protecting the brain and Creating the brain are not "disciplines" in the usual sense because they each are comprised of individuals trained in diverse disciplines. These divisions may be more representative of what brain science is really about, a combining of disciplines to create a new entity. American researchers have been slightly surprised at this. Someone wrote that they had never thought of the Japanese unifying computer science, which is the field of creation, and biology. He warned us, "You canユt combine two such organizations, soon they will start to fight!" (laughs).
Tachibana: This uniqueness is highly appreciated internationally; foreign research institutes appear to be pursuing the initiatives taken by the brain science research of Japan. Your concept is very unusual in the field of brain science, which has traditionally been a very orthodox field. When did you begin to develop the concept of combining the three elements, understanding the brain, protecting the brain and creating the brain?
Ito: To be honest with you, thinking back, I was in an excellent academic environment in the 1960s at the University of Tokyo. The university was a much more general university as the exchange among faculties was more active than it is now. Hidetoshi Takahashi, from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Toshihiko Tokizane, who founded the brain research facility in the Faculty of Medicine, and Jin-ichi Nagumo, who studied bionics in the Faculty of Engineering, though unfortunately, all of them have since passed away, together with young researchers, conducted research in groups and held joint lectures. Although the professional backgrounds of the involved individuals varied a great deal, they were all interested in the same thing; however, their approaches and conceptions were completely different. As a result of their influence, I lost my attitude of resistance to unification.
Tachibana: Since youユve hired individuals in the institute whose professional backgrounds and research methodologies vary widely, I hope that the unification is successful. I also look forward to hearing of the new discoveries and ideas that will come about as well as the new power which is generated through the combination of new knowledge .

From layer-by-layer (hierarchical research) to system-oriented research
Tachibana: When I look at the profiles of the research team members in each research field, I can tell that you are planning to study all the aspects of the brain. For example, in the field of understanding the brain, the current areas of study are layered and include the molecular level, the cellular level and the circuit level, in addition to the system level. These arrangements seem to be a realization of your highest expectations.


magnified scene by clicking image
The photograph on the left is of zebra fish. The two photographs on the right show a motor neuron of the metencephalon of a transgenic zebra fish embryo which expresses fluorescent protein derived from light-emitting jellyfish. The neural cell body and its axon twinkle with a green color. (Provided by Dr. Hitoshi Okamoto, Head of the Laboratory for Developmental Gene Regulation)

Ito: It has been three years since the establishment of the first research groups, and the layer-oriented hierarchical divisions have become substantially diffused; one cannot remain in a single field and say "I study cells only, and you study circuits." All things are connected. Therefore, we almost take the approach, "I study the sensory systems, motion systems or cognition system"; each research discipline tends to be identified in terms of systems. For instance, in the case of the study of topics related to the olfactory system, we mobilize all possible technologies from molecular biology, electrophysiology and engineering-type optical measurements. While the hierarchical approach to research is still the mainstay of science, the very rapid changes occurring today with the addition of new knowledge at every level, has forced changes in the ways of doing research. Therefore the institute has adopted the policy of evaluating all of the research programs after 5 years of activity. Established researchers who are working at the cutting edges of their fields are invited from throughout the world to form the evaluation teams. With such access to outside opinion, the quality of the work in the institute will be at the forefront of international Brain Science.

Development of research technology is important
Tachibana: I was impressed with the organizational chart. You even have an Advanced Technology Development Center(*3)
Ito: Thank you for the compliment. I am proud of it (laughs).
Tachibana: You have done well. I feel that the weakness of research in Japan is related to this point. The issue of research methodology is extremely important. Whether various technologies for research are developed or not creates significant differences in terms of the research achievements. In this sense too, the existence of the Advanced Technology Development Center impressed me and I am moved.
Ito: As I pointed out before, our knowledge in all disciplines involved in the brain sciences is expanding very rapidly. An important part of these advances stem from the incorporation of new technologies into the strategies of brain science research. By making the Advanced Technology Development Center an integral part of the Brain Science Institute, I think we have made an important move in the direction of modernizing research in the brain.
Tachibana: I understand that you are developing some tremendously significant technology at this research center. You have already established a new technology which induces the expression of any gene in the manner you decide. I am surprised that you are going to disclose the details of the method after patent application and research paper publication. This is wonderful; if you disclose this, the entire world will be excited.
Ito: Yes, this project concerns a study on the Zebra fish. These fish have very transparent skulls which allows using various optical methods to observe what is going on in the working brain without opening the skull.
Tachibana: The world of genes is the same regardless of whether it is humans, fish or mice. The technology which enables us to "express" desired patterns at a desired location and a desired time is a technology that all scientists have dreamed of.
Ito: We have also used these advances in the control of gene expression to make neurons express a fluorescent molecule in specific neuron types which change their fluorescence with changes in particular cellular constituents. In addition, we have attached a fluorescent molecule to a gene which expresses in a particular neuron. The
attached molecule fluoresces when the gene is expressed which allows us to see when the gene is being expressed in that neuron.
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