RIKEN Brain Science Institute (RIKEN BSI) RIKEN BSI News No. 19 (Feb. 2003)



The Fifth RIKEN BSI Retreat

5th RIKEN BSI RETREAT Heid
The 5th RIKEN BSI Retreat was held for three days (from October 22nd to 24th) at the Heritage Hotel in Shinrin-Koen.
The retreat provided an excellent opportunity for participants to step beyond the walls of their laboratories to engage in informal discussion and constructive debate with people working in other laboratories and research fields. Some 350 researchers, including participants from the RIKEN-MIT Center, attended this year's retreat; and approximately 300 posters were presented. An enthusiastic question and answer session also took place. The active discussion, which often transcended the boundaries of research, undoubtedly stimulated the work of everyone involved.By continuing to deepen mutual understanding between different fields and promoting intellectual exchange, we hope to draw out useful results that utilize the characteristics of the BSI and contribute to comprehensive brain science research.
The 4th Japan-South Korea-China-India
Joint Workshop on Neurobiology and
Neuroinformatics(NBNI)
Despite a slowing global economy, Asia is making dramatic progress. This region is expected to make major scientific and economic contributions in the 21st Century. And it is hoped that Japan will play an active and central role in assisting this progress.
Since the brain, which we are studying, is the organ that processes information for organisms, a wide perspective based on both biological science and information science is needed in order to elucidate its mechanisms. At BSI, we are continuing to strive to make further progress in new brain science by fusing various approaches and through collaboration with other Asian nations.
Four years ago, BSI agreed to form a cooperative relationship with the South Korean brain science program, with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) as its base, to share the experiences and to play an active and central role in Asia's scientific growth. The Japanese-South Korean Joint Workshop on Neurobiology and Neuroinformatics (NBNI) was held as a part of this initiative. This was a truly unique experiment, involving interdisciplinary cooperation among the domains of understanding, protecting, and building brains.
The First NBNI was held at RIKEN, the next one at Kyong-ju in South Korea, and then the Third, in which China participated, was held in Hangzhou, China. This year, India's participation in the Fourth NBNI established a workshop line-up that included the major Asian nations in a combined effort to advance brain science. The conference was held at RIKEN on both November 25th and 26th.
About 10 cutting edge researchers from each country delivered lecture presentations, which were followed by active discussions. In addition, there were tours of BSI and personal interchanges between the participants. The event was a big success. The advances made in raising the scientific level of Asian nations have been striking, and RIKEN-BSI has played a major role in this process. The next NBNI will be held in Korea, and the following one will be in India.
1st International Workshop,
"Frontiers in Molecular Neuropathology"
Hosted by the Molecular Neuropathology Group

1st International Workshop

The Molecular Neuropathology Group (MNG) hosted its 1st International Workshop November 27th-29th at Suzuki Umetaro Hall. Preparations for this event, intended to enhance international exchange and to commemorate the group's 5th anniversary, began in May 2002. In spite of the short preparation time, 21 invited speakers (13 from abroad and 6 from Japan) came to the workshop to discuss research related to pathologies in which protein misfolding is profoundly implicated, i.e. poly-glutamine disorders, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. As MNG lab leaders invited leading researchers working in their respective fields, the workshop was an opportune occasion to learn about progressive research in various fields.
The workshop produced lively discussions and received praise from lecturers and attendees. Advances in the elucidation of pathologies involving protein misfolding disorders and in the therapeutic results achieved were impressive. Rapid progress in the development of therapies for epilepsy that address pathogenic genes by clarifying the disorder's genetic aspect is also anticipated. Despite the understandable bumps experienced in planning and executing our first workshop, it was a success. We hope to continue hosting international exchanges every 2 years or so in the future.

"The Brain and Education":
An Open Lecture for the General Public

"The Brain and Education": An Open Lecture for the General Public
On Monday, December 9th, a public lecture entitled "The Brain and Education: The Key to Future Society" was held in Yokohama Landmark Hall. The session, which featured dialogue between brain researchers and educators, hoped to transfer knowledge from brain science to education to help solve child-related and educational issues, as well as find ways to develop children's capacities healthfully.
The session featured lectures by Mr. Hideaki Koizumi, Chief Researcher of Hitachi's Advanced Research Laboratory and the Central Research Laboratory, and Ms. Masuko Honda, Director of Ochanomizu University. These lectures were followed by a five-member panel discussion led by Dr. Masao Ito, Director of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.
Approximately 250 people attended the session despite the snowstorm. Their questions on such topics as "critical periods for the brain" and "the influence games have on the brain" indicate the audiences' high expectations for and level of interest in this subject.
Life Long Learning Network
(LLLN) Meeting

Life Long Learning Network (LLLN) Meeting
On December 10th and 11th at Yokohama's Landmark Tower1, education policy makers and neuroscientists from around the world met for the Life Long Learning Network (LLLN) Meeting. This network's mission is to find ways to improve education offerings across individual life spans. The Life Long Learning Network emerged from the "Learning Sciences and Brain Research" project, which started in 1999 as an OECD initiative, following three years of dialogue on how to encourage communication and collaboration between brain researchers and policy-makers. Having established target populations and a set of common interests surrounding the issue of brain research and learning, three networks were established: Literacy, Numeracy, and Life Long Learning.
Neuroscientists, including Dr. Takao Hensch from BSI, presented recent findings that contribute to the understanding of the learning brain. The presentations were grouped into three sections that represent the stages of learning: infancy, childhood and adulthood. Active discussion amongst the network's members, exploring the potential contribution these results lend to shaping the direction of education, followed each session.
LLLN is looking at how brain science can help educators respond to changing needs of education across life spans. The network seeks to bridge the gap between the education and brain research to increase the development of learning applications founded on basic neuroscience, and to establish the fundamentals for a new science of learning.
Together with the Literacy and Numeracy networks, Life Long Learning hopes to identify how new understanding of the brain may help draft curricula which produce adults who are able and willing to face new challenges, and to help direct research to find answers to the crucial questions that will emerge when plotting the course of education.
The meeting, co-hosted by RIKEN Brain Science Institute and the OECD, will convene again in December 2003.
1Landmark Tower is the tallest building in Japan and offers a panoramic view of Yokohama that includes Mt. Fuji on a clear day.


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