CENTER FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY BRAIN RESEARCH

Outline

This center plays a central role in the neuroscientist network in Japan to fascilitate interaction among multidisciplinary research fields.

Director

Professor: IKENAKA, Kazuhiro, PhD

staff

It is an urgent task to establish neuroscience educational/training systems for young Japanese researchers, in order to remain competitive with western countries in brain science. In this section (two NIPS professors and eight adjunct professors), we explore future directions of brain science and plan and run multi-disciplinary neuroscience training courses.

Staff

	Professor: IMOTO, Keiji, MD, PhD Graduated from Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine. Medical Staff, National Utano Hospital. Instructor, Lecturer, and Associate Professor, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine. Research Associate, Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung. 1995 Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Neurophysiology
	Professor: NABEKURA, Junichi, MD, PhD 1980 Graduated from Kyushu University, School of Medicine. 1986 Completed the doctoral course in Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. 1986 Research Fellow, Washington University. 1991 Assistant Professor, Department of Neurophysiology, School of Medicine, Tohoku University. 1993 Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Akita University. 1995 Associate Professor, Kyushu University, Graduate School of Medical Sciences. 2003 Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neuroscience
	Visiting Professor: MIYATA, Takaki, MD, PhD 1988 Graduated from Kochi Medical School. 1994 Completed the doctoral course in Medical Sciences, Kochi Medical School. 1994 Research Fellow, RIKEN Tsukuba Life Science Center. 1996 Research Fellow, Tokyo University Institute of Medical Science. 1997 Visiting Research Fellow, University of Colorado (Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research Abroad, JSPS). 1998 Assistant Professor, Osaka University. 1999 Research Scientist, RIKEN Brain Science Institute. 2004 Professor, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neural development
	Visiting Professor: NISHIDA, Shin'ya, PhD 1985 Graduated from Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University. 1990 Quitted the doctorial course in Psychology, Kyoto University. 1990 Research Associate, ATR Auditory and Visual Perception Laboratories. 1992 Research Scientist, NTT Laboratories. 2006 Visiting Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Visual Psychophysics
	Visiting Professor: SORA, Ichiro, MD, PhD 1982 Graduated from Okayama University Medical School of Medicine. 1986 Completed the doctoral course in Medical Sciences, Okayama University. 1993 Visiting Research Fellow, NIDA, NIH. 1999 Cheif, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry. 2002 Professor, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Biological Psychiatry
	Visiting Associate Professor: SAKAI, Kuniyoshi, PhD 1987 Graduated from Tokyo University, Physics. 1992 Research Associate, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo. 1995 Research Fellow, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA.1996 Visiting Scholar, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. 1997 Associate Professor, Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, The University of Tokyo. 2004 Associate Professor, Department of Basic Science, The University of Tokyo. 2008 Visiting Associate Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neuroscience of language
	Visiting Professor: DOYA, Kenji, PhD 1984 Graduated from Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo. 1991 Degree of Ph.D. in Engineering, University of Tokyo.1991 Completed the doctoral course in Engineering, University of Tokyo. 1991 Visiting Researcher, UCSD. 1993 Research Associate, The Salk Institute. 1994 Senior Researcher, ATR. 1996 Group Leader, Dynamic Brain Project, JST. 1999 Research Director, Metalearning and Neuromodulation Project, JST. 2003 Department Head, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories. 2004 Principal Investigator, OIST. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Computational Neuroscience
	Visiting Professor: TAKAHASHI, Ryosuke, MD, PhD April 1977-March 1983; Undergraduate/Graduate, Kyoto University Medical School. Resident, Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Hospital. Resident, Department of Neurology, Center for Neurological Diseases, Kitano Hospital, Osaka. Staff Physician, Staff Scientist, Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience. Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, The Burnham Institute, California. Staff Scientist, Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience. Laboratory Head, Laboratory for Motor System Neurodegeneration, RIKEN Brain Science Institute. 2005 Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS.
	Visiting Professor: MOCHIDA, Sumiko, PhD 1975 Graduated from Kitasato University, School of Pharmacy. 1975 Research Associate, Tokyo Medical College. 1982 Awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree from Tokyo Medical College. 1982 Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. 1984 Research Associate, 1985 Assistant Professor, Tokyo Medical College. 1988 Senior Research Fellow, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, CNRS, France. 1990 Assistant professor, 1997 Associate professor, 2001 Professor, Tokyo Medical University. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neurophysiology
	Visiting Professor: MOMOI, Y, Mariko, MD, PhD Graduated from Tokyo University, Research Fellow, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Research Associate, Mayo Clinic. 1994 Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Jichi Medical University. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Pediatric Neurology

Brain Machine Interfaces (BMI) will allow humans to operate computers, robotic arms, wheelchairs, prosthetic devices and other instruments by using only the signals of their brain. This neuro-technology may help severely disabled but cognitively intact patients to communicate and interact with outside world. Developing new algorithms to decode the cognitive signals from the individual brain signals and learning how the brain adapts to novel environments when interacting directly with the computer will also lead to better understanding of the brain. Thus, in the near future BMI research will bring about major advances in brain science and information technology.

BMI research is multidisciplinary in nature. This work is firmly based in the basic and computational neurosciences, disciplines like signal processing, machine learning, robotics, rehabilitation engineering, electrode hardware engineering and ethics play a pivotal role in the advancement of this young field. The interest in this field of research has grown tremendously during the last decade. The Section of Brain Information Decoding will work on the basic research for the development of BMI by combining such multidisciplinary approaches and will introduce a paradigm shift to basic neuroscience for better understanding of the brain function.

Staff

	Professor: ISA, Tadashi, MD, PhD 1985 Graduated from University of Tokyo, Faculty of Medicine. 1989 Completed the doctoral course in Science in University of Tokyo. 1989 Research Associate in University of Tokyo. 1993 Lecturer in Gunma University, School of Medicine. 1996 Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neurophysiology
	Visiting Professor: KAWATO, Mitsuo, PhD 1976 Graduated from Tokyo University, Faculty of Science. 1981 Completed the doctoral course in Engineering Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University. 1981 Research Associate and then Lecturer, Osaka University. 1988 Senior Researcher, ATR Auditory and Visual Perception Research Labs. 2003 Director of ATR Computational Neuroscience Labs., 2004 ATR Fellow. Specialty: Computational Neuroscience
	Visiting Associate Professor: YOKOI, Hirofumi, PhD 1986 Graduated from Faculty of Engineering Hokkaido University. 1993 Graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering Hokkaido University, PhD. 1986 Toyota Motor Cooperation. 1993 Researcher, Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology, AIST, Japan. 1996 Associate Professor, Department of Complex Engineering, Hokkaido University. 2004 Present Associate Professor, Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo. 2008 Associate Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Precision Engineering
	Visiting Professor: KITAZAWA, Shigeru, MD, PhD 1987 Graduated from Tokyo University School of Medicine. 1991 Completed the doctoral course in Medical Sciences, Tokyo University. 1991 Postdoctoral fellow. 1993 Assistant Professor, Tokyo University. 1995 Senior Researcher, Electrotechnical Laboratory. 2001 Senior Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. 2003 Professor, Juntendo University School of Medicine. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Neurophysiology
	Visiting Professor: SAKURA, Osamu, PhD 1985 Graduated from Department of Psycology, Tokyo University. 1992 Awarded the degree of Ph.D from Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University. 1993 Associate Professor, Faculty of Business Administration, Yokohama National University. 1995 Visiting Researcher, Insitut für Informatik und Gesellschaft, Freiburg University. 2000 Associate Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, University of Tokyo. 2007 Full Professor of the same institution. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Science, Technology and Society, Evolutionary Biology
	Visiting Professor: KATO, Amami, MD, PhD 1996 Graduated from Osaka University Medical School. 1982 Cone Laboratory Research Fellow, Montreal Neurological Institute. 1994 Director, Dept of Neurosurgery, Osaka Rosai Hospital. 2000 Associate Professor, Dept of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Medical School. 2007 Professor and Chairman, Dept of Neurosurgery, Kinki University School of Medicine. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Neurosurgery

Molecular biological techniques in neuroscience have brought us a wealth of knowledge in elucidating the relationship between the molecules and brain functions. However, in order to understand the higher order brain functions and pathophysilogical mechanisms of human neurological diseases, we need to establish molecular biological systems that are applicable to primate studies. Toward this goal, we are seeking to establish such tools as the gene transfer techniques to primates.

Staff

	Professor: NAMBU, Atsushi, MD, PhD 1982 Graduated from Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine. 1985 Research Associate, Kyoto University, School of Medicine. 1989 Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University, Faculty of Medicine. 1991 Associate Professor, NIPS. 1995 Director, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience. 2002 Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neurophysiology
	Professor: YAMAMORI, Tetsuo, PhD 1974 Graduate from Kyoto University, Faculty of Science. 1981 Dr. Sci., Kyoto University. 1981 Research fellow, Colorado University. 1986, Research fellow, California Institute of Technology. 1991, Frontier Research fellow, RIKEN. 1994, Professor, National Institute for Basic Biology. 2008, Concurrent Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Molecular Neurobiology
	Visiting Professor: TAKADA, Masahiko, DDS, PhD 1982 Graduate from Hiroshima University, School of Dentistry. 1982 Postgraduate School, Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine. 1984 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. 1989 Assistant Professor, The University of Tennessee, Memphis, Faculty of Medicine. 1991 Lecturer, Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine. 1998 Director, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience. 2009 Professor, Kyoto University, Primate Research Institute. Specialty: Neuroanatomy
	Visiting Professor: KOBAYASHI, Kazuto, PhD 1990 Doctor course of Nagoya University School of Medicine, 1989 JFSP researcher, 1991 Research assistant, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 1991 Research assistant, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, 1996 Associate Professor, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 1999 Current Professor, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Molecular Neurobiology
	Visiting Professor: SASAI, Yoshiki, MD, PhD Received a MD degree (1986) and a PhD degree (1993) from Kyoto University School of Medicine. Associate professor at Kyoto University School of Medicine in 1996, and Full professor in 1998. Group director at the Center for Developmental Biology, RIKEN, Kobe in 2003. 2008 Visiting Professor, NIPS. Specialty: Neural Development

NBR stands for National Bioresource Project "Nihonzaru." Nihonzaru, Japanese monkeys, have moderate temper and high cognitional abilities and play an important role in higher brain function studies in Japan.

The primary goal of this project is to establish a sustainable system to breed, rear, supply SPF Japanese monkeys for research purposes in Japan.

This project, formally started in 2003, is now collaborating with Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University.

NBR Promotion Office has four objectives.

1. To establish a breeding-rearing system
2. To distribute bred-monkeys to researchers in Japan.
3. To compile database on Japanese monkeys in terms of anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, veterinary, etc.
4. To integrate information from collaborating institutes and promote smooth project operation and public relations.

* The National Bioresource Project (NBRP) was started in 2002 to collect, develop, and keep essential bioresources for life science researches on national scale. Since then, a variety of bioresources (e.g. mice, silkworms, stem cells, etc.) and genetic data have been collected and supplied to researchers.

Staff

	Professor: ISA, Tadashi, MD, PhD 1985 Graduated from University of Tokyo, Faculty of Medicine. 1989 Completed the doctoral course in Science in University of Tokyo. 1989 Research Associate in University of Tokyo. 1993 Lecturer in Gunma University, School of Medicine. 1996 Professor, NIPS. Speciality: Neurophysiology
	Associate Professor: INAGAKI, Haruhisa, DVM, PhD 1972 Graduated from Hokkaido University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.1972 Clinical Veterinarian, Japan Monkey Centre. 1989 Researcher, Developmental Research Laboratories, SHIONOGI & CO.,LTD. 2008 Assosiate Professor, NIPS.
	Postdoctoral Fellow: YAMANE, Itaru, PhD 1991 Graduated from Kyoto University, Faculty School of Agriculture. 1999 Completed the doctoral course in Science in Kyoto University.
	Research fellow: HAMAI, Miya 1986 Graduated from University of Tokyo, Faculty of Science. 1992 Research fellow, Japan Monkey Centre.