Japan-U.S. Brain Research Cooperative Program

Japan-U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation Program has been implemented since 1979 under the treaty concluded between the governments of two countries, of which "Brain Research" Division was commenced in the year 2000. National Institute for Physiological Sciences from Japanese side and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a sub-organ of NIH, from the U.S. support the cooperative projects of researchers of both countries as the responsible agency. The expenses necessary for the projects are borne respectively by each country, in principle, and most of the subsidies provided by Japan Society for the Promotion Science are used for travel expenses and living expenses of the researchers dispatched to the United States.

In this Division, the focus is to support studies of molecular, cellular, and integrative mechanisms underlying brain functions. The activities are roughly classified into 1) dispatch of joint researchers, 2) group joint study, 3) information exchange seminars. Every year, we invite the plans of projects from the researchers throughout the nation, and the applications are examined and adopted by Research Plan Committee (Table 1). The recruitment is made by publicly announcing through the home page and academic journals, and the applications are received during the period from July to September next year. We hope the researchers in both countries will take advantage of this opportunity and contribute to the advancement of brain research.