A History of the Origin and Development of Japanese Society for Neurochemistry: International Cooperation to Overcome Dementia and Mental Illness.

Abstract

"Neurochemistry" in Japan was established by intensive cooperation between psychiatrists and their collaborators, biochemists, who have sought to investigate the etiology of mental illness to establish treatments. It was a completely different direction from the flow of modern biochemistry that was born using microorganisms or eukaryotic cells as research materials. Neurochemists aimed to elucidate the physiological or pathological functions of the brain through chemical analysis of the morphologically and functionally unique complexity and characteristics of brain.I here describe some of the origin and history of neurochemistry in Japan how researchers estabIished Japanese Society for Neurochemistry in1958 Yasuzo Tsukada as a president in collaboration with Isamu Sano, Genkichiro Takagaki and Masanori Kurokawa. The formation of research groups with the support of MEXT played a major role in promoting neurochemistry. Many international conferences held in Japan promoted the activity of neurochemistry: The International Society of Physiology (Tokyo) in 1965, and the Japan-US Neurochemistry Conference (Oiso) in 1965, and in 1967 the International Conference on Biochemistry (Tokyo). These meetings offered excitements to younger researchers by close interaction with the world top class researchers. Government established Brain Research Institutes in several national universities. The Asia-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN) was established in 1991 subsequent to an initiative by JSN. APSN presidents: Yasuzo Tsukada, Kazuhiro Ikenaka, and Akio Wanaka contributed to promote neurochemistry. The 4th ISN meeting was organized at Tokyo (Yasuzo Tsukada, president) in 1973 and the 15th ISN meeting at Kyoto (Kinya Kuriyama, president) in 1995. Kunihiko Suzuki and Kazuhiro Ikenaka as ISN Presidents greatly contributed in promoting the activity of ISN.