It has now been decided that the 35^th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society, or “Neuroscience 2012” for short, will be held at the Nagoya Congress Center over the four-day period from Tuesday, September 18 to Friday, September 21, 2012.

The Japan Neuroscience Society (JNS), which will be hosting this event, was founded in October 1974 in order to encourage the development of neuroscience in Japan. After holding its first academic convention in 1978, the JNS went on to host Annual Meetings at which the results of neuroscience research in Japan were made known; it soon became a central forum for exchanging information in order to promote research. Having increased its membership year by year, reaching a figure of about 5,600 as of July 2011, the JNS has grown into a prominent academic body in the field of neuroscience, bringing Japan’s neuroscience researchers together in large numbers.

Perhaps the most striking feature of neuroscience is the huge range of disciplines it encompasses: these range from molecular biology, cell biology, biophysics, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology to psychology, behavioural science, engineering, mathematics and even clinical medicine. In recent years, the progress made in neuroscience research has been startling; far from being contained within a framework of conventional “ologies,” it now demands a great breadth of knowledge and technical skill in areas ranging from molecules to higher brain functions. That is why, for this Annual Meeting, we are harking back to the purpose for which the Japan Neuroscience Society was founded: instead of setting a specific theme, we intend to create an event that opens doors into a wide array of fields. In other words, this Annual Meeting will be open to participants from any field whatsoever, as long as they have an interest in neuroscience. We want to make this an event at which participants later look back and think “I’m glad I went to that. I got a lot out of it.”

Neuroscience 2012 is now at the program-planning stage. Against the background outlined above, programs in previous years have been expanding in size and scope, and this one will feature plenary lectures, special lectures, symposia, joint symposia with overseas neuroscience societies, lectures open to the public, and more. To help foster the development of the younger generation, we shall be including more symposia planned by younger participants, and more educational lectures. Since 2008, our Annual Meetings have featured comprehensive interpreting and translation into English; as an international academic society in the field of neuroscience, situated in the heart of the Asia-Oceania region, we expect to welcome numerous participants from overseas as well as from Japan.

I look forward to meeting you in Nagoya.