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Concluding Remarks by Professor Olli Lounasmaa

First, I should like to express my sincere thanks to the Japanese organisers for their contributions to the success of this Symposium. I am very pleased that such a distinguished group of neuroscientists from Japan came to Finland.

Next, a follow-up symposium of Finnish and Japanese neuroscientists should be arranged in Japan. Other types of contacts must be encouraged as well. Both countries will benefit from exchanges of established scientists and students. Brain research is now on the move. The US Congress named the last 10 years of this century the Decade of the Brain and it has also doubled the money spent on neurosciences. European Union followed suit by making a similar declaration but the move was largely a 'paper tiger' because additional money was not allocated. Japan has decided to increase its expenditure in neural sciences by the almost unbelievable factor of ten. Eventually 700 million dollars will be spent annually on brain studies in Japan.

The Helsinki University of Technology is in the process of increasing its involvement in neurosciences. Our Rector asked me to make a fact-finding tour to Europe, Japan, and the US, and produce a report of what should be done here. My tour is made, and the report was submitted to Rector Paavo Uronen in August, 1998. In this document I propose that our University establishes an umbrella organization, Neurocentrum HUT, to coordinate the neuroscience-oriented activities, with additional money from HUT and from outside sources. In particular, three professorships, intended for eminently qualified foreign neuroscientists in information processing, silicon neuron technology, and robotics should be established on a 3 - 5 year basis. The report, written in Finnish, is available on the internet at http://www.hut.fi/Ajankohtaista/Neurocentrum/

I think that, within a few years, more money will be spent worldwide on neuroscience and related research than on any other branch of science. And this includes molecular biology, gene technology, particle physics, and cosmology. Therefore, the next millennium, less than two years away, could be named Millennium of the Brain.

Helsinki, September 22, 1998

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Temporal Aspects of Human Cortical Information Processing
Proceedings of the Finnish Japanese Symposium, Otaniemi, June 14 - 17, 1998
Edited by O.V. Lounasmaa
Internet page created Fri, Sep 18, 1998 at 07:28:27 with Frontier. Peter Berglund, peter@neuro.hut.fi