Promoting Global Collaboration for Brain Health Research

Brain science is still in a discovery phase because of our limited knowledge of basic nervous system structure and function. We need a broader perspective of delivering meaningful outcomes to patients with neurological disorders and greater understanding of the mechanisms that underlie development of neural circuitry, how neurons encode and retrieve information, and how information interacts from one neuron to another. Knowledge of how brain activity gives rise to complex behaviours and how it adapts to external and internal changes is limited. Superficial understanding of the various senses, emotions, and cognitive functions—thinking, choice, and even consciousness—promise innovative solutions in areas such as health, education, and 21st century economics.1 With the increasing burden of major brain diseases across the world, we need to find the most effective means to comprehensively apply modern biotechnology and to solve problems in clinical medicine.