Greetings.

　The changes in neuroscience during my over 40 years as a physician and academic have left a strong impression on me. Above all, research focus has shifted from the easily quantifiable and visible to qualitative domains that are not so easily discernable. Shocking me personally as a psychiatrist has been the investigation into individual consciousness, as well as hallucination imaging and elucidation of brain mechanisms for addiction, habits, loneliness, and sociality through imaging.

　Even as "the 100-year lifespan" has been realized, the meaning of “old age” has become equally unclear. As an example, traditionally the unlucky years were believed to end at age 60, but perhaps this only shows above all that “life after 60” was not a concern until recently. In fact, in a Buddhist sect’s survey assessing the demand of followers for instruction, results revealed it was highest for the second step in the life cycle of “birth, aging, sickness and death”. Monks, it seemed, had not been giving this step due consideration..

　In our field, the search for "aging" is being led by the fast-growing areas of molecular and cellular research. Next will be investigations into age-related changes in the foundational brain activity of knowledge, emotion, and will. The latter two have previously proved elusive but are now considered essentially connected to the first which has received the most attention until now, creating an undeniable “holy trinity” of brain activity.

　Our Society functions to summarize the history of the cognitive neuroscience field and indicate its future direction. It is also a forum for people involved in the basic and clinical aspects of brain science to gather and intermediate these two areas. I believe that our Society’s new role should reflect current trends and emphasize this intermediation through academic endeavors appropriate to this era of the Internet. I also believe that the Cognitive Neuroscience Society can make the most of its past and make new discoveries through integration of its accumulated intellectual capital and embarking on challenges in new fields. To me, these are the key endeavors of our Society.

June, 2025