Decade for European brain research

The "European Decade of Brain Research" is to be officially inaugurated in Brussels on the 23 September 1992. The inaugural session of this major European initiative in the field of neuroscience will be held at the end of a two-day workshop on "New Pharmacological Approaches in Depression Therapy", the first scientific action organized in the framework of the Decade.

Europe enjoys excellent capabilities in neuroscience research, yet investment lags behind that of the USA and Japan. European efforts also suffer from fragmentation. Accordingly the European scientific community called for the launching of the Decade, aiming to improve the European research effort, and for a coordinated programme at the European level in this field, to establish the human and financial "critical mass" required.

The initiative is supported by the European Parliament, which adopted a Resolution on this subject in July 1992. The Commission has begun studies, and it is foreseen that an important initiative in neuroscience will be included in medical research activities to be undertaken in the context of the Fourth Framework Programme.
The inaugural session of the Decade for European Brain Research will take place on 23 September 1992 at 15 hours, at the Palais des Academies, Brussels. Speakers will include Mr. Pandolfi, Vice-President of the Commission responsible for research, R. Levi Montalcini, Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, and Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry.
For further information, contact:
Commission of the European Communities
DG XII Information Service
Attn. Mr. M. Andre
Tel +32-2-2360781; Fax +32-2-2358865