Director’s Message
Our discovery of the neuropeptide orexin and its prominent role in sleep/wake regulation has generated a highly active research field in neurobiology of sleep. However, the fundamental governing principle for the regulation of sleep pressure, e.g., the question of (1) what the neural substrate for “sleepiness” is, (2) why we have to sleep, remains a mystery. Indeed, this is one of the biggest mysteries in today’s neuroscience.
Based on my own 24-year experience as a PI in the US, and by learning from the merits of US academia while retaining the merits of Japanese traditions, IIIS provides a scientific culture and environment that strongly encourage all members, regardless of career stage, to initiate and continue truly groundbreaking studies.
