molecule and cognition unit   The long-term goal of this unit is to elucidate the molecular and synaptic bases of learning and memory and to establish how alterations in synaptic plasticity contribute to neurological and psychiatric disorders. This unit will study how genetic/molecular/synaptic/neuronal/localcircuit-level brain mechanisms enable cognitive faculties such as maze learning tasks and sensation by integrating neurometric techniques at different depths with psychometric techniques such as maze learning tasks and behavioral genetics. Bong-Kiun Kaang will lead this unit joined by Graham Collingridge, Min Zhuo and Sang Jeong Kim, and Inah Lee.   Bong-Kiun Kaang, Dept of Biological Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   One of the key leading neurobiologists in Korea with expertise on the molecular mechanism of synaptic plasticity and memory from multiple model systems such as Aplysia and mouse. His recent work on the molecular, cellular mechanism of synaptic plasticity and fear memory is providing a new view, unveiling novel, original molecular mechanisms of memory. High impact publications in Cell, Science, Neuron, PNAS. Papers on the functional implication of cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway in Aplysia neurons, in collaboration with Dr.Eric Kandel (year 2000 Nobel Laureate, also his lifelong collaborator), had a great impact on molecular neurobiology field (Neuron, 1993; Science, 1993). Director of National Creative Research Initiative Center for memory; Editor-in-chief of on-line neuroscience journal, Molecular Brain.   Graham Leon Collingridge FRS, MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, U of Bristol  HOMEPAGE   Investigating the synaptic basis of learning and memory with an emphasis on the role of glutamate receptors in hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). He established the principle that NMDA receptors trigger plasticity and AMPA receptors mediate a modifiable synaptic response, and this principle has now been extended to many other synapses in the brain and is regarded as one of the most influential discoveries in the field of synaptic function. Discovered that NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission is plastic; synaptic plasticity is expressed by changes in AMPA receptor function; both inhibitory and facilitatory autoreceptor mechanisms contribute to the acute and long-term regulation of synaptic transmission. High impact publications including Collingridge et al(1983, J of Physiology, over 1,500 citations) and Bliss & Collingridge (1993, Nature, over 5,000 citations). Numerous prestigious awards including Elected Fellow, THe Royal Society (2001); Elected President, British Neuroscience Association (2007). The Santiago Grisolia Prize (2008).   Min Zhuo, Dept of Physiology, U of Toronto  HOMEPAGE   His lifelong works on the molecular mechanism of chronic pain and the role of ACC in chronic pain is highly creative and exceptional. His original findings about the role of CNS on the generation of chronic pain sensation shed light on the field of chronic pain research. Expert on brain pharmacology and molecular mechanism of chronic pain (consulting experience with Big Pharmas such as Pfizer). Having high-profile publication records (4 Nature, 3 Nature Neuroscience, 5 Neuronn, 1 Science, and total SCI 157 papers within 20 years of research). His research goal is to unravel the molecular mechanism of chronic pain and emotion-related brain disorders. Founding editor and Editor-in-chief of online neuroscience journal Molecular Pain (Impact factor 4.13, top 20% among Neuroscience journals) and Molecular Brain.   Sang Jeong Kim, Dept of Physiology, SNU College of Medicine  HOMEPAGE   Research focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of information storage and its related brain diseases by combining cutting-edge techniques such as patch clamping, Ca imaging, confocal mocroscopy, UVphotolysis and field/single unit recording from isolated neurons, brain slices and in-vivo animals. High impact publications in major journals such as Nature, Neuron, and Journal of Neuroscience, etc, making over 300 score of the total impact factor during last five years. Published a comprehensive review article in Neuron suggesting that ubiquitous synaptic plasticity is necessary to account for the rich phenomenon of memory storage in the neural network. Editorial board of the Journal of Neurophysiology.   Inah Lee, PhD, Dept of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, SNU  HOMEPAGE   His research aim is to elucidate biological mechanisms of episodic memory and rule learning using electrophysiology, behavioral neuroscience, neuropharmacology and computational modeling. High impact publications in high-profile journals such as Nature, Nature Neuroscience and Neuron. His work in Nature (2004) provided, for the first time, that neurons in hippocampus perform a computational function, pattern completion, that had only been suggested by theoreticians and computational modelers for more than 30 years without any experimental proof. His publication record within a short period of time of 7 years is exceptional in the field of systems neuroscience involving animal experiments.   System and behavior unit   The long-term goal of this unit is to understand neuronal mechanisms involved in the encoding of sensory inputs, the representation and decoding of relevan information from population of active neurons, and the maintenance and retrieval of information within thos populations. This unit will study how neuronal/local circuit/global circuit-level brain mechanisms enable cognitive processes such as sensation, perception, memory, decision making and attention; the aim is to integrate neurometric techniques including single/multi-unit cell recordings, micro/macro-brain imaging and brain stimulation with psychometric techniques encompassing various forms of perceptual and memory tasks. Computational approaches will play a major role in bridging studies from individual researchers with expertise using different types of measurement. Sang-Hun Lee will lead this unit teamed up with Randolph Blake, Inah Lee and Marcus Kaiser.     clinical and computational unit   The long-term goal of this unit is to understand psychiatric disorders, with and eye toward identifying means for correcting thos disorders or minimizing their consequences. Furthermore, work carried out in this unit will promote development of computational and mathematical tools for handling neuroimaging data analyses which, in turn, will contribute to integrative evaluation of functional, structural and biochemical aspects of brain, both disordered and healthy. This unit, led by Jun Soo Kwon, consists of two subunits. The 'Clinical Neuroscience' subunit, comprising Jun Soo Kwon and Sohee Park, will focus on studies of the pathophysiology of mental/brain disorders. including schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, they will deploy an integrative set of neurometric (large-scale brain imaging techniques on human brains) and psychometric (various forms of high cognitive tasks) measurement tools. The 'Computational Anatomy' subunit, led by the collaboration between Jae Sung Lee and Moo K. Chung, will integrate neurometric data obtained from functional (fMRI, PET) and structural (STI, MRI) images - major large-scale neurometric data from humans in modern cognitive neuroscience - into a single, coherent processing and analysis framework. The successful development of such tools will substantially help the other units to advance understanding of cortical and subcortical circuitries crucial for the target cognitive functions.