In 1962, a small group of committed scientists from diverse backgrounds but with a common interest in brain function began to meet regularly to share ideas about how the brain works. They planned to sponsor and organize scientific conferences to explore knowledge of the nervous system. Their driving motivation was the recognition that traditional barriers between practitioners of different scientific disciplines had to be broken if the goal of fully understanding the complexity of brain functions was ever to be reached. Certainly a broader multidisciplinary effort would be required for this challenge than ever before.

Under the leadership of Francis O. Schmitt, a true scientific impresario, this informal college of scholars and research scientists was organized as the Neurosciences Research Program (NRP) at MIT. Over the next two decades, through its over 250 meetings and 125 scientific publications, the NRP developed innovative formats for intellectual exchange and disseminated knowledge to the worldwide scientific community. The central group, whose members are called Associates of the NRP, includes no more than 36 scientists at any one time, with each individual serving for a term of seven years before becoming an Honorary Associate.

According to the Society for Neuroscience, “Only in recent decades has neuroscience become a recognized discipline. It is now a unified field that integrates biology, chemistry, and physics with studies of structure, physiology, and behavior, including human emotional and cognitive functions.” It is interesting to note that of the first twelve presidents of the Society from 1969 to 1981, ten were NRP Associates. The list of current and former Associates is a veritable “who’s who” of neuroscience and includes seventeen Nobel laureates.

The Neurosciences Institute itself developed from the NRP as an independent institution on the campus of The Rockefeller University in New York in 1981. The NRP moved from Boston to New York in 1983 and became part of the Institute, which moved to La Jolla in 1995. The Associates continue to meet annually in La Jolla. Nothing shows the vibrancy of the neurosciences better than the NRP’s annual meeting. For three days, the Associates eagerly share their latest research, and guest speakers spark the imagination with presentations providing views of the brain and its functions.

Perhaps most exhilarating are the informal discussions that break out among Associates on far-flung topics. Observing, even participating, are the Fellows who work at the Institute; they are thrilled to rub shoulders with these scientific leaders. The NRP Associates also provide a valuable information resource for the Fellows throughout the year.

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