ResearchCollaboration

Our Approach to Collaboration

At the Okamoto Laboratory, collaboration is not treated as a one-off technical service or a subcontracted task. Our guiding principle is to structure each project in a way that carries academic significance, generates lasting outcomes, and leads to subsequent research questions.

We design collaborations not only around biosignal acquisition, experimental design, and data analysis, but also around research ethics, project governance, and the systematic organization of outcomes such as journal publications, reports, and educational resources. Within the framework of Future Brain Science, we connect research to real-world conditions (Field Neuroscience) and translate findings into implementable evaluation metrics and intervention designs.

In terms of contractual frameworks, in addition to collaborative research, we also undertake commissioned research and technical advisory services (including consulting activities, where appropriate). In all cases, we emphasize research ethics and rigorous evaluation design, and aim to ensure both academic and societal significance.

Research Support We Can Provide (Examples)

• Evaluation design: We define and operationalize constructs such as comfort, attention, arousal, workload, and affect, and determine how they should be measured.
• Biosignal acquisition: We establish measurement frameworks using EEG/ERP, ECG, and related signals, applicable in both laboratory and real-world environments.
• Experimental / PoC design: We develop protocols that balance reproducibility with real-world applicability.
• Analysis and modeling: Through statistical modeling, machine learning, and causal inference, we clarify the structural basis of decision-making and behavioral change.
• Implementation strategies: We translate findings into indices, operational schemes, and educational or training programs.
• Dissemination: Within agreed disclosure boundaries, we communicate outcomes through press releases and public outreach.

Standard Process

1. Initial consultation: Clarification of objectives, constraints (timeline, location, participants), and disclosure policy
2. Concept design: Research questions, evaluation metrics, ethics, team structure, and data governance
3. PoC / pilot study: Small-scale validation to refine the design
4. Full implementation: Operation of the collaboration with iterative analysis and improvement
5. Outcome integration: Reports, publications, and educational resources (within agreed scope)

Recent Research Developments

In addition to conference presentations and journal publications, outcomes of collaborative research have also been released through official university press announcements. As outputs reviewed and edited by the university’s public relations office, they provide an additional layer of social credibility and support further implementation and development.

• Industry–Academia Collaboration: Nichirei Foods
  We demonstrated that perceived “deliciousness” influences post-meal cognitive processing, motivation, and task performance, using EEG and frontal alpha asymmetry (released on May 20, 2025). Kyushu University Research News
• Industry–Academia Collaboration: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems
  We demonstrated that airflow direction in air conditioning affects not only thermal comfort, but also subjective evaluation, psychological responses, and physiological responses (released on April 15, 2021). Kyushu University Research News / MHI Thermal Systems Release
• Technology Development: Neurofeedback, including joint development
  We demonstrated that three days of EEG training can enhance long-term memory (released on August 27, 2021; English version on December 15, 2021). Research News (JP) / Research News (EN)
• Basic Research: Olfaction × Cognition
  We demonstrated that citrus scents can influence color memory, suggesting that inappropriate scenting may have counterproductive effects (released on September 14, 2018). Kyushu University Research News
• Societal Expansion: Field Neuroscience
  The “Neuroscience of Bonfires” project has been featured in national newspapers, drawing public attention to biosignal measurement in real-world environments (since 2024). Conference presentations related to clinical applications, in collaboration with Fukushima Medical University, are also ongoing (since 2025).
• Institutional and Network Development: Future Design
  We continue lectures and educational initiatives related to Future Design, connecting them with domestic and international networks (since 2025).

A list of press releases is available at Press Releases. Additional updates can be found on the News page.

Representative Collaborations

We have led a wide range of projects, including industry–academia collaboration and interdisciplinary research. In addition to industry partnerships, we have also developed collaborations with universities, medical institutions, municipalities, and educational organizations. Representative examples include the following:

Industry Collaboration (Examples)

• Toyota Motor Kyushu: Mitigating attention decline through in-vehicle scent addition (2013–2014)
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems: Fundamental research on physiological effects of air-conditioning systems (2018–2022)
• Nichirei Foods: Establishment of physiological measurement techniques during food consumption (2020–2023)

Interdisciplinary / Societal Collaboration (Examples)

• Comprehensive research on “smell,” integrating medicine, agriculture, science, engineering, and humanities (2012–2016)
• Neuroscience of Bonfires project (2020–): Collaboration across university departments, local governments, and publishers
• Future Design Consortium (2023–): Collaboration with universities and related institutions nationwide

Confidentiality, Intellectual Property, and Publication

For collaborations with companies and municipalities, confidentiality agreements (NDAs), publication scope, research ethics, participant protection, and data governance are carefully defined in advance. Outcomes that can be disclosed are organized into journal papers, conference presentations, and reports, thereby connecting each project to subsequent research and implementation.

Contact

If you are considering research collaboration, please contact us via Contact, including your objective (what you aim to improve) and constraints (timeline, location, participants, disclosure policy). Depending on the project, we will propose the most appropriate format, such as collaborative research, commissioned research, technical advisory services, or the development of educational and training programs.