ResearchFuture Brain Science

A Strategic Research Framework

Future Brain Science is a strategic research framework that reconfigures neuroscience and social design from the standpoint of the future. We approach the human brain not only as a system for understanding the present, but as a foundational platform for redesigning the present in light of future society.

Our guiding principle is explicit: we place the future of society first—not the future of an individual, a discipline, or an organization—and reason backward to design research, education, and institutional practice. In this sense, we embed Future Design—the adoption of the standpoint of future generations—into how we formulate questions, build methods, and connect knowledge to implementation.

For an overview of our current research activities and representative studies, please see Overview.

Core Question: Sustainable motivation emerging from a future standpoint

A central focus of the laboratory is the neural basis of intrinsic motivation that emerges when future benefits are incorporated into present decision-making. Here, motivation does not refer to manic excitement; it refers to a stable and sustainable state that generates directed and enduring action. We investigate its neural mechanisms and explore methods for appropriately enhancing and regulating such states when necessary. This work contributes not only to individual behavioral change but also to the psychological foundations of social and institutional design.

Three pillars

1) Designing and evaluating cognition from a future standpoint: Future Design × neuroscience

Future Design—adopting the standpoint of future generations—has the potential to reconfigure the framework of thinking itself. We empirically examine how such perspective shifts influence the quality of thought and intrinsic motivation by combining psychological measures with neurophysiological signals (e.g., EEG). We also translate findings into intervention design, including conditions, procedures, and facilitation principles.

2) From laboratory to society: Field neuroscience (environment × affect × physiology)

We quantify human experience in real-world environments—such as thermal conditions, spatial materials, odors, and bonfires settings—by combining physiological signals with behavioral and psychological measures. We also design evaluation frameworks that can be used in implementation, clarifying what should be measured and how in order to connect science to practice.

3) From passive measurement to active intervention: Neurofeedback and state change

Beyond measurement, we develop neurofeedback approaches that promote self-regulation of brain activity and aim to induce sustainable changes related to anxiety reduction and motivation enhancement (with some details restricted by contract). By iterating between mechanism discovery and intervention development, we connect basic science with implementation.

A broad empirical foundation

Future Brain Science is sustained by diverse experimental work in sensory processing, cognition, and affective evaluation. We continue to cultivate multiple empirical lines—including physiological signal analysis, field measurements, and methodological development—while respecting the diverse interests and research themes of our students. The accumulation of such work forms the foundation for integrative research.

Five-year vision

Over the next five years, we aim to build a research platform that integrates Future Design, field neuroscience, neurofeedback, and educational design to generate cross-disciplinary synergy and knowledge that can be implemented for society and future human life.

For collaboration inquiries, please contact us via Contact.