An introduction to the International Brain Research Organization: IBRO's beginnings

Abstract

At the dawn of modern neuroscience-midway through the 20th century-the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) was already in the ether. It was a time filled with both difficulty and optimism: in the aftermath of the Second World War and during the emerging Cold War, science played a critical role in trying to bridge communities that were separated by political dissent. The seeds of IBRO took root during various scientific meetings occurring in the late 1940s and the 1950s, starting with a meeting of electroencephalographers in London in 1947. Over the years, IBRO has set up a number of programs to stimulate international contacts in brain research. Some examples of these activities are described below, and are carried out by IBRO's member volunteers within its 6 regions. The main vehicle used by IBRO to interact with young people in all of its regions, IBRO Neuroscience Schools consist of an intensive, structured educational program lasting a week or more, bringing students into contact with distinguished scientists with the capacity, experience, and time to teach students and young faculty. Another successful grassroots, capacity-building effort has been the IBRO Visiting Lecture Team Program (VLTP), which offers experiment-based lecture courses in economically developing countries, most often in remote areas of the world, that cover a variety of topics of current interest in basic neuroscience. The IBRO Fellowships Program aims to foster neuroscience research, especially in less well-funded countries, by providing support to neuroscientists from diverse geographic and scientific areas who wish to broaden the scope of their training by working abroad in good laboratories. Founded in 1961 as an organization that would cut across world boundaries and improve communication and collaboration among brain researchers, IBRO has become the global neuroscience federation dedicated to the promotion of neuroscience around the world, with special emphasis on assisting young researchers in the developing world. IBRO now counts 84 member societies in 61 countries, with a total membership of more than 75,000 neuroscientists. Throughout its 50 years, IBRO has continued to pave the way for a more efficient exchange of information, growth of scientific knowledge and, ultimately, a more inclusive world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).