On September 5,37students from Seiko Gakuin Junior & Senior High School and Senzoku Gakuen Junior & Senior High School visited International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), the University of Tokyo. Through a lecture, a lab tour, and an interactive session with young researchers, the students gained firsthand exposure to the latest research on mental health, brain science, and robotics.
The program began with a lecture by Dr. Kiyoto Kasai, IRCN principal investigator and an alumnus of Seiko Gakuin. First, he shared personal memories from his days at Seiko Gakuin that inspired him to become a psychiatrist. He then gave a lecture on “New Perspectives on Understanding and Supporting Mental Disorders,” in which he introduced research on schizophrenia, described collaborative support initiatives involving both patients and researchers, and presented recent scientific findings in the field.
The group then toured the Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab (Nagai Laboratory), where Dr. Yukie Nagai, IRCN project professor, presented pioneering studies using virtual reality and robotics to support individuals with developmental and psychiatric conditions. Students experienced demonstrations of emotion-recognition systems based on facial expressions, brain activity, and heart rate, as well as experiments with robots driven by neural circuit models.
During the interactive session with young researchers, including Dr. Seiya Nakata, IRCN project researcher, students asked many questions and learned about the researchers’ journeys from high school to advanced research, as well as how interdisciplinary knowledge contributes to innovation. Many students later reported that the session inspired them to reflect on their own future academic and career paths.
This visit provided a rare opportunity for students to engage directly in cutting-edge research, broadening their perspective on learning and discovery beyond the classroom.
（Nagai Laboratory Tour）
with Young Researchers
For Your Reference
▶ Dr. Kiyoto Kasai, IRCN Principal Investigator, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Professor:
https://ircn.jp/en/mission/people/kiyoto_kasai
▶ Dr. Yukie Nagai, IRCN Project Professor:
https://ircn.jp/en/mission/people/yukie_nagai
▶ Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab (Yukie Nagai Laboratory)：
https://developmental-robotics.jp/en/home/
