The Discipline of Neuroscience, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, was founded in 2014. There are currently 10 principal investigators, including, two winners of the National High-level Talent Plan, one winner of “Distinguished Young Scholars” sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one is the member of Hundred people plan sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences, two are members of the National High-level Youth Talent Plan, and one is the winner of “Excellent Young Scholars” sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The discipline group actively participates in teaching over 9 courses for undergraduate and graduate students of medical school, such as Neurobiology, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Fundamentals and Advances in Neurobiology, Nervous System, etc. In scientific research, the discipline aims to understand mechanisms of sensation, perception, cognition, neurological and mental diseases at molecular, cellular, and circuitry levels, with the focus on brain cognition, brain diseases and brain regulation. In the past five years, the discipline has received and completed more than 60 national funds from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (the China Brain Project and 973 National Key Basic Research Program) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Major Program, Key Program, Integration Program, Training Program, Key Program of International Cooperation and Exchange, General Program, and Youth Science Program). Over 70 papers have been published in international prestigious journals such as Science, Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Nature Communications, Science Advances, PNAS, Cell Reports, eLife, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Cell Biology, and Journal of Neuroscience.

Being part of the Strategic Plan of Brain Science Development at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine entitled with“A cross-integration brain science platform based on the study of brain diseases”, the discipline of Neuroscience has initiated and sponsored the Center for Brain Science, which mainly relies on the key Innovation Team of “Principle Analysis of Brain Cognition” supported by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. The center aims at actively docking with the China Brain Project, dedicates to understanding and resolving the brain function, deciphering the pathogenesis of brain diseases, discovering novel drug targets, and growing into one of the cradles for drug development and novel neural modulations in cognitive brain diseases. The center focuses on “Principle Analysis of Brain Cognition and Mechanistic Study of Cognitive Impairment” as its overall research direction, which can be further categorized into three key subjects: 1) development of neural circuit and behavior; 2) principles and regulation of learning and memory; 3) drug target discovery for brain diseases. By integrating the brain science research teams at Shanghai Jiao Tong University College of Basic Medical Sciences, the center was grounded as the base of the development of basic neurobiology platform. It has been longing for collaborating with brain science-related clinical departments from hospitals affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and exploring the innovation mode for multidisciplinary integration development of brain science, providing an important support and driving force for Shanghai city to grow into the technological innovation center with global impact.

To better provide technical support for the Center for Brain Science, the discipline of Neuroscience has been actively running the brain research core facility with the goal to accelerate cutting-edge research into anatomical, functional, and physiological studies in neuroscience. The facility has formed a technical support system based on four professional platforms, including: 1) Center for brain anatomy and connectome that includes in vitro and in vivo imaging work stations; 2) Center for brain physiology and function that includes a large variety of instruments for electrophysiological recording, calcium imaging, and optogenetic stimulation; 3) Center for animal behavior and phenotype analysis that includes behavioral paradigms covering sensation, motion, instinctive behaviors, learning, memory, emotion, and social behaviors as well as surgical suites for virus injection and fiber implantation; 4) Center for brain diseases and precision treatment that includes equipments for preparation, detection, and preservation of clinical samples as well as systems for transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalogram recording in collaboration with affiliated hospitals such as Shanghai Mental Health Center.