Peking University, June 4, 2020: On May 24, the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (AAIS) of Peking University held the third lecture of "The Charm of Interdisciplinary Studies" series. The lecture, themed “Brain Research: An Interdisciplinary Study of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Cognitive Psychology”, was given by Rao Yi, chair professor of Peking University, founding director of the PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, founding director of the Chinese Institute for Brain Research in Beijing, president of the Capital Medical University. The lecture was hosted by Chen Peng, Boya professor of Peking University, vice dean of the Graduate School and vice dean of AAIS. The lecture was broadcast on various online platforms and received more than 1.5 million views.
As a scientist in neurobiology, Rao shared the process of exploring the nervous system based on his career and experiences. He began by showing one MRI and one MEG graph of his own brain. The former was captured when he was delivering a speech at the Graduation Ceremony of Peking University in 2015, and the latter was taken while listening to music. Rao pointed out that it was possible to directly perceive via MRI and MEG the active brain areas when the brain was performing different tasks, an advancement made possible by applying physical approaches.
Rao Yi
After this lead-in, Rao further shared his own experience of conducting research on neuroscience. According to Rao, he once studied the brain development of fruit flies and the embryonic field of frog eyes. Rao drew upon these experiences to further talk about the influence of “Big Brain” gene and ET gene on biological development.
With the anecdote of studying the neuro-navigating function of “Slit” protein, Rao emphasized that gene screening and the locating of genetic expressions can help understand the process of biological development. Then, he gave more examples to prove the vital role the brain plays in both animal social behavior and human cognitive functions, such as the impact of octopamine on fruit flies’ agonistic behavior, 5-HT on mammals’ affinity with their mother, and special genes on the involvement of facial recognition. What’s more, Rao also introduced their studies in chemoconnectomics, new neurotransmitters, and particularly those related to human sleep.
In summary, Rao accredited the success of his team to their highly interdisciplinary methodology in which various disciplines were involved, including physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and medicine. For example, among the methods they adopted, MRI falls within physics; mass spectrometric analysis belongs to neurotransmitters; separation and purification of new protein kinase were drawn upon from chemistry; genetic analysis and screening originated from genetic studies. In fact, Rao thought that this interdisciplinary methodology had granted researchers ideas, mindsets, and approaches of multiple disciplines, thus advancing research on brain science and helping people improve their health. Therefore, he appealed more young people to take an active part in carrying out research on biology and neurobiology.
During the Q&A session, Rao responded to questions including the way of finding new neurotransmitters, the possibility of inheriting memories, research techniques in brain sciences, the relations between the development of artificial intelligence and the research on brain molecular genetics, and how to balance the depth and breadth of interdisciplinary studies. To Rao, interdisciplinary studies must be goal-oriented. Once the goal is set, researchers can better acquire and apply knowledge from different disciplines.
Written by: Ji Li
Edited by: Zhou Meng
