Biennial meeting of the WFN Aphasia, Dementia, and Cognitive Disorders Specialty Group in Japan.
By Dr. Aida Suárez-González, Prof. Morris Freedman, Prof. Manabu Ikeda, Dr. Yutaka Tanaka, Prof. Masaru Mimura, and Prof. Suvarna Alladi.
Attendees of the WFN Specialty Group ADCD biennial meeting at the entrance of the conference venue, Nara Kasugano International Forum at Nara Park.
The attendants for the 2024 biennial meeting of the WFN Aphasia, Dementia, and Cognitive Disorders Specialty Group (ADCD SG) arrived in Nara, Japan, about the same time as the sakura (Japanese cherry trees) reached full bloom. This served as a timely metaphor to usher in the four vibrant days of all things cognitive neurology that followed, elegantly wrapped in the most exquisite Japanese hospitality.
The venue of the meeting was the beautiful Nara Kasugano International Forum in Nara Park, surrounded by local deer and a short walk from the famous Todai-ji Buddhist temple. The activity was organized by ADCD chair Prof. Suvarna Alladi and local organizing chairs Prof. Manabu Ikeda and Dr. Yutaka Tanaka, in partnership with the Neuropsychology Association of Japan and the Japan Society for Higher Brain Function. This was a memorable meeting, with more than 50 attendees from around the world. (Most were also speakers at the various symposiums that built on the 54-year tradition of scientific meetings of the group.)
Panelists and attendees appreciated the opportunity to delve into the contributions of Japanese behavioral neurology, which was one of the highlights of the event. Other highlights included:
- Plenary sessions delivered by Prof. Etsuro Mori on innovation in dementia studies, and Prof. Manabu Ikeda on prodromal stages of dementia and primary psychiatric diseases.
- Symposiums on physiology and pathology of brain disease (Chair: Prof. Riki Matsumoto), Asian studies in posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) (Chair: Prof. Kyoko Suzuki), cerebral amyloid angiopathy (Chair: Prof. Akihiro Sindo), and PET imaging (Chair: Prof. Masaru Mimura).
Science Bridges Cultures
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Local organizers (left to right) Prof. Manabu Ikeda, Prof. Masaru Mimura, and Dr. Yutaka Tanaka with early career researchers and Dr. Boon Lead Tee (center), posters session chair, at the poster presentation. |
Learning from Japanese scientists in their homeland while immersed in their cultural heritage was a unique experience. It underscored the importance of the ADCD meetings to continue rotating around the world to favour multicultural exchange and inclusive and diverse behavioural neurology.
Diversity was indeed a central and transversal element with a tangible presence during the meeting. There were specific symposiums about cross-cultural investigations in frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia (PPA), chaired by Prof. Olivier Piguet, semantics in Alzheimer’s disease and PPA with strong emphasis on language diversity, chaired by Prof. Jet Vonk, and a symposium on diversity, disparity, and precision science in brain health, chaired by Prof. Suvarna Alladi. In this diverse context, we learned about the International Network for Cross-Linguistic Research on Brain Health (INCLUDE), which aims to foster cross-linguistic research on brain disorders to identify generalisable markers.
Editor's Choice
World Neurology | Oct-Nov 2024, Volume 39, No. 5
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