A Brief History
The concepts of brain functions have been continuously reshaped by the discovery of the new substances which are concentrated in neural pathways. The current upsurge of interest in the nervous system occurred only recently with the development of highly refined experimental and analytical techniques that enabled studies at levels of intensity and with a precision not possible previously. The contribution of one discipline was hardly known to the workers in other disciplines. Therefore, need was felt to bring workers engaged in different disciplines - neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, biochemistry, biophysics, toxicology, psychology, psychiatry, pharmacology etc. on a common platform where they can share their knowledge and methodology and plan future strategy for effective collaborative research.
Realizing the need for such a common platform, late Prof. K.P. Bhargava, Director-Professor, Upgraded Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, King George's Medical College (now King George's Medical University), Lucknow in collaboration with Prof. B.N. Dhawan of Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and Dr. P.K. Seth of Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, approached the eminent scientists in the country to explore the possibility of establishing a Society of Neuroscience. The response to their proposal was overwhelming. Consequently, the first conference was held at the Central Drug Research Institute and the Department of Pharmacology, King George's Medical College, Lucknow on February 10 and 11, 1982. It was attended by neuroscientists from all over the country and was addressed by Prof. Merton Sandler, an eminent neuroscientist from the United Kingdom. The programme encompassed papers on basic and clinical research and discussion of a future plan.
The second annual conference was organized by Director-Professor, Mahdi Hasan, at the Inter-disciplinary Brain Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, and the Department of Pharmacology, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University on February 5 and 6, 1983. The conference was largely attended and was addressed by Prof. S.S. Parmar of the Department of Physiology, University of North Dakota, School of Medicine, Grand Forks, U.S.A. The need for a continuous forum was stressed by the participants and accordingly the Indian Academy of Neurosciences was established on February 5, 1983. The constitution of the Academy drafted by Dr. K.C. Singhal of the Department of Pharmacology, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh was approved by the General Body. Also, elections to the various posts of the Executive were held.
The third annual conference of the Indian Academy of Neurosciences was held at Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow. on February 4 - 6, 1984. The fourth annual conference was held jointly with the Asian Congress of Pharmacology in New Delhi on January 15 -19, 1985. The Asian Congress of Pharmacology was co-sponsored by the Indian Academy of Neurosciences in addition to other scientific bodies including the Indian National Science Academy and Indian Pharmacological Society. The Academy also co-sponsored the Satellite Symposium of the Asian Congress of Pharmacology on Brain Neurotransmitter Mechanism and Hypertension held at the Department of Pharmacology, King George's Medical College, Lucknow. Subsequently, the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth & tenth meetings were held in Aligarh (1986). Tirupati (1987), Calcutta (1988), Chandigarh (1989), Lucknow (1990) and Delhi (1990) respectively. The eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth meetings were held at Lucknow (1992), Jhansi (1994), Vellore (1995), Bombay (1996) and Bangalore (1997). During the Bangalore meeting, a symposium entitled "Molecules to Behaviour" was organised in collaboration with Neuroscience Society of India as a tribute to Prof. B.K. Bachhawat, an eminent neuroscientists of the country. Further, the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty first meetings were held at New Delhi (1998), Gwalior (1999), Lucknow (2001), Kolkata (2002), Udiapur (2003) and Hyderabad (2004) respectively. The twenty second meeting of the Academy was held at Gwalior (2005). A good number of foreign neuroscientists also participated in all these annual meetings.
In addition to organising annual meetings at regular intervals, the academy has been sponsoring and co-sponsoring international symposia and conferences to promote the national and international scientific activities. Following international workshops/ symposia have been co-sponsored by the Academy:
- ITRC-IBRO Symposium on Neurotoxic Substances and their Impact on Human Health, 1984.
- Neuroscience Component of the Asian Congress of Pharmacology, 1985.
- Indo-U.S. Workshop on Chemistry and Biology of Centrally Acting Peptides, 1987.
- Indo-US Workshop on Current Approaches For Receptor Studies in Neurobiology (1991).
- 2nd Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries (1991).
- Colloquium on cellular and Molecular Advances in Neuropharmacology (1992).
- Colloquium on Advances in Neurotransmitter Receptors: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms (1994).
- Symposium on Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Centrally Acting Agents (1997).
- International Symposium on Molecular Toxicology and Environmental Health (2003).
The regular features of the annual meeting are to hold plenary lectures and symposia on current topics in neurosciences. In addition, oral and poster sessions are also arranged. Workshops on techniques on neurosciences have also been organised. One of the attractive feature of the conference is to bring together basic scientists and clinical researchers to discuss many problems inherent in this area of research. The Academy encourages the participation of young scientists so that they get an opportunity to interact with eminent neuroscientists. The endeavour has been helpful to stimulate and widen their outlook for their future research. Young neuroscientists are awarded for best poster presentation by Prof. S.S. Parmar Research Foundation. Tulsabai Somani Educational Trust and Late Dr. D.M. Kar prizes are awarded for best oral presentations every year during the annual meeting. From 1996, Jyotsnamoyee- Ragunath Bhattacharya prize has been instituted for the best published paper in the basic neurosciences during the year. This award is also given during the annual meeting of the Academy. During the Bangalore meeting in 1997, a decision was taken to institute an award in the memory of the late Prof. B.K. Bachhawat which has been started since 2003.
The Academy has gradually grown into a sizable organization of dedicated neuroscientists spread all over the country and abroad. The Academy elects eminent neuroscientists as Fellows and Honorary Members. The Academy publishes a Newsletter - NEUROSCIENCES NEWSLETTER for the benefit of members and neuroscientists of the country at regular intervals and a journal- Annals of Neurosciences from 1991. A membership directory is published and updated at regular intervals.