Renowned Japanese Brain Scientist Ito Dies at 90

December 20, 2018

Tokyo--Prominent Japanese brain scientist Masao Ito, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, died of old age on Tuesday. He was 90.

Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Ito made significant achievements in the study of the structure and functions of cerebellar neural networks, contributing to elucidating memory and learning mechanisms.

He assumed such posts as director of the Riken Brain Science Institute, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the university and president of the Science Council of Japan.

He received the Japanese Order of Culture in 1996 and the premier French civilian award of Chevalier del la Legion d'Honneur in 1998. Jiji Press