Understanding the Mechanism of Maintaining Social Regulatory Functions under Unexpected Stress – Publicly Invited Research 2016－2017

  1. A01 Akiyama
  2. A01 Ochi
  3. A01 Chatani
  4. A01 Seiki
  5. A01 Nikawa
  6. A01 Kawakami
  7. A01 Tomita
  8. A01 Honda
  1. A02 Shinohara
  2. A02 Maekawa
  3. A02 Ohgami
  4. A02 Nishimura
  5. A02 Kawano
  6. A02 Iwase
  7. A02 Furuichi
  8. A02 Myung
  9. A02 Kitamura
  1. A03 Nakamura
  2. A03 Harada
  3. A03 Ide
  4. A03 Shirai
  5. A03 Kakinuma
  1. B01 Lazarus
  2. B01 Miwa
  3. B01 Kunieda
  4. B01 Shimada
  5. B01 Kitaya
  6. B01 Sawano
Research Subject Understanding the Mechanism of Maintaining Social Regulatory Functions under Unexpected Stress
Research Group Leader
Koji Shimada
  • Koji Shimada
    Specially-appointed Assistant Professor, Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui
    Website
    http://
Research Group Members
  • Akemi Tomoda
    Professor, Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui
  • Takashi X. Fujisawa
    Specially-appointed Lecturer, Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui
Research Collaborator(s)
  • Shiho Tanaka
    Fukui Prefectural Children’s Science Museum

This proposed research aims to promote and correlate space and astronautical science ('Living in Space') and childhood environment science ('Living in the Future'). In space and astronautical studies, the most important aspect is to clarify the mechanism that controls human life so as to answer the question of whether it is possible to live in space. Moreover, future studies in this field could also clarify the mechanism of maintaining the social regulatory functions of humans toward answering the question of whether it is possible to have a social life in space. This study deals with the latter research topic in order to help clarify the mechanism of maintaining human social regulatory functions for forming a society in space. Furthermore, great strides are also being made in the field of childhood environmental studies toward developing effective methods of providing support and intervention for preventing the mistreatment of children-a form of antisocial behavior manifested as a type of pathology in our modern stressful society on earth. Particularly in Japan, the social environment is transforming due to such factors as a declining birth rate, a shift to more nuclear families, and the weakening of connections within local communities. Amidst these trends, the experience of raising children is now becoming a more isolated experience and guardians are feeling increasingly constricted. Thus, this study will clarify the mechanism of maintaining human social regulatory functions to promote pro-social behaviors such as parenting and co-parenting. In summary, the purpose of this study is twofold: to clarify the mechanism for maintaining (or that for losing) social regulatory functions under highly stressful conditions on earth or in space, and then apply the results from space and astronautical studies to prevent or overcome the pathologies of our modern stressful society. To achieve this objective, we will conduct studies on two types of highly stressful environments (i.e. stress from a confined environment, stress from a child-raising environment) as related to change in the functions within the process of handling social information, as well as the molecular genetics and neuro-biological foundations in such settings.