Decade of the Brain

The Decade of the Brain was a designation for 1990–1999 by U.S. president George H. W. Bush as part of a larger effort involving the Library of Congress and the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health "to enhance public awareness of the benefits to be derived from brain research".

This group, alongside the National Committee for Research in Neurological and Communicative Disorders, the National Science Foundation’s Interagency Working Group in Neuroscience, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Inter-Society Council for Biology and Medicine, met with legislators in Washington D.C. throughout the 1980s in order to educate them about the importance of neuroscience research and advocate for fiscal appropriations.

The Government of Japan invested $125 million into neuroscience research in 1997, leading to the development of the Brain Science Institute.

During the time period of the Decade of the Brain, the field of neuroscience made rapid gains and in several important ways rose to the forefront of both scientific and public interest.

Due to the funding of research into the physiological impact on the brain of children's early experiences, many states in the US began a great push for pre-school education.