R&D Project
Goal 9 R&D ProjectsMaximizing well-being and agency on the basis of interpersonal comparison of brain indicators
Project manager (PM)MATSUMOTO KenjiProfessor, Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University
Summary of the project
This project aims not only to improve "happiness" at the level of individuals, but also to achieve aggregation and equality at the level of society. To this end, we will provide innovative technology to measure interpersonally comparable indicators of "happiness" from brain/neural activity.
Happiness is enhanced not only by the experience of “well-being,” which benefits each person’s life, but also by the recognition of “agency,” a way of life that each person has individually decided. We will study “well-being” and “agency” in future society using humanities and social science methods and virtual reality technology.
Moreover, we will also achieve individual comparison of well-being and agency by elucidating brain indicators of subjective feelings “pleasure” and “aspiration”. In doing so we will bridge neuroscience studies and real-world activities, such as evaluating mobility policies in smart cities.
Milestone by year 2032
Proposing a new method of policy evaluation to promote individual and group pleasure and aspiration in accordance with the times, by decoding them like body temperature from brain activity.
Milestone by year 2027
Identifying brain activities related to aspiration, and developing a neuroscience-based experiencing system to discover pleasure and aspiration in accordance with the times through actively moving in virtual reality world.
R&D theme progress reports
- 1. Specifying and updating of well-being and agency in society
- 2. Development and updating the system to discover pleasure and aspiration in society
- 3. Developing technology for inter-personal comparison of pleasure and aspiration by human brain indicators
- 4. Comprehensive understanding of utility representation in primate brain for interindividual comparison
- 5. Comprehensive understanding of subjective reward value representation in rodent brain for interindividual comparison
R&D theme structure of the project
Leader's institution
Tamagawa University
R&D institutions
Caltech, NCNP, Tamagawa University, Teikyo University, University of Tokyo, University of Tsukuba
PDF Download
- Summary of the project (253KB)
- Progress Report (Download all) (876KB)