Monday, 8 February 2016

The University of Trento to strengthen cooperation with Japan

The University signed a new Erasmus+ agreement with Nagasaki for students and academics mobility

Versione stampabile

Genetic and environmental factors affect the way we interact with others and the way in which we develop sentimental bonds, and are also capable of determining a person’s well-being and balance. What happens in the first years of life of a person leaves a mark that is going to last for all his or her life and in future generations. 

These are only some of the subjects discussed at the scientific symposium on "The Development of Bonding: integrating genes, behavior, and environment" which was held last 5 February at the Palazzo Istruzione in Rovereto, at the University of Trento department of Psychology and Cognitive science.

The symposium provided the occasion to present the result of recent research work that the University of Trento conducted with the three Japanese Universities of Nagasaki, Chiba and Kanazawa. 

“The very first forms of interaction between mother and child - explain the researchers of the international team - create cerebral mechanisms that will last through time and will determine the way we “socially” behave in adult life. These dynamics are then passed on from one generation to the next in order to preserve the genes (transmission of genetic heritage) and to transmit cultural traditions (that is the family’s habits or lifestyle).

Gianluca Esposito (University of Trento) and Kazuyuki Shinohara (University of Nagasaki), who have organized the event, further added: “The data we illustrated at the symposium showed that the child’s well-being is connected to different factors, and that the environmental component plays a crucial role. The house where we live and the food we eat, for example, leave a trace in our body that we can pass on to our offspring. That’s why preventive pre-primary medicine is gaining importance: even before trying to prevent a symptom, it aims to create a quality of life that can reduce chemical contaminations in our system”.

The symposium was an occasion to take stock of the work done and to set the basis to increase scientific cooperation. The University of Trento and University of Nagasaki have signed an Erasmus+ agreement to facilitate international mobility for six students and two professors of master’s degree and PhD courses.

The agreement, in particular, gives to three students from the University of Trento the opportunity to spend five months at the University of Nagasaki.

The event was an opportunity to establish collaboration relations with the University of Chiba and the University of Kanazawa for further mobility.

The key participants at the event were the rector of the University of Trento Paolo Collini, the delegates from the department of Psychology and Cognitive science Paola Venuti and Gianluca Esposito, Chisato Mori for the University of Chiba and Hiroyuki Nakamura for the University of Kanazawa.