Neurosciences Institute

The Neurosciences Institute (NSI) was a small, nonprofit scientific research organization that investigated basic issues in neuroscience. Active mainly between 1981 and 2012, NSI sponsored theoretical, computational, and experimental work on consciousness, brain-inspired robotics, learning and memory, sensory processing, and motor control.

NSI was founded by Nobel Laureate Gerald M. Edelman in 1981 in New York City. It remained an active research center until shortly before his death in 2014.

In 1993 NSI moved to San Diego, California—first into temporary quarters and then, in 1995, into a newly constructed complex on the campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). Designed by the firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the three-building complex received much acclaim for its Modernist style and especially for an auditorium that became a favored venue for music and performing arts in the area. In October 2012, plagued by financial problems and as part of a sharp contraction in its research efforts, NSI moved into leased space in an office building in the village of La Jolla, several miles from its old location. Its former home, including the auditorium, formally became part of TSRI.

The Institute's size varied considerably over the years of its existence. At its peak, it included three dozen Ph.D.-level research scientists (called "Fellows") and a comparable research support staff. Following the 2012 contraction, fewer than half a dozen Ph.D.-level research scientists remained. This number dwindled in the year preceding Edelman's death.

NSI was established in 1981 as an independent entity on the campus of The Rockefeller University in New York City. In founding the Institute, Edelman argued that the quest for fundamental understanding of brain functions was being impeded, at most existing institutions, by artificial barriers between scientific disciplines and by a reward structure that favored modest, incremental research rather than high-risk, high-payoff research. Edelman claimed that he would be able to break from this reward structure by securing private, unrestricted funding for research at NSI. However, he was mostly unsuccessful at this and NSI struggled financially throughout its existence.

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