For the Future of Asia Collaboration

As Asia plays a leading role in global economic development, the scientific advances made in this region, including those involving psychiatry, should be more accessible to the rest of the world. Therefore, under the leadership of psychiatrists from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and so on, the Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (AsCNP) was established in 2009. Although AsCNP is the newest of the world’s leading neuropsychopharmacological organizations, it has been growing rapidly. Psychiatry evolves as the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and public health advance. Although neuropsychopharmacology is not the only therapeutic approach used in clinical practice, it is the primary method for understanding both the brain and the pathology underpinning neuropsychiatric disorders. In the context of rapid increases in the population and substantial changes in social structure, Asian countries are facing a variety of mental health challenges. However, most of our treatment guidelines rest on scientific evidence collected in the United States and European countries, partly because of the leading position of those countries in terms of psychiatric research and partly because we have not yet established a collaborative network in this region. However, we are very pleased to recognize the very impressive recent advances in psychiatric research in Asia. AsCNP provides a good forum through which to share our experiences, ideas, and results. The similarities among our research questions provide collaborative opportunities, whereas the differences lead to more comprehensive understandings. The Korean College of Neuropsychology (KCNP) has generously agreed to associate its official journal, Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience (Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci), with AsCNP. As a prestigious journal addressing psychopharmacology and neuroscience in Asia, Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci maintains a high standard for scientific research. As an acknowledgement of its consistently high quality, it was just indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). As the president of AsCNP, I would like to convey my congratulations to Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci for its remarkable achievement and to express my gratitude for the opportunity to be associated with this publication, an association that will allow our organization to continue to make academic contributions beyond its biannual meetings.