Download SM 11.04.12 - Premio principe asturias

Salud Mental 2011;34:388
Pellicer
The 2011 Prince of Asturias Award
for Technical and Scientific Research
Francisco Pellicer
Events and awards
The jury for this prestigious award recently announced in
Oviedo, Spain that this year the prize for Technical and
Scientific Research would be awarded to three
distinguished researchers in the field of neuroscience:
Giacomo Rizzolati of Italy, Joseph Altman of the U.S., and
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla Roces of Mexico. This was primarily
for their significant neurobiological research into so-called
«mirror neurons,» nerve cells found in the ventral premotor
cortex of the brain which are activated not only when an
individual performs a particular action, such as a hand
movement, but also when the individual observes the same
action being performed by others. These neurons would
appear to play a key role in learning through imitation and
in the construction of the phenomenon of self-awareness.
The second reason for the award was for their studies of
neurogenesis in adult brains for which they used dividing
nerve cells, marked with tritiated thymidine and revealed
through autoradiography. This proved the existence of
neurogenesis in specific areas of the brain in postnatal and
adult rats, such as the dentate gyrus and the olfactory bulb,
which suggests that the newly formed neurons are related
to the processes of memory and learning. The award-winning
trio also work in the area of neurogenesis in the adult nervous
system, in particular the role that the glial cells play as
progenitor cells of neurons associated with the olfactory
system and which replicate in the adult, constituting what
is known as the rostral migratory stream. These concepts
challenge, in part, the old dogma that nerve cells do not
substitute or replace themselves in the adult individual.
Until now this is no different from what has previously
been published by the media, but I want to point out a few
things about Arturo, the award and the context of doing
scientific research in Mexico.
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First of all, the education and home environment of
the Alvarez-Buylla Roces family involves the migration
of his paternal and maternal ancestors as a result of the
Spanish Civil War which, unlucky for some but lucky for
us, introduced to this country a wealth of talent, including
Arturo’s parents and grandparents. But what happens
when this country is unable to offer the infrastructure
necessary for excellence to flourish and spread? It would
seem that this great talent overflows beyond the scope of
our environment and he must exile himself once again; it
appears that history repeats itself, and this time, unlucky
for us but lucky for the University of California, his talents,
his research and his scientific work move there. How can
we generate a Mexican academic environment that doesn’t
exile its academics, and worse still one which exiles in
the form of postdoctoral stints outside the country, which
no doubt cost us both personally and financially.
Academics are turned into true exiles when they are not
offered decent work upon their return, or there simply
aren’t enough jobs in our academic and medical
institutions to incorporate these scientists in our national
affairs. We need to rethink our future in terms of internal,
educational, technological and of course scientific
development, placing more importance on ourselves with
those who drive political policy. These prizes are a good
measure of the productivity and development of an
individual or group, but they also reflect the support of
these individuals’ own countries and institutions. In this
case we have won neither accolade; the award is for Arturo
in his exile, for his family and for the institutions that
supported him in his work. Congratulations Arturo
Alvarez-Buylla Roces. And Mexico, let us think on what
it is we want and where it is we are headed.
Vol. 34, No. 4, July-August 2011