In commemoration of Professor Emeritus Risto Näätänen (1939-2023)

At the Mismatch Negativity Congress in Salamanca in September 2024 we will come together with profound respect and admiration to honor the enduring legacy of Professor Risto Näätänen, who was a visionary in the realm of cognitive neuroscience. The conference will provide a time to reflect on the transformative impact of Risto Näätänen’s contributions to the discovery and subsequent understanding of mismatch negativity (MMN).

Risto Näätänen’s life’s work was defined by the discovery and first description (co-authors Anthony W.K. Gaillard and Sirkka Mäntysalo) of MMN in event-related brain responses, and its subsequent insightful and creative use in basic and applied research. MMN’s publication beginnings were modest; the recognition of the scientific community and those performing research and following the development of the underlying theory only grew significantly in the 2000s, so success was a long time coming. The triumph of MMN is due to the perseverance and determination of Risto Näätänen, with his strong vision of the biological significance of MMN and his scientific arguments.

The beginning of Risto Näätänen’s academic career coincided with the rise of a new movement, cognitive psychology, which changed the simplified view of behaviorism on psychological phenomena to a more complex one. He began studying psychology at the University of Helsinki in 1958. At age 26, he was conducting research in the laboratory led by Donald Benjamin Lindsley at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Between 1965 and 1966 he mastered the electrophysiological methods he used to find experimental answers to questions about cognitive processes, laying the foundation for his later international reputation. Risto Näätänen defended his doctoral thesis on the brain mechanisms of selective attention under Lindsley supervision at the University of Helsinki in 1967.

In 1975, at the age of 36, Risto Näätänen became Professor of General Psychology at the University of Helsinki, and eight years later he was appointed to Academic Professor at the Academy of Finland, where he conducted research and led a successful team that expanded around him for several decades, resulting in a large international network. In 1991, he founded the Cognitive Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, which he led as its director until 2006. After his retirement in 2007, he continued his research at the Universities of Helsinki, Tartu (Estonia) and Aarhus (Denmark) with ceaseless vigor. He was tireless. As before, he took on journal editorial duties, published with many co-authors, reviewed manuscripts, and provided professional advice to young researchers.

Professor Risto Näätänen held the distinguished title of an honorary doctor from the University of Tartu, as well as from Jyväskylä and St. Petersburg universities, along with the universities of Barcelona and Helsinki. His influence extended to appointments in esteemed institutions, including the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Academia Europaea.

Throughout his illustrious career, Risto Näätänen received over 84,000 citations, achieving an impressive h-index of 143. His influence reverberated globally, establishing him as one of the most widely referenced Finnish scientists. Numerous prestigious awards adorned his career,

As we approach the Mismatch Negativity Congress, let us collectively remember and celebrate Risto Näätänen’s enduring legacy. His spirit will continue to inspire and guide our pursuit of knowledge in the fascinating realm of human cognition.

Dear Risto, rest in peace

More details on Risto Näätänen’s biography and scientific achievements can be found in a recent ‘in memoriam’ article published in Psychophysiology 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/psyp.14504 

 

We are pleased to announce that, in commemoration of Professor Risto Näätänen, a special issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience will be published upon the completion of this conference.