Investor says brain science is becoming the next big wave

"We found Chinese people are very good at science and technology, especially in areas of medical research," Patrick J. McGovern says.

"You cannot always take people out of their country and import them to America, because people have culture needs, they have family needs and they need to be in their country," says Lore Harp McGovern, explaining why they launched three institutes in China.

The couple expect each of the three institutes to have 500 people in the coming 10 years, about the size of the MIT institute. That means about 80 percent of the employees in the four centers will have Chinese background.

"The returns we are looking for are to increase the quality of life and standards of living for people. Right now, there are about 500 million people around the world who have mental illness or brain disease. The 500 million people with mental illness are costing $5 trillion of vast economical activity in the world, because they require medical care, plus the destruction they may make, plus the society's function because of their behavior," Patrick J.McGovern says.

"So, it is the dream of our institute of brain research to better understand the basis of this type of mental illness and find ways to cure it."

The three universities in China have different focuses in their areas of study. The institute at Tsinghua focuses on molecular research to better understand neural circuits and connections; Peking University researches cognitive systems neuroscience; and Beijing Normal University focuses more on the mechanisms that people use to learn.