| Nakaaki Tsukahara | |
| Native Name: | 塚原仲晃 |
| Native Name Lang: | Japanese |
| Birth Date: | November 11, 1933 |
| Birth Place: | Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan |
| Death Place: | Japan Air Lines Flight 123, Mount Takamagahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan |
| Citizenship: | Japanese |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Fields: | Cerebral physiology |
| Workplaces: | Osaka University |
| Alma Mater: | University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine |
Nakaakira Tsukahara (November 11, 1933 - August 12, 1985) was a Japanese doctor, cerebral physiologist, and neurologist who served as professor at the Faculty of Engineering Science at Osaka University.
Tsukahara was born in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. He graduated from the University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 1963 receiving his Doctor of Medicine. He wrote a doctoral thesis titled: "A contribution of internuncial activity to motoneuronal discharges.''[1]
He became a professor at Osaka University at 36 years old. Tsukahara was also one of Japan's leading neurologists at the time.
Tsukahara was in charge of "Brain Plasticity,'' a Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture and Technology-specific research project which was scheduled to begin in 1986. In 1985 he traveled to Tokyo to have a meeting with the Ministry regarding the research. On August 12, Tsukahara was killed in the crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 at the age of 51.[2]
The Nakaaki Tsukahara Memorial Award was established by the Brain Science Promotion Foundation to commemorate Tsukahara's research achievements.[3]