Neuroscience
| In a recent special seminar at the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, Dr Henry Markram, head of the HBP discussed the project and the principles they are using to uncover the secrets of the brain. |
The European Human Brain Project (HBP) is a billion dollar mega-project with dedicated respectively to Neuroinformatics, Brain Simulation, High Performance Computing, Medical Informatics, Neuromorphic Computing and Neurorobotics components. In fact, the project recently expanded with new participants.
"If you can't measure it, you are going to have to predict it." |
1. Translating the knowledge of the brain into a benefit for society. Markram discusses how despite our growing knowledge of the brain, the development of medicines for the brain is slowing, and pharmaceutical companies are abandoning the development of neuroscience due to the costs.
2. It is impossible to experimentally map the brain. Markram postulates that the 55 different types of neurons in the brain leading to trillions of connections. According to his calculations, it would take over 2000 man-years to map a piece of the brain the size of a pinhead at a cost of two billion dollars. For Markram, "You are never going to get enough data to model the brain." His solution to this is called predictive neuroscience. "If you can't measure it, you are going to have to predict it," he says.
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One of the key findings of Markram's team that is helping develop their algorithms for brain simulation is that neurons do not connect to other neurons specifically, but to other regions of the brain. For the areas they do not yet understand, they are creating 'black boxes' for areas of further study.
3. We don't know how to translate our knowledge from animals into humans. In the Human Brain Project they are working to build up a data ladder of how gene expression operates between mice and humans. They will use this to infer and predict what is going on in the human brain. This is necessary, as the neuroscience work is primarily done on animals, and human cells cannot be explored directly (yet).
In a full (or partial) brain simulation scientists will be able to test environmental factors, chemical interactions and other potential areas on a brain.
5. Symptom-based, subjective classification of brain disease. Now, it is unknown how inter-related and interconnected brain diseases are. Markram suggests that diseases like Alzheimer's and autism may be related. Through a better understanding of the brain, and increased research collaboration such an understanding may be made.
6. Brain to technology. If we can develop technologies based on an understanding of the brain, there is a great potential for business. Markram admits that this was a key factor in obtaining funding for the HBP from the European Commision. Neuromorphic chips development is one area the project is focused on.
7. Take Society on a Voyage of the Brain. The team will be constructing a building, a museum of sorts, based on the research progress at the HBP. The building will be located in Lausanne, Switzerland, but will be partnered with institutions world-wide.
During the question section of the presentation (at ~52:00 mark), the question of consciousness is re-engaged. Markram, when answering if his project will uncover if consciousness is an emergent property or not, answers that he believes the HBP will learn the neural correlates of behavior and decision-making. Essentially Markram predicts that the project will find the neural states associated with particular behaviors.
"My personal view is that consciousness is a critical mass of causal interactions," says Markram. "What happens when there is a critical mass is another question."
SOURCE Biological Sciences, NeuroScience
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