The human brain project: neuroscience perspectives and German contributions

Abstract

The human brain project: neuroscience perspectives and German contributionsStudying the human brain remains one of the greatest scientific challenges. A comprehensive understanding of the structural and functional organization of the brain is not only of great importance for basic science, but also for the development of new approaches that improve diagnosis and the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. With this mindset, the Human Brain Project (HBP) started its work in October 2013 with the aim of creating a European ICT infrastructure for neuroscience. The immense complexity of the brain, with its approximately 86 billion nerve cells, makes it essential to include modeling and simulation approaches, combined with methods of high performance computing (HPC), in order to analyze the organizational principles of the brain.Conversely, the understanding of neural mechanisms might inspire new advancements for HPC. Those insights into the brain provide simulation, and give computer scientists the opportunity to develop a new generation of computers and software that are inspired by the functional principles of the brain. HPC opens up new avenues for neuroscientists to develop virtual brain models, such as the Big-BRAIN [2] model, which connects the macroscopic with the microscopic organization level for the first time in a reference system. In such models, data from the genetic, molecular, and cellular levels up to cognitive systems could be combined together for a subsequent analysis at different scales. This is done in the HBP research area Data.To analyze these different levels of brain organization, particularly in the ramp-up phase, studies in mouse brains will be performed in addition to studies in human brains. In the ramp-up phase, six ITC platforms will be established in another research area, which includes the subprojects neuroinformatics, medical informatics, brain simulation, HPC, neurorobotics, and neuromorphic computing. These platforms are the basis for a new ICT infrastructure for neurosciences, which will be open to all scientists for their research. These subprojects will be accompanied by the research fields Theory, Ethics and Society, and Applications. The project will be funded with approximately € 1.19 billion, with 75% of funding from the EU, and the rest provided by partner countries and their institutions. The Human Brain Project now has unprecedented dimensions that significantly exceed previous EU projects both in the number of partners (currently about 80 institutions from 22 countries) as well as in the duration of its funding period (10 years). The HBP is coordinated by Henry Markram (EPFL, Switzerland). Selection procedures and conditionsThe HBP is one of the world's largest research initiatives. Within the European Union (EU), it is part of the flagship program, which is a new initiative launched by the European Commission as part of its Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) initiative. In addition to the Human Brain Project, there exists an additional project, Graph...

Model-Based Nonlinear Control of a Class of Musculoskeletal Systems

“…Such models (i.e. neurophysical digital twins [46]) can be used to help inform physical therapies relied upon to help improve patients' condition.…”

Flagship Afterthoughts: Could the Human Brain Project (HBP) Have Done Better?

“…Recently, the HBP consortium has answered to these criticisms by distancing its current objectives from the multiomic initial approach of the ramp-up phase of the project (Markram et al, 2011;Markram, 2012). In Section 6 of the white Zenodo paper generated at the end of the HBP flagship (Amunts, et al, 2023), the reformed consortium brings a clear semantic clarification: "We distinguish purpose-driven digital twins from the abstract idea of a full digital replica (or duplicate/copy) of the brain, the latter being the complete representation of all aspects of the brain at all levels. A full replica of the brain is neither achievable nor does it seem of clear practical use."…”