Head start
2013; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 503; Issue: 7474 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1038/503005a
ISSN1476-4687
ResumoMOTION Tiny beads flock together to go with the crowd flow p.6 WORLD VIEW On Lady Macbeth and her damned spot p.7 FLIGHT Crashing bees reveal key to happy landings p.8 Head startEurope's mega-project to simulate the human brain has much to offer neuroscience research -whether or not it delivers on its central promise.space, time and numbers, are processed in the brain.For example, in one major research project, around ten people will be selected for repeated study during the decade-long project.Their 'reference brains' will be measured using a range of non-invasive techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography to work out how the relevant neurocircuitry is organized during specific tasks.The detailed bottom-up data will have to align with this broad architecture.Another subproject, on neurorobotics, will build or simulate robots to provide 'bodies' in which to test whether simulated brain models really do elicit the behaviours anticipated.Supercomputing has proved too slow for real-time brain simulation, so other subprojects will focus on developing faster supercomputers, as well as neuromorphic computing, which can theoretically simulate brain activity orders of magnitude faster than occurs in a real brain (see page 22).Neuroinformatics, medical informatics and ethical challenges are all in there too.The Human Brain Project may still fail to deliver on its central promise, at least at the desired degree of sophistication.It remains a high-risk initiative, and keeping the unwieldy, multidisciplinary consortium on track may also prove difficult.But the risks are spread over the subprojects, some of which will inevitably add significantly to our sum neuroscience knowledge.And some will inevitably achieve the European Commission's original goal for the project -it is often forgotten that it was not specifically about the brain at all.In 2010, the commission launched a call for proposals for billion-euro, ten-year flagship projects that would push the development of information and communication technologies while offering a benefit to society.The Human Brain Project, with its relevance to brain disorders in an ageing society, was one of two winners.This heritage, which may turn out to be its greatest strength, explains its unusual interdisciplinarity.The project will absorb more than €1 billion in the next ten years, half of which will come from the European Commission and half of which will be raised by participants, including a large chunk from Switzerland.But it is much more international than this implies.Although most of the partner institutes are in Europe, some are further afield, in countries including Israel, Japan and the United States.The battle for the brain could be won faster with a global effort, and many will be attracted by the Human Brain Project's systematic approach.But before getting too starry-eyed about mega-projects, let's remember that major breakthroughs in understanding the brain will continue to emerge from the labs of individual investigators.The journey towards a full understanding of the brain will be long and uncertain, and there will be ample opportunity for individual contributions to help point the way.■
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