The European Commission has awarded €38 million to further develop EBRAINS, a digital ecosystem for neuroscientific research. The project aims to establish a new standard for brain atlases and push forward digital twin approaches.
The Human Brain Project has achieved remarkable progress, delivering an open research infrastructure that will have a transformative impact in Europe and beyond. The project's legacy can be seen in its leading digital brain atlases, advanced brain simulation platforms, and outstanding advances in neuromorphic computing and AI.
The Human Brain Project has driven outstanding advances in brain research and medicine, producing over 3000 academic publications and 160 digital tools. The EBRAINS infrastructure will remain accessible to the scientific community after the project's end.
The Human Brain Project has achieved major breakthroughs in understanding the complex structure and function of the brain, enabling novel medical and technological applications. The project's digital atlas and personalized virtual models have provided unprecedented insights into brain conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
Researchers found a lognormal distribution of neuron densities in mammalian brains, influencing network connectivity and potentially promoting efficient information transmission. The discovery is relevant for modeling the brain accurately and designing brain-inspired technology.
HBP researchers used glucose uptake to locate alpha waves' generation, finding subcortical areas drive cortical activity associated with consciousness. The study reveals an inverted u-shape relation between alpha power and brain function in patients with disorders of consciousness.
Researchers mapped receptor densities across the cortex, identifying two main arrangements that align with functional systems. The findings provide insights into how the brain adapts to a changing world, with potential applications for computational models and neuroscientific research.
The study identified two relevant circuits in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC), including the thalamo-frontotemporal region and the posterior cortical region. These findings bring a new understanding of brain networks and could improve diagnosis and treatment for people suffering from DoC.
Researchers built personalized brain network models to simulate brain dynamics and found that people with higher fluid intelligence took more time to solve difficult tasks compared to those with lower FI. This suggests that a synchronized brain is better at solving problems but not necessarily faster.
Researchers develop a new online learning algorithm that enables the training of larger spiking neural networks with six million neurons. This allows for faster and more efficient processing of tasks such as speech recognition and object detection.
HBP researchers develop a robotic platform capable of learning as humans do while navigating around a space. The simulated hippocampus alters its own synaptic connections to remember paths, a marked improvement over current methods relying on deep learning.
The Human Brain Project has achieved significant scientific breakthroughs, including world-leading 3D brain atlases and personalized medicine based on computational modeling. The project's legacy will leave a lasting impact on the research community.
Researchers at the Human Brain Project present novel clinical uses of advanced brain modelling methods, enabling clinicians to simulate epileptic seizures and identify target areas. The approach has broad applicability in neuroscience, medicine, and neurotechnology, with potential improvements in data resolution and patient specificity.
Researchers have created a high-resolution, single-cell model of the human hippocampus CA1 area using data from the BigBrain Atlas. The model replicates the structure and architecture of the neurons, as well as their connectivity. This advancement in neuroscience has potential applications for modeling other brain regions.
Researchers have discovered that altered neuronal avalanches in epilepsy patients' brains are tied to cognitive performance. The study found that even during rest, the brain's network dynamics are altered, which can be used for a new diagnostic method.
The Human Brain Project Summit 2023 will highlight the scientific achievements of the project at the interface of neuroscience and technology. Researchers will present cutting-edge research on European advances in neuroscience and applications in medicine and brain-derived technologies.
A personalized brain modeling approach is being tested in a large-scale clinical trial for drug-resistant epilepsy, aiming to improve surgery preparation and patient specificity. The technique uses virtual models of patients' brains to simulate abnormal activity during seizures, helping clinicians identify target areas more effectively.
The Julich Brain Atlas provides detailed maps of brain cells and receptors, enabling better understanding of brain connectivity and function. The atlas allows for correlation between brain network activity and underlying anatomy, aiding in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders.
The Human Brain Project researchers have developed a unique method called 3D Polarised Light Imaging (3D-PLI) to visualize nerve fibers at microscopic resolution. By combining different experimental methods and integrating data into multilevel atlases, the team gained new insights into brain connectivity.
Researchers trained a mouse brain model to solve visual tasks, achieving superior robustness and performance compared to traditional neural networks. The model's unique coding properties enable it to cope with errors and unexpected input, making it a promising tool for advances in neuromorphic computing.
Conscious perception of sound generates specific neuronal assemblies in the brain, differing from spontaneous brain activity. Under anesthesia, similar assemblies are present but lack sound-specificity, highlighting the importance of cortical creativity in sensory processing.
Researchers have identified a new marker for predicting the clinical outcome of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) by analyzing brain flexibility during rest. The study found that brains with more flexible functional repertoires tend to have better clinical outcomes.
A new study by Human Brain Project researchers unravels the mechanisms of psychostimulants like methylphenidate on attention and learning. The findings suggest that dopamine enhances task-relevant cortical signals, explaining variability in drug's cognitive effects across individuals.
Researchers have mapped four new areas of the human anterior prefrontal cortex that play a major role in cognitive functions, including attention selection and decision making. The newly identified areas show significant inter-subject variability, with two being relatively larger in females than males.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to analyze dynamic functional connectivity and structural white matter connections. The study revealed that unresponsive wakefulness syndrome patients had less activity in functional networks and a reduction of metastability compared to minimally conscious state patients.
The Human Brain Project has identified seven new areas in the insular cortex using statistical mapping of cytoarchitecture, providing new insights into its structural organisation. The findings are now available online for future studies addressing relations between structure and function in this complex brain region.
Researchers used microcircuit models of basal ganglia and thalamus areas to create multiscale models of Parkinson's patient and healthy control brain. They found that in-silico deep brain stimulation could normalize decreased firing rates in subcortical regions, but also caused differential activity in the motor cortex.
Researchers have elucidated principles of human brain organisation across visual, auditory, somatosensory, and motor functional systems. The study revealed systematic changes in receptor architecture and gene expression within each system, reflecting increasing complexity of information processing.
Researchers analyzed brain volumes of 37 Parkinson’s patients and 27 controls over 8.8 years, finding accelerated grey matter decline in temporal and occipital lobes. The study’s findings support Braak's disease stage scheme and provide new insights into Parkinson’s progression.
A study by HBP scientists found that wakefulness, non-REM sleep, and REM sleep have complementary functions for learning: experiencing stimuli, solidifying experiences, and discovering semantic concepts. This research suggests that unusual dreams, simulated using Generative Adversarial Networks, can improve brain learning by introducin...
Researchers used whole-brain virtual models to simulate neurostimulation effects on aging human brains, identifying key brain regions for therapeutic interventions. The study found that stimulating the precuneus region could induce a brain state similar to that of younger participants.
Researchers developed personalised brain models to simulate patient response to deep brain stimulation for depression, improving efficacy by 50%. The models use individual EEG and MRI data to replicate brain response and pave the way for tailored treatment approaches.
Researchers created detailed 3D maps of the metathalamus using BigBrain dataset, gaining insight into its cellular structure and subcortical nuclei. The maps have clinical relevance for diagnosing neurological disorders and aiding neurosurgery, as the metathalamus is involved in many conditions.
The Human Brain Project (HBP) has brought together neuroscientists from different disciplines to work collaboratively on common goals. The HBP researchers outline their scientific approach and illustrate the potential of EBRAINS infrastructure for neuroscience research.
The human brain contains trillions of contact points, requiring massive computational resources. Researchers outline the need for exascale computing power to tackle brain complexity.
The Human Brain Project unveiled its 8th annual Summit with presentations of new scientific insights and technologies. The project has developed a powerful new infrastructure called EBRAINS, which will serve generations of brain scientists.
The Human Brain Project's Scientific Conference presents abundant scientific achievements in neuroscience, brain medicine, and technology. Renowned experts discuss past, present, and future of brain research, highlighting the role of HBP in driving innovation.
Researchers developed high-resolution implants consisting of 1024 electrodes to generate artificial images, enabling the recognition of shapes, lines, and letters in sighted monkeys. The technology aims to restore vision in blind people with intact visual cortex, significantly improving their independence.
The Human Brain Project is launching a new webinar series called 'Brain Matters', featuring hour-long sessions on different areas of brain research. Expert speakers will share their knowledge on the HBP's scientific achievements and the state-of-the-art infrastructure for brain research, EBRAINS.
The EBRAINS human brain atlas is a comprehensive digital map of the cellular architecture, showcasing 250 structurally distinct areas based on analysis of 10 brains. This atlas enables researchers to better understand brain functions and mechanisms of diseases.
A study by Heidelberg University and Max-Planck-Institute found that the distance to criticality can be adjusted in a brain-inspired chip, but only complex tasks benefit from it. Optimal network dynamics can be tuned using homeostatic plasticity by adapting mean input strength.
The Human Brain Project is entering its final phase with a focus on advancing three core scientific areas: brain networks, consciousness, and artificial neural nets. EBRAINS infrastructure will provide researchers with a comprehensive atlas and database, as well as powerful computing and simulation tools.