The Brain: Byte By Byte

Back To: A Meeting of Minds: Using Computers To Study The Brain The Human Brain Project is a multi-institutional federal effort to facilitate neuroscience research and coordination of data and information among various researchers. It was conceived as part of the Decade of the Brain, a congressionally mandated initiative to promote neuroscience and brain research in the 1990s. The 12 federal agencies that are contributing varying amounts of money or resources to the project are: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) National Institute on Aging (NIA) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Library of Medicine (NLM) National Science Foundation Office of Naval Research (ONR) The program came into being formally with the April 1993 release of a report--titled "The Human Brain Project: Phase I Feasibility Studies"--on the practicality of the undertaking. This was prepared by the 10 original funding bodies (NHLBI, NIAAA, and NIDR joined in the project after the report was released, and the National Center for Research Resources withdrew). The first eight research grants, totaling about $4.5 million, were awarded last September. Currently, a second round of research proposals is being reviewed for relevance to the objectives of the project. Rather than set aside money for the Human Brain Project per se, individual agencies fund projects that simultaneously address their own interests and are applicable to the project. The eight projects are: Neuronal Vulnerability and Informatics in Human Disease Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif. Floyd Bloom, principal investigator Funded by NIMH, NIDA, and NASA Proposes to develop software to acquire and analyze quantitative microscopic data and construct a database of digitized (computerized) atlases of brains from several species of animals. Extended Thin-Plate Splines for Brain Variation in Three Dimensions University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Fred Bookstein, principal investigator Funded by NIDA, NIMH, and NIA Proposes to develop mathematical and statistical tools to standardize gross brain shape from image data. A Simulator-Based Neuronal Database California Institute of Technology, Pasadena James Bower, principal investigator Funded by NIMH and NIDA Proposes to apply new tools such as virtual reality to augment an existing brain modeling/simulation software tool. Structural Information Framework for Brain Mapping University of Washington, Seattle James Brinkley, principal investigator Funded by NIDCD and NLM Proposes to develop a three-dimensional multimedia database and modeling system focusing on the organization of language in the brain. Goal-Directed Magnetic Resonance Brain Micro-Imaging California Institute of Technology Russell Jacobs, principal investigator Funded by NIDA and NIMH Proposes to link data collection by computers with image processing for application in developmental neurosciences. A Probabilistic Reference for the Human Brain University of California, Los Angeles John Mazziotta, principal investigator Funded by NIMH and NIDA Proposes to develop a three-dimensional model relating structure and function of the brain, based on probabilistic data from population studies that facilitate sophisticated statistical analysis of new incoming data. Imaging Software and Methods for Mapping Brain Development Kennedy Krieger Research Institute Inc., Baltimore Allan Reiss, principal investigator Funded by NICHD Plans to develop software relating to image processing and analysis. Integration of Multidisciplinary Sensory Data Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Gordon Shepherd, principal investigator Funded by NASA and NIMH Proposes to develop software to integrate different types of data and operations specifically to model the olfactory system. For information on the Human Brain Project, contact Stephen Koslow or Michael Huerta, E-mail: hmi@cu.nih.gov --N.S.

The Brain: Byte By Byte

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of