Human Brain Project

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Human Brain Project ( HBP ) is a research project of the European Commission which aims to summarize all knowledge about the human brain and to simulate it using computer-based models and simulations . As a result, new knowledge about the human brain and its diseases as well as new computer and robot technologies are expected. The Blue Brain project provided preliminary work .

In January 2018, the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne presented its data platform "Blue Brain Nexus" as open source software. Blue Brain Nexus is used to integrate all data from the Blue Brain project.

Project goals

The Human Brain Project aims to provide new instruments to better understand the brain and its basic mechanisms and to apply this knowledge in the medicine and computer science of the future.

Information and communication technologies will play a central role in the project. Suitable supercomputing platforms are to be developed to process neuroscientific data from all over the world for models and simulations of the brain. This creates a common basis for neuroscience to link information on the level of genes, molecules and cells with human thinking and behavior.

In a similar way, a new medical informatics platform will make clinical information from all over the world usable for computer models of diseases in order to develop techniques for the objective diagnosis of brain diseases, to investigate the underlying mechanisms and to accelerate the development of new therapies.

Another project goal is to use a better understanding of how the brain works for the further development of information and communication technologies. The focus here is on improved energy efficiency and reliability as well as better mastery of programming complex computer systems.

Project organization (as of December 2015)

More than 110 European and international research institutions and companies are involved in the project consortium. In addition, more than 20 “Collaborating Partners” participate who do not receive any funds from the project budget. The HBP is divided into 13 sub-projects (SP), which are usually led by two personalities as "co-leaders". SP3 (Cognitive Architectures) was headed by Stanislas Dehaene , SP9 (Neuromorphic Computing) and SP10 (Applications) were headed by Karlheinz Meier from Heidelberg University and SP13 (Management) was headed by Philippe Gillet from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Henry Markram contributes his experience from the Blue Brain project as co-leader in SP6 (The Brain Simulation Platform) .

The HBP is designed for ten years (2013-2023) and is expected to cost 1.19 billion euros.

criticism

On July 7, 2014, 154 scientists expressed criticism of the management of the project in an open letter to the European Commission and, among other things, called for a more transparent allocation of research funds. Another 620 supporters signed the open letter by September 10, 2014. The mediation that was then initiated was headed by Wolfgang Marquardt and created new management structures in March 2015.

See also

literature

  • Ulrich Schnabel : "Human Brain Project": Brain researcher moon trip. In: The time. Online, November 27, 2019 ( zeit.de ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Blue Brain Nexus: An Open-Source Tool for Data-Driven Science , January 11, 2018.
  2. Researchers publish first simulation of a piece of the brain. swissinfo.ch, October 8, 2015, accessed December 14, 2015 .
  3. Reconstruction and simulation of neocortical microcircuitry. cell.com, October 8, 2015, accessed October 11, 2015 .
  4. Lars Fischer: rat brain in the computer fuels dispute over brain project. Spektrum.de, October 9, 2015, accessed on October 11, 2015 .
  5. Robert Gast: Brain Boycott. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. July 8, 2014, accessed July 8, 2014 .
  6. ^ Open message to the European Commission. July 7, 2014, accessed July 8, 2014 .
  7. Philipp Hummel: Hard landing on the way to the top of the world. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. March 10, 2015, accessed March 22, 2015 .