Sunday, April 14, 2013

Obama Unveils Vast Brain-Mapping Project

President Obama has asked congress to commit $100 million dollars in 2014 for the 10 year BRAIN Initiative project, which will record and create a detailed map of the inner workings of the human brain. Knowing more about how the brain works will in theory give a better understanding of and help develop preventative treatments as well as cures for brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, as well as psychiatric conditions and brain injuries. Alzheimer’s being the main target. Tools not yet available will need to be developed to record hundreds of thousands of neurons at once.
"Right now, a billion people worldwide suffer from brain disorders and we have very little capacity to prevent them, treat them, or cure them. Making the 'Brain' project a high priority for decades to come should have a very powerful impact on disorders of the human brain," said John Morrison, dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine.

Taking part in this initiative are scientist, government agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation and private foundations including The Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Kavli Foundation, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Goals and the multi-year plan will be developed by a group from the government agency, National Institutes of Health, headed by Cornelia Bragmann of Rockefeller University and William Newsome of Stanford University.


http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/04/02/obama-unveils-vast-brain-mapping-project
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1 comment:

  1. chrisnApril 14, 2013 at 4:28 PM

    I couldn't be more excited to hear that government funds are being spent towards scientific research; I assume it has become clear to officials that science, while littered with theories, tends to be the most promising academic culture that shows possible advances in the future of human health and medicine. With an aging population, brain disorders are going to become more and more prevalent in all societies. The mapping of the brain will aid in future developments of brain disorder treatments, which will hopefully provide significant benefits in slowing the advancement of these disorders. Although the main goal is Alzheimer's, I'm sure researchers will also stumble upon many other important mechanisms of the brain that will help us as a race better understand ourselves and those around us.

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