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The human brain project: neuroscience perspectives and German contributions

  • Review article
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e-Neuroforum

Abstract

Studying the human brain remains one of the greatest scientific challenges. A comprehensive understanding of the structural and functional organization of the brain is not only of great importance for basic science, but also for the development of new approaches that improve diagnosis and the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Thus, the Human Brain Project (HBP) was started in October 2013. The immense complexity of the brain, with its approximately 86 billion nerve cells, makes it essential to include modeling and simulation approaches, combined with methods of high performance computing (HPC), in order to analyze the organizational principles of the brain. Conversely, the understanding of neural mechanisms might inspire new advancements for HPC. The project will be funded with approximately € 1.19 billion, with 75 % of funding from the EU, and the rest provided by partner countries and their institutions. The HBP currently involves about 80 institutions from 22 countries and has a duration of 10 years, thus, making it one of the world’s largest research initiatives. This article is designed to give a brief overview of the HBP organization, and to illustrate the German neuroscientific contributions to the HBP and indicate the relationship to other projects within the HBP.

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Compliance with ethical guidelines

Conflict of interest. K. Amunts, A. Lindner, and K. Zilles state that there are no conflicts of interest. The accompanying manuscript does not include studies on humans or animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Structural and Functional Organization of the Brain (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany

    K. Amunts & K. Zilles

  2. Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Moorenstr. 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    K. Amunts, A. Lindner & K. Zilles

Authors
  1. K. Amunts
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  2. A. Lindner
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  3. K. Zilles
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Correspondence to K. Amunts.

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Amunts, K., Lindner, A. & Zilles, K. The human brain project: neuroscience perspectives and German contributions. e-Neuroforum 5, 43–50 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13295-014-0058-4

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