A Call to Arms: Conquering the Brain
We put a man on the moon. We mapped the entire human genome. And next, we will have access to the brain and all of its connections at our finger tips.
The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative (known most commonly as the BRAIN Initiative) is a collaborative research effort that is a “combination of approaches into a single integrated science of cells, circuits, brain, and behavior”. It will span a variety of institutes in order to engineer new technologies for the study neural systems and apply the technology developed in order to better understand how these systems function in health and disease. President Obama dubbed the Initiative “the next great American project”, following in the hefty footsteps left by the Human Genome Project and the Apollo 11 moon landing. In addition to the President’s endorsement the NIH was heavily involved in the development of the project. NIH Director Francis Collins worked closely with the President and secured a total of 4.5 billion dollars towards the cause. NIH Advisory Committees the 10-12 year project and distributed research areas through 15 NIH Institutes and Centers. Other major players, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, the FDA and several private partners, have also contributed major funds and planned specific research projects towards the Initiative. The sudden frenzy for neuroscience research raises many questions – why should this be done now and not in a few decades instead? Should we have been more proactive about advances in neuroscience sooner? What makes this area more in need of financial resources and government attention than research in cancer, nutrition or epidemics?
The root of the problem from which this Initiative grew is that most neurological and psychiatric conditions not only have no curative treatments but unknown causes. There is much we do not know about conditions, even those that are well publicized and receive their share of pharmacological research. For example, the schizophrenia was first documented in 1887 and had been studied extensively since then. It has, however, only recently come to light that schizophrenia actually consists of a combination of eight different disorders – each with their own symptoms and governed by their own set of genes. With the many mental health issues plaguing society, it goes without saying that getting to the bottom of these conditions is crucial. Current technology – like fMRIs and electro- and magnet- encephalograms – has been helpful in distinguishing overall functionality of brain areas and study of neuronal structure. However, today’s techniques are too slow and too insensitive to cover complex patterns in brain dynamics with detail and accuracy. The next steps need to be taken, and they need to be taken soon.
The newest generation of tools will be based on nanotechnology, imitating microchip production by using engineered ensembles of nanodevices and nanoparticles. The first five years of the Initiative focuses on engineering this technology and delivering usable products of sufficient technological standards. The following five years will see the application of this technology in identification of different brain cell types, generation of extensive circuit diagrams and synapses, and linking brain activity with cognitive abilities and behavior. While this raises many ethical issues – including but not limited to the effects of neural enhancement, data privacy and appropriate use of brain data – the benefits are countless. Now, we not only have a plan for early detection, diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders, but also a means of getting there.
– Devika Nadkarni
Sources:
How will the BRAIN Initiative Work at NIH? – National Institutes of Health
Tool Developement for the Brain Activity Map Project – The Kavli Foundation
White House Fact Sheet: BRAIN Initiative – The Kavli Foundation
The BRAIN Initiative – The Kavli Foundation
Brain Research through Advancing Technologies – National Institutes of Health
