Lorem ipsum The Human Brain Project A Report to the European Commission April 2012 | The HBP Report | 1 Abstract Understanding the human brain is one of the greatest radical transformation of ICT and brain research, and en- challenges facing 21st century science. If we can rise to the abling European bio-tech, pharmaceutical and computing challenge, we can gain fundamental insights into what it companies to pioneer the development of what are likely to means to be human, develop new treatments for brain dis- become some of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the eases and build revolutionary new Information and Commu- world economy. nications Technologies (ICT). In this report, we argue that the Realising this vision and ensuring a leading role for convergence between ICT and biology has reached a point at European companies and researchers will require a mas- which it can turn this dream into reality. It was this realisation sive long-term research effort, going far beyond what can be that motivated the authors to launch the Human Brain Proj- achieved in a typical European research project or by any one ect – Preparatory Study (HBP-PS) – a one-year EU-funded country. As a foundation for this effort, we propose to build Coordinating Action in which nearly three hundred experts an integrated system of ICT-based research platforms, which in neuroscience, medicine and computing came together to without resolving all open problems, would allow neurosci- develop a new “ICT-accelerated” vision for brain research and entists, medical researchers and technology developers to its applications. Here, we present the conclusions of our work. dramatically accelerate the pace of their research. We find that the major obstacle that hinders our under- Building and operating the platforms will require a standing of the brain is the fragmentation of brain research clear vision, strong, flexible leadership, long-term invest- and the data it produces. Our most urgent need is thus a con- ment in research and engineering, and a strategy that lever- certed international effort that can integrate this data in a uni- ages the diversity and strength of European research. It will fied picture of the brain as a single multi-level system. To reach also require continuous dialogue with civil society, creating this goal, we propose to build on and transform emerging ICT consensus and ensuring the project has a strong grounding technologies. in ethical standards. In neuroscience, neuroinformatics and brain simula- We estimate that the total cost would amount to tion can collect and integrate our experimental data, iden- Eur 1,190 million, spread over a period of ten years. Of tifying and filling gaps in our knowledge, prioritizing and this sum, Eur 643 million would come from the European enormously increasing the value we can extract from future Commission, the remainder from other sources. We expect experiments. that, as the value of the platforms becomes apparent, this In medicine, medical informatics can identify biologi- initial investment would trigger an avalanche of additional cal signatures of brain disease, allowing diagnosis at an early public and industrial funding, making it possible to per- stage, before the disease has done irreversible damage, and form research that goes beyond the precise limits we have enabling personalised treatment, adapted to the needs of in- indicated in this report. dividual patients. Better diagnosis, combined with disease These requirements can only be met by a project on the and drug simulation, can accelerate the discovery of new scale of a FET Flagship. In this report, therefore, we propose treatments, speeding up and drastically lowering the cost of that the European Commission launches such a Flagship. We drug discovery. call it The Human Brain Project (HBP). We summarise the In computing, new techniques of interactive supercom- goal of the project as follows. puting, driven by the needs of brain simulation, can impact a vast range of industries, while devices and systems, mod- elled after the brain, can overcome fundamental limits on the The Human Brain Project should lay the technical energy-efficiency, reliability and programmability of current foundations for a new model of ICT-based brain technologies, clearing the road for systems with brain-like research, driving integration between data intelligence. and knowledge from different disciplines, and The supercomputer and hardware technologies we need catalysing a community effort to achieve a new are rapidly improving their performance, following well-es- tablished industry roadmaps. In other essential technologies, understanding of the brain, new treatments for European academic institutions already lead the world. The brain disease and new brain-like computing vision we propose would leverage these strengths, driving a technologies. April 2012 | The HBP Report | 3 The Human Brain Project – Preparatory Study: Partners: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (DE), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (DE), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CH), Karolinska Institutet (SE), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (ES), Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Genome Research Limited – Genes to Cognition (UK), Technische Universität München - Fortiss GmbH (DE), Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) (BE), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL), Institut Pasteur (FR), Innsbruck Medical University (AT), Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (FR) Coordinator: Henry Markram Co-directors: Henry Markram, Karlheinz Meier Executive Directors: Richard Frackowiak, Karlheinz Meier, Thomas Lippert, Sten Grillner, Henry Markram External Science Advisory Board: Torsten Wiesel (Chair), Yves Agid, Andreas von Bechtolsheim, Bob Bishop, Sydney Brenner, André Hoffmann, André Syrota Internal Advisory Board: Wolf Singer (Chair), Yadin Dudai, Thomas Schulthess Division leaders: Anastasia Ailamaki, Katrin Amunts, Jean-Pierre Changeux, Javier DeFelipe, Stanislas Dehaene, Alain Destexhe, Kathinka Evers, Richard Frackowiak, Steve Furber, Wulfram Gerstner, Seth Grant, Sten Grillner, Jeanette Hellgren- Kotaleski, Alois Knoll, Thomas Lippert, Henry Markram, Karlheinz Meier Editor: Richard Walker Contributing Authors: Ailamaki A., Alvandpour A., Amunts K., Andreoni W., Ashburner J., Axer M., Baaden M., Badia R., Bartolome J., Baum L., Baumans V., Baumela L., Bernèche S., Biddiscombe J., Bjaalie J., Blanke O., Bogorodzki P., Bolten M., Born J., Brice A., Brunel N., Buneman P., Burgess N., Canals S., Carloni P., Carsten Stahl B., Chandran S., Changeux J.-P., Clasca, F., Coenen C., Costa R., Curioni A., D’Angelo E., Dal Peraro M., Dartigues J-F., Davidson S., Davison A., Deco G., De Estudios A., DeFelipe J., Dehaene, S., Dehaene G., De Los Rios P., De Schutter E., Destexhe A., De Zeeuw C., Diesmann M., Draganski B., Dudai Y., Dürr A., Ehrmann O., Eicker N., Eickhoff S., Einevoll G., Erbacci G., Ertl T., Evans A., Evers K., Faugeras O., Fischer H., Frackowiak R., Frégnac T., Freund T., Fries P., Frisoni G., Frommer A., Fua P., Furber S., Gamrat C., Gehrke J., Gerstner W., Gewaltig M-O., Giaume C., Giese M., Girona S., Goebel R., Gottfried F., Grant K., Grant S., Griebel M., Grillner S., Grimes K., Grollier J., Grübl A., Grubmüller H., Grün S., Hagoort P., Halevy M., Hamaekers J., Hardt M., Hari R., Hausser M., Hautop Lund H., Hellgren-Kotaleski J., Herzog M., Hess Bellwald K., Hill S., Hille K., Hines M., Huret A., Husmann D., Ioannidis Y., Jérusalem A., Jirsa V., Jonas P., Karni A., Kersten M., Keyes D., Kherif F., Kindler B., Kleinfeld D., Klinker G., Klöppel S., Klüver L., Knoll A., Koch Christof, Koch Christoph, Kopanitsa M., Kuhlen T., Labarta J., Laio A., Lansner A., Laure E., Laurent G., Lavery R., Le Bihan D., Leblebici Y., Lester D., Lindahl E., Lippert T., Lujan R., Luthi-Carter R., Maass W., Macii E., Maestu F., Magistretti P., Mainen Z., Malach R., Mangin J-F., Marcus-Kalish M., Marin O., Markram H., Marris C., Martinez S., Martone M., Mayr C., Meier K., Menasalvas E., Michelle C., Miglino O., Migliore M., Mohammed A., Mohr B., Morrison A., Nieder A., Niederberger R., Noé F., Nolfi S., Nyberg L., Orgogozo J-M., Orozco M., Orth B., Owen M., Owen R., Ozguz V., Pallier C., Parkkonen L., Pastor L., Pavone F., Paz R., Peña JM., Pessiglione M., Petkov N., Pinel P., Pocklington A., Poline J-B., Ponting C., Pottmann H., Poupon C., Ramirez A., Reitmayr G., Renaud S., Robbins T., Robles V., Ros E., Rose N., Roth A., Röthlisberger U., Roweth D., Rückert U., Saksida L., Salles A., Sanchez-Vives M., Sandi C., Sansom M., Sanz R., Saria A., Scattoni ML., Schemmel J., Schneider F., Schrader S., Schrauwen B., Schüffny R., Schulthess T., Schürmann F., Segev I., Senn W., Shanahan M., Shillcock J., Sigman M., Singer W., Slater M., Smit A., Smith LS., Soriano E., Spijker S., Spiliopoulou M., Sporns O., Stampanoni A., Steinmacher-Burow B., Suarez E., Taly A., Tarek M., Tass P., Thill S., Thirion B., Thompson P., Thomson A., Tiesinga P., Toga A., Trappl R., Triller A., Tsodyks M., Ullmann S., Valero M., van der Smagt P., van Leeuwen C., van Wassenhove V., Vidal F., Villani C., Vincente M., Voet T., von Landesberger T., Wade R., Wang Y., Weber B., Weiskopf N., Wierstra D., Williams R., Wittum G., Wolf F., Wolkersdorfer K., Yokoyama C., Ziemke T., Zilken H. Graphics design: Marie-Eve Laurent © The HBP-PS Consortium, Lausanne, April 2012 Table of contents Abstract 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 The Human Brain Project 8 A new foundation for