• Press Release

Brain modelling used to identify necessary circuits of consciousness

16 June 2023

Researchers of the Human Brain Project have used a model-based approach to identify the brain circuits implicated in consciousness. The results of the study, a collaboration between Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and University of Liège, have been published in the journal Human Brain Mapping. The team studied the propagation of signals in models of the brain of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC), identifying two relevant circuits in the posterior cortical region and the thalamo-frontotemporal region. The results bring more understanding of the inner workings of brain networks and could improve diagnosis and even provide treatment targets for people …

  • Event Report

HBP represented at the EuroNanoForum 2023 in Sweden

13 June 2023

The Human Brain Project (HBP) is present at the EuroNanoForum 2023, which is being held in Lund (Sweden), from June 11th to 13th during the Swedish presidency of the council of the European Union. The session organised by the HBP presented four talks focusing on advances from brain- and technology research that address major societal issues.

  • Press Release

Think harder, not faster: how network structure shapes decision-making

05 June 2023

Do intelligent people think faster than others when solving problems? The results of a new study by Human Brain Project researchers at Charité University Berlin together with their collaborator at University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, published in Nature Communications, are challenging this long-held assumption in intelligence research. Taking a biologically inspired approach, they built 650 personalized brain network models (BNMs) based on data from the Human Connectome Project and simulated the brain dynamics involved in problem solving.

  • Feature

10 years of the HBP Education Programme – Educating the next generation of brain scientists

05 June 2023

As a long-term and large-scale research initiative, the Human Brain Project (HBP) has pioneered digital brain research by gaining an in-depth understanding of the complex structure and function of the human brain by employing highly advanced methods from computing, neuroinformatics and artificial intelligence. This unique interdisciplinary approach at the interface of neuroscience and technology also necessitated a unique approach to education, which is why the HBP Education Programme has been an integral part of the flagship project since its beginning.

  • Event Report

EBRAINS Brain Simulation School

01 June 2023

Right at the beginning of summer CNR and the HBP welcomed students from all over Europe and the world once again to partake in the EBRAINS Brain Simulation School, taking place from 19 - 23 May 2023.

  • Paper Digest

Time to move from ‘AI Ethics’ to a notion of responsible AI ecosystems

31 May 2023

The current discourse on AI and ethics is both broad and rich, but there are some structural and fundamental limitations. A recent paper published in Scientific Reports suggest that artificial intelligence is better described as an ecosystem of socio-technical systems where some of the characteristics we should ask of a responsible ecosystem of intelligent systems include being sensitive to ethical and social questions, and promoting the use of technology that support the wellbeing of both humans and our environment.

  • Event Report

Human Brain Project presented at Polish Copernicus Festival

30 May 2023

HBP Scientific Director Katrin Amunts presented the Human Brain Project, its digital multilevel brain atlas and the EBRAINS RI at the Copernicus Science Festival in Krakow. After her talk, the scientist addressed the audience's questions in a discussion format under the theme “Brains exploring brains At what stage of development is neuroscience today?”, together with Polish neuroscientists Rafał Czajkowski and Marcin Szwed.

  • News

Emerging ethical issues in research on consciousness

19 May 2023

A recent special issue of the American Journal of Bioethics –  Neuroscience offers analyses of different ethical issues raised by research on consciousness. Contributions from international scholars in the field address challenges ranging from moral interpretations, technological manipulations, artificial replications, pharmacological alternations and the potential to attribute consciousness to engineered brain cells.