Contenu principal
Simulation
The HBP’s central focus is the simulation of the complete human brain – a huge and enormously complex task. Neuroscientists, clinical researchers, and computational neuroscientists will use informatics and simulation technologies to understand fundamental organizing principles at each level of brain design. These principles will allow us to understand how genes are differentially expressed to produce different types of neuron, how protein is produced, distributed and metabolized in cells, how subcellular organelles and different neuron morphologies are formed, how neurons are organized and connected in microcircuits, how microcircuits are arranged to form brain regions and how regions are connected to form the brain. Understanding these principles will make it possible to model the human brain using data collected primarily with non-invasive techniques. The same principles will provide a solid foundation for new clinical diagnostic tools and new information technologies.
The project will build a sequence of biophysical, phenomenological and abstract models at various resolutions (subcellular, cellular) and scales (micro-, meso- and macrocircuits, whole brain), in different species, from rat and mouse to cat and monkey and ultimately to humans. This progression will make it possible to learn and transfer principles from one species to the next before reaching the human brain. The ultimate test for success will be to compare the emergent properties of model neurons, circuits, systems and brains with the vast body of data from experimental neuroscience. Ultimately, we will connect the models to robots creating “closed loop” systems in which the robot’s senses provide the input to the simulated brain and the output from the simulation controls the behavior of the robot. This will allow us to compare the memory, adaptability, behaviors and intelligence of “brain-enabled” robots with results from classical animal and human experiments.
HBP brain modeling and simulation will take place at a specially created Facility for Simulation-Based Brain Research that will integrate results from all the HBP’s activities. The Facility’s Internet portal will provide a wide variety of tools, data and services accessible to scientists all over the world. A simulation cockpit will integrate standardized data from neuroscience experiments and industrial-scale screening, clinical and experimental data on brain disease and models for all possible levels of brain organization. Through the cockpit, the Facility will provide scientists with the software they need to build, simulate, and analyze brain models, to visualize them interactively, to design customized simulation experiments, to build virtual laboratories and to set up teaching facilities that exploit these possibilities.