Whether it’s modelling or simulation, high definition images or spreadsheets, current neuroscience research generates a lot of data. But are researchers making the most of all this raw information, which often takes a lot of computational time and effort to produce? How much time and effort could be saved by reusing datasets previously produced by other researchers? This was the topic of a dedicated discussion at the 2022 FENS forum, where experts in the field of neuroscience data pointed out that very few laboratories are effectively sharing and reusing data.
Attendees at the FENS Forum 2022 had the chance to learn how EBRAINS research infrastructure is supporting the future of brain science in Europe during a dedicated networking event this Monday, July 11.
The advances in the fields of artificial intelligence bring out a series of ethical issues, including those related to the impact of new technologies on society. The collaboration between neuroethics and artificial intelligence ethics to address these issues was the subject of a special lecture by Arleen Salles, Deputy Leader of the Responsible Research and Innovation Work Package at the Human Brain Project (HBP), during the FENS Forum 2022.
It is easy to take for granted how complex our hand movements are, but the skilful manipulation of objects is one of the abilities that make humans unique. Even hand movements that may seem simple, like holding a cup of coffee, are actually complex and engage a large-scale brain network encompassing sensory, association and motor regions.
The 8th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology took place in Vienna this week, under the overarching theme: “Getting Evidence Into Practice”. The event brought together neurologists and neuroscientists to network and to exchange knowledge to tackle major challenges in neurology, recording in total 5,300 on-site and 2,700 online attendees.
Whiskeye, the rodent-inspired robot capable of exploring the world by using two camera eyes and 24 artificial whiskers arranged in a mechanical nose, has now developed a cognitive model that is also inspired by organic brains. Two HBP focus areas (Work Package 2, ‘Networks underlying brain cognition and consciousness’ and Work Package 3, ‘Adaptive networks for cognitive architectures: from advanced learning to neurorobotics and neuromorphic applications’) have now collaborated to build three new coding models of perception capable of performing prediction and learning, in a way that’s similar to how a rat’s brain, or indeed our own, does it.
On 18 May 2022, the Human Brain Project invited Prof. Lutz Jäncke and Dr. Frances Quevenco and the winners of the Diversity in Research Paper Awards (DIRPA) Ass. Prof. Dr. Sanne Peters and Dr. Yi Zhang to the webinar “Diversity in Brain Research: Does it matter?”.
