The HBP Summit 2021 has been honoured by Visit.brussels as one of the best events taking place in Brussels over the last two years. The HBP summit organization team was among 14 congress organisers named ambassadors of Brussels at the Brussels Events Ambassadors Evening on 16 May 2022.

On 16th May 2022, the first HBP Young Researcher’s Event of this year took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. HBP and EBRAINS together with the University of Copenhagen invited the entire scientific community, in particular early career researchers, to join the event in Copenhagen or virtually and learn more about how EBRAINS supports next-generation basic and clinical neuroscience. 127 participants from 36 countries participated in a versatile scientific programme. In addition, an evening Networking Reception hosted by the EBRAINS Community Building team provided ample opportunities for socialising and networking and invited participants in Copenhagen to join the EBRAINS Community Space.

Professor Paolo Carloni was presented with the Hans and Marlies Zimmer International Scholar Award at a symposium in Cincinnati (USA) in April 2022. The HBP researcher was honoured for his work in the field of computer-based chemistry and biophysics.

Researchers of the Human Brain Project (HBP) found that in Parkinson’s disease the volumes of certain brain regions decrease over time in a specific pattern that is associated with clinical symptoms and largely coincides with the pattern described in Braak’s famous staging theory. The new study published in Cortex provides a detailed description of the structural changes over a long period of time and with an unprecedented spatial detail.

There is a need to re-think RoI in EU-wide research initiatives. In this blog, the Human Brain Project‘s Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) focuses on how we can leverage the HBP experience toward EBRAINS and a culture of reflective science practices by design.

A new study by researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland suggests that dreams -- especially those that simultaneously appear realistic, but, upon a closer look, bizarre - help our brain learn and extract generic concepts from previous experiences. The study, carried out within the Human Brain Project and published in eLife, offers a new theory on the significance of dreams using machine learning inspired methodology and brain simulation.

To which extent are brain functions affected by sex hormones? Are sex differences at the level of stem cells relevant? Is it possible to differentiate biological sex from other factors that can influence the brain, like culture or life experiences? Can it be ethically justified to only study homogenous groups when diagnosing and treating diseases, if that means neglecting human diversity?

The HBP Education Programme together with the Student Ambassadors & Representatives is excited to announce that the 7th HBP Student Conference on Interdisciplinary Brain Research will take place next year in Madrid, Spain from 18 to 20 January 2023. Participation is open to the entire student community and early career researchers, regardless of whether they are affiliated with the Human Brain Project (HBP) or not.

Scientists of the Human Brain Project (HBP) have identified six new areas that form a functional region with a crucial role in cognitive functions of the lateral prefrontal cortex of the human brain. The team from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and RWTH Aachen University showed for the first time that the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS) and its junction (IFJ) are subdivided into six distinct areas, which are associated with working memory, language and music processing, among other functions.