"Studying consciousness had been seen as mystical or unscientific"
Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, defined consciousness as the greatest unsolved problem in biology. The first major international conference of the Human Brain Project, held recently in Barcelona, has focused on the challenges and advances in its study. Jesús Méndez, of the scientific news agecy SINC, spoke with the local organiser of the conference, Mavi Sánchez Vives.
At the gates of the brain’s rich club
There is a group of densely interconnected regions in the brain known as the ‘rich club’ whose purpose is speculated to be a ‘central high capacity backbone for brain communication’.
Epilepsy: Building Personalised Models of the Brain
Human Brain Project scientist Viktor Jirsa is the head of a team creating personalised brain models for patients with intractable epilepsy. He explains the process and how the HBP’s brain models and cross-displinary collaborations are central to a new way of targeting epilepsy surgery.
Slow Waves: Fire and Silence in the Sleeping Brain
An introduction to slow waves in the brain, with HBP scientist Maurizio Mattia.
A First Principles Approach to Memory Recall
HBP theoretical neuroscientist Dr Misha Tsodyks is attempting to provide a first principles approach to understanding the free recall of memory.
The Promise of Computational Drug Design
With society facing a steadily increasing burden of brain disease, researchers in the HBP are launching a collaborative initiative to identify potential new brain drugs.