Abstract
Despite cash-strapped times for research, several ambitious
collaborative neuroscience projects have attracted large
amounts of funding and media attention. In Europe, the Human
Brain Project aims to develop a large-scale computer
simulation of the brain, whereas in the United States, the
Brain Activity Map is working towards establishing a
functional connectome of the entire brain, and the Allen
Institute for Brain Science has embarked upon a 10-year
project to understand the mouse visual cortex (the MindScope
project). US President Barack Obama's announcement of the
BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing
Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative) in April 2013
highlights the political commitment to neuroscience and is
expected to further foster interdisciplinary collaborations,
accelerate the development of new technologies and thus fuel
much needed medical advances. In this Viewpoint article, five
prominent neuroscientists explain the aims of the projects and
how they are addressing some of the questions (and criticisms)
that have arisen.
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