Notwithstanding the progress neuroscientists have made in understanding the microscale function of single neurons and the macroscale activity of the human brain – a comprehensive understanding of the brain still remains an elusive goal.

The BRAIN Initiative, launched in 2013, seeks to deepen understanding of the inner workings of the human mind and to improve how we treat, prevent, and cure disorders of the brain. Key goals of the BRAIN Initiative are:

  • Develop new technologies to explore how the brain’s cells and circuits interact at the speed of thought, ultimately uncovering the complex links between brain function and behavior.
  • Accelerate the development and application of new neurotechnologies.
  • Enable researchers to produce a dynamic picture of the brain functioning in real time.
  • Explore how the brain records, processes, uses, stores, and retrieves vast quantities of information.
  • Shed light on the complex links between brain function and behavior, incorporating new theories and computational models.
  • Help bring safe and effective products to patients and consumers.

Over the past several years, nanoscale analysis tools and in the design and synthesis of nanomaterials have generated optical, electrical, and chemical methods that can readily be adapted for use in neuroscience and brain activity mapping.

Image Credit:  Alias Studio Sydney

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