Thoughts of Blue Brains and GABA Interneurons

An unsuccessfulplanto create a computer simulation of a human brain within 10 years. Anexhaustive catalog of cell types comprising a specific class of inhibitory neurons within mouse visual cortex. What do these massive research programs have in common? Both efforts were conducted by large multidisciplinary teams at non-traditional research institutions: theBlue Brain Project based in Lausanne, Switzerland and theAllen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, Washington.BIG SCIENCE is the wave of the future, and the future is now. Actually, that future started 15-20 years ago. The question should be, is there a future for any other kind of neuroscience? Despite a superficial “BIG SCIENCE” similarity, the differences between funding sources, business models, leadership, operation, and goals of Blue Brain and the Allen Institute are substantial.Henry Markram, the “charismatic but divisive” visionary behind Blue Brain (and the €1 billion Human Brain Project) has been criticized for his “autocratic” leadership, “crap” ideas, and “ill-conceived, ... idiosyncratic approach to brain simulation ” in countless articles. Hisambition is undeniable, however:“I realized I could be doing this [eg., standard research onspike-timing-dependent plasticity] for the next 25, 30 years of my career, and it was still not going to help me understandhow the brain works. ” I ' m certainly not a brilliant neuroscientist in Markram ' s league, but I commented previousl...
Source: The Neurocritic - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: blogs