The Blue Brain Project is the first comprehensive attempt to reverse-engineer the mammalian brain, in order to understand brain function and dysfunction through detailed simulations.
Computer simulations in neuroscience hold the promise of dramatically enhancing the scientific method by providing a means to test hypotheses using predictive models of complex biological processes where experiments are not feasible. Of course, simulations are only as good as the quality of the data and the accuracy of the mathematical abstraction of the biological processes. The first phase of the Blue Brain Project therefore started after 15 years of systematically dissecting the microanatomical, genetic and electrical properties of the elementary unit of the neocortex – a single neocortical column, which is a little larger than the head of a pin. From the data gathered from 15,000 experiments in rat somatosensory cortex, it became possible to begin constructing a model of this part of the brain.
The project has focused, however, not only on building a model of the neocortical column, but on developing a generic facility that could allow rapid modeling, simulation and experimentation of any brain region, if the data can be measured and provided according to specifications. The facility has been used to build the first model of the neocortical column, which consists of 10,000 3D digitizations of real neurons that are populated with model ion channels constrained by the genetic makeup of over 200 different types of neurons. A parallel supercomputer is used to build the model and perform the experiments so that the behavior of the tissue can be predicted through simulations.
With the present simulation facility, the technical feasibility to model a piece of neural tissue has been demonstrated. The next steps will involve expansion of the project in two directions. First, the Blue Brain team is intensifying its efforts to extend the facility to support modeling of the subcellular domain, which will integrate additional levels of biological detail into the existing neocortical column model. Incorporating the molecular level structures, processes and effects is an important step towards pharmacological and medical research “in silico”. Second, the facility will be extended to integrate details of larger portions of cortex and other brain structures. Ultimately, given additional resources, the facility can be extended to permit whole brain modeling, simulation and experimentation.
