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MAPPING THE HUMAN BRAIN


By Jeremy Allen

Henry Markram is a man on a mission to map the entire human brain, so that, one day, doctors can effectively fight neurological diseases such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers and Autism. With that in mind, his department at one of Switzerlands leading technology institutes is piecing together a 3-D model of the organ, while preparing for the futures lightning-speed computers. But there are technological and financial hurdles, which Markram is determined to overcome.

As I sit talking to Professor Markram, I suddenly feel like I am in the film The Matrix. He tells me that I am imagining our whole conversation and that I am not seeing him with my eyes, even though I believe that I am. He argues that my brain is building a model of his tall stature and piercing green-blue eyes and all that surrounds us, as if in a bubble. The brain is the machine that is building this fantastic world for us to play around in, but we walk inside this model: we do not walk inside the real world, he explains. As a neuroscientist, Henry Markram is fascinated with the organ that creates our consciousness. He is Director of the Brain Mind Institute at Lausannes Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), which he set up just over a decade ago, and his brainchild is the Blue Brain Project. This sets out to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the entire human brain, including neurons (brain cells), synapses (the junctions across which nerve impulses pass) and glia (the nervous systems connective tissue). The model would potentially have huge implications on our knowledge of this highly complex organ and, crucially, how we fight neurological diseases. There are about 560 clinically classified [neurological] diseases, but, today, we do not understand a single one of them, explains Markram. The mental illness that doctors know the most about is Parkinsons disease, brought on when a certain brain cell dies. However,

Markram is fascinated by the human consciousness

they dont know why the loss of this brain cell causes the disease or why, when they administer the drug, the patient stops trembling one of Parkinsons main symptoms.

Getting to know the brain


So how much do we really know about the brain? Some 200,000 scientists around the world currently experiment on specific aspects of it, and 60,000 papers are published on the subject of its functions each year. We know a lot about small parts of the organ, but we dont know how these pieces fit together to form the big picture. We dont yet know how much we know about the brain, says Markram. To bring all the pieces of the puzzle together, Markram and his team have devised a way of gathering all relevant data about

All photos Alain Herzog

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the encephalon from around the globe, using a supercomputer called Blue Gene. The powerful machine, housed at the EPFL campus in Ecublens, is like a huge sponge that absorbs all this information from existing open-access databases, published papers and experiment results. The data is then re-organised and used to gradually piece together a detailed 3-D map of the brain of a rat, then a macaque, and finally a human. Markram developed his passion for the workings of the cerebral cortex (the largest part of the organ) when he first experimented on the cells of a rats brain stem during his studies. By stimulating specific areas, he caused movement of the animals paw or back. This fascinated him. As a child, he had been more interested in sport than academia until the age of 16, when his Latin teacher inspired in him a strong desire for learning,

catapulting him from the F to the A class overnight. He then went on to study medicine, which he found boring. He preferred to conduct experiments in the neurophysiology lab. I became very interested in brain diseases and was curious about how your world could go so wrong, he recalls. This led him on a quest to understand the neural code: how the brain builds this world.

A virtual brain
But building a model of the brain to decipher this code is a gargantuan undertaking. Firstly, a vast amount of data is required. Markram and his team have so far identified about five million papers that uncover some knowledge, relevant to our understanding of the organ. To date, the amount of data they have entered is in the tens of thousands and the

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Super computers are used for modeling and simulation

supercomputer can currently only integrate ten papers per week. In addition, the human brain contains up to 100 billion neurons and each one requires approximately the power of a laptop to process and simulate its sophisticated functions. Even todays supercomputers do not have the processing power to crunch such numbers. However, Markram deftly points out that supercomputers are set to get bigger and bigger, and that by 2018, the IT industry promises exascale computers. These powerful systems will be capable of 1018 calculations per second, meaning they will have the ability to process the mathematics involved in a virtual brain. Until then, Markrams team will continue to lay down the foundations by designing and improving software that can efficiently gather and integrate data. Rather than seeing this as a lifelong project, Professor Markram believes we will see his creation finalised in a decade, provided he is able to secure the funding no mean feat, given that he needs one billion Swiss Francs. If financing takes longer, he predicts the models completion in 20 to 30 years. I am very impatient, says Markram, 49, and I dont believe in leaving this to my grandchildren as a problem.

A map of the human brain should reach completion within our lifetime

The key to understanding human nature


Once this virtual specimen exists and shows a detailed picture of the brains architecture, it will provide a unique testing ground for disease research. Scientists will be able to prove or disprove previous hypotheses, at vastly reduced costs. The model will tell them which experiments they still need to conduct. As a result, we will gradually fill in the gaps in our knowledge about neo-transmitters and other features of the brain and, crucially, answer questions about its genetics. Contained within the organ are different types of neuron and each one turns on different sets of genes. Knowing which genes are switched on in different cells, explains Markram, would enable his team to rebuild the model as if the genes built it, thus making it even more accurate. Such a model could then give us a profound foundation for understanding how the brain is thinking. Once you understand this, youll be able to profoundly understand human nature, says Markram.

A human encephalon contains up to 100bn neurons

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