The Human Brain Project (http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/) is competing for a large grant (1 billion Euro over 10 years) under the FET Flagship Programme. In their proposal the HBP claims that if they get the funding they can have a full human brain simulation at the cellular level by the end of the 10 year period. The project is led by Henry Markram, who is also the director of the Blue Brain Project. The BBP has successfully simulated several neocortical columns from the rat brain and as far as I can tell they claim that their model has been validated by comparing the produced oscillations with those measured in real experiments but I don't know the details.

 

I think this is a great project that deserves the funding but I find their promises dubious. Do you think the HBP deserves the grant? And do you think they can actually achieve their goal in the given timeline?

Blue Brain Project is already working on virtually the same thing.

 

http://bluebrain.epfl.ch/

Blue Brain Project is already working on virtually the same thing.

 

http://bluebrain.epfl.ch/

 

Yes, the idea is for the HBP to build on what the BBP has achieved so far (I think). What I'm wondering, though, is whether it is realistic to expect that a full simulation of the human brain can be achieved in 10 years given 1 billion euros?

Yes, the idea is for the HBP to build on what the BBP has achieved so far (I think). What I'm wondering, though, is whether it is realistic to expect that a full simulation of the human brain can be achieved in 10 years given 1 billion euros?

 

Hard to say. It depends how much further we get to understanding the minutia of the inter-workings of the brain. Even with fMRI the data we have is a kind of gross simulation. But then again, people had the same doubts about the human genome project.