September 3, 2013
Part of what it means is an opportunity to continue a national conversation about an important topic: the brain. To help with the dialogue, here are short answers to some basic questions.
What is the BRAIN Initiative?
The
BRAIN Initiative is an effort by federal agencies and private partners to support and coordinate research to understand how the human brain works.
Why do we need to understand the brain?
Understanding the brain means knowing the fundamental principles underlying brain structure and function. The research required to do so will accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, promote advances in technology and bolster U.S. economic competitiveness.
New neuroscience discoveries will enable us to foster brain health; engineer solutions that enhance, replace or compensate for lost function; improve the effectiveness of formal and informal educational approaches; promote learning across the lifespan and build brain-inspired smarter technologies for improved quality of life.
What is NSF's role in brain research?NSF has a long history of support for brain science that has produced breakthroughs in
brain imaging,
neurotechnologies,
modeling and
genomics, and is
uniquely positioned to lead an innovative, multi-disciplinary effort by scientists and engineers to advance a comprehensive understanding of brain structure and function.
NSF invests in high-risk, high-reward exploratory and transformational scientific and engineering research with emphasis on integration across scales and disciplines.
Why now?
While our knowledge of brain anatomy and how brain cells use chemical and electrical signals to communicate with one another has grown considerably, we are only beginning to understand how those signals interact to give rise to thoughts, processes and behaviors.
Now is the time for a comprehensive approach that combines new discoveries from a variety of fields, including
brain anatomy, imaging and function as well as cyberinfrastructure. Understanding the brain has been identified as
one of five longstanding and fundamental questions, or "grand challenges," for future research.
What do we need to do this?
Continued cooperation among different fields of research: biology, engineering, chemistry, physics, math, computer science, social and behavioral science, and medicine. To integrate findings across scales of space and time, from molecular, physical, physiological and genetic to cognitive and behavioral.
Discoveries born out of curiosity-driven science that will ultimately help maintain a healthy brain.
Tools that can detect, measure and record all the connections and activity in a single brain of 100 billion neurons (today's technology is limited to a few thousand neurons).
-
Time. This is a long-term investment.
How will the BRAIN Initiative affect programs at NSF?
NSF invests tens of millions of dollars in neuroscience and cognitive science research across many disciplines. NSF will continue to make major investments in fundamental science across disciplines and in innovative technologies to accelerate discovery that will revolutionize our understanding of the brain.
When can the scientific community expect to learn more about NSF's research goals for the BRAIN Initiative?
Have more questions? Email us at
-NSF-
Media Contacts Sarah Bates, NSF (703) 292-7738
Related WebsitesPrying Open the Black Box of the Brain:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page:
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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