The coming decade of digital brain research: a vision for neuroscience at the intersection of technology and computing

In recent years, brain research has indisputably entered a new epoch, driven by substantial methodological advances and digitally enabled data integration and modelling at multiple scales— from molecules to the whole brain. Major advances are emerging at the intersection of neuroscience with technology and computing. This new science of the brain combines high-quality research, data integration across multiple scales, a new culture of multidisciplinary large-scale collaboration and translation into applications. As pioneered in Europe’s Human Brain Project (HBP), a systematic approach will be essential for meeting the coming decade’s pressing medical and technological challenges. The aims of this paper are to: develop a concept for the coming decade of digital brain research, discuss this new concept with the research community at large, to identify points of convergence, and derive therefrom scientific common goals; provide a scientific framework for the current and future development of EBRAINS, a research infrastructure resulting from the HBP’s work; inform and engage stakeholders, funding organisations and research institutions regarding future digital brain research; identify and address the transformational potential of comprehensive brain models for artificial intelligence, including machine learning and deep learning; outline a collaborative approach that integrates reflection, dialogues and societal engagement on ethical and societal opportunities and challenges as part of future neuroscience research

NevMagi/34primates_cerebellum: 01-11-2023-V1.0.1

<p>Release for Publication Communications Biology</p&gt

A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition

International audienceThe longstanding idea that the cerebral cortex is the main neural correlate of human cognition can be elaborated by comparative analyses along the vertebrate phylogenetic tree that support the view that the cerebello-cerebral system is suited to support non-motor functions more generally. In humans, diverse accounts have illustrated cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions. Although the neocortex, and its transmodal association cortices such as the prefrontal cortex, have become disproportionately large over primate evolution specifically, human neocortical volume does not appear to be exceptional relative to the variability within primates. Rather, several lines of evidence indicate that the exceptional volumetric increase of the lateral cerebellum in conjunction with its connectivity with the cerebral cortical system may be linked to non-motor functions and mental operation in primates. This idea is supported by diverging cerebello-cerebral adaptations that potentially coevolve with cognitive abilities across other vertebrates such as dolphins, parrots, and elephants. Modular adaptations upon the vertebrate cerebello-cerebral system may thus help better understand the neuroevolutionary trajectory of the primate brain and its relation to cognition in humans. Lateral cerebellar lobules crura I-II and their reciprocal connections to the cerebral cortical association areas appear to have substantially expanded in great apes, and humans. This, along with the notable increase in the ventral portions of the dentate nucleus and a shift to increased relative prefrontal-cerebellar connectivity, suggests that modular cerebellar adaptations support cognitive functions in humans. In sum, we show how comparative neuroscience provides new avenues to broaden our understanding of cerebellar and cerebello-cerebral functions in the context of cognition

Phylogenetic comparative analysis of the cerebello-cerebral system in 34 species highlights primate-general expansion of cerebellar crura I-II

International audienceThe reciprocal connections between the cerebellum and the cerebrum have been suggested to simultaneously play a role in brain size increase and to support a broad array of brain functions in primates. The cerebello-cerebral system has undergone marked functionally relevant reorganization. In particular, the lateral cerebellar lobules crura I-II (the ansiform) have been suggested to be expanded in hominoids. Here, we manually segmented 63 cerebella (34 primate species; 9 infraorders) and 30 ansiforms (13 species; 8 infraorders) to understand how their volumes have evolved over the primate lineage. Together, our analyses support proportional cerebellar-cerebral scaling, whereas ansiforms have expanded faster than the cerebellum and cerebrum. We did not find different scaling between strepsirrhines and haplorhines, nor between apes and non-apes. In sum, our study shows primate-general structural reorganization of the ansiform, relative to the cerebello-cerebral system, which is relevant for specialized brain functions in an evolutionary context

Proceedings of the OHBM Brainhack 2022

International audienceOHBM Brainhack 2022 took place in June 2022. The first hybrid OHBM hackathon, it had an in-person component taking place in Glasgow and three hubs around the globe to improve inclusivity and fit as many timezones as possible. In the buzzing setting of the Queen Margaret Union and of the virtual platform, 23 projects were presented for development. Following are the reports of 14 of those, as well as a recapitulation of the organisation of the event

The coming decade of digital brain research - A vision for neuroscience at the intersection of technology and computing

<p>Brain research has in recent years indisputably entered a new epoch, driven by substantial methodological advances and digitally enabled data integration and modeling at multiple scales – from molecules to the whole system. Major advances are emerging at the intersection of neuroscience with technology and computing. This new science of the brain integrates high-quality basic research, systematic data integration across multiple scales, a new culture of large-scale collaboration and translation into applications. A systematic approach, as pioneered in Europe's Human Brain Project (HBP), will be essential in meeting the pressing medical and technological challenges of the coming decade. The aims of this paper are</p><ul><li>To develop a concept for the coming decade of digital brain research</li><li>To discuss it with the research community at large, with the aim of identifying points of convergence and common goals</li><li>To provide a scientific framework for current and future development of EBRAINS</li><li>To inform and engage stakeholders, funding organizations and research institutions regarding future digital brain research</li><li>To identify and address key ethical and societal issues</li></ul><p>While we do not claim that there is a 'one size fits all' approach to addressing these aspects, we are convinced that discussions around the theme of digital brain research will help drive progress in the broader field of neuroscience.</p><p><strong>As the final version 5 has now been published, comments on this manuscript are now closed. We thank everyone who made a valuable contribution to this paper.</strong></p><p>This manuscript has been developed in a participatory process. The work has been initiated by the Science and Infrastructure Board of the Human Brain Project (HBP), and the entire research community was invited to contribute to shaping the vision by submitting comments. </p><p>All submitted comments were considered and discussed. The final decision on whether edits or additions was made to each version of the manuscript based on an individual comment was made by the Science and Infrastructure Board (SIB) of the Human Brain Project (HBP).</p><p><strong>Supporters of the paper</strong>: Pietro Avanzini, Marc Beyer, Maria Del Vecchio, Jitka Annen, Maurizio Mattia, Steven Laureys, Rosanne Edelenbosch, Rafael Yuste, Jean-Pierre Changeux, Linda Richards, Hye Weon Jessica Kim, Chrysoula Samara, Luis Miguel González de la Garza, Nikoleta Petalidou, Vasudha Kulkarni, Cesar David Rincon, Isabella O'Shea, Munira Tamim Electricwala, Bernd Carsten Stahl, Bahar Hazal Yalcinkaya, Meysam Hashemi, Carola Sales Carbonell, Marcel Carrère, Anthony Randal McIntosh, Hiba Sheheitli, Abolfazl Ziaeemehr, Martin Breyton, Giovanna Ramos Queda, Anirudh NIhalani Vattikonda, Gyorgy Buzsaki, George Ogoh, William Knight, Torbjørn V Ness, Michiel van der Vlag, Marcello Massimini, Thomas Nowontny, Alex Upton, Yaseen Jakhura, Ahmet Nihat Simsek, Michael Hopkins, Addolorata Marasco, Shamim Patel, Jakub Fil, Diego Molinari, Susana Bueno, Lia Domide, Cosimo Lupo, Mu-ming Poo, George Paxinos, Huifang Wang.</p&gt