Imagine that! A human brain on a computer

IT is a project to test the limits of our imagination and ingenuity – how to recreate a human brain on a computer.

Scientists have embarked on a 12-year operation to combine all the information so far uncovered about the brain’s workings and replicate it on a computer screen, right down to the individual cells and molecules.

If successful, it could provide revolutionary insight into devastating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Housed in Dusseldorf, Germany, the ‘brain’ will feature thousands of three- dimensional images built around a semi- circular ‘cockpit’ so scientists can virtually ‘fly’ around different areas and watch how they communicate with each other.

Dubbed Team Frankenstein, the scientists intend the completed virtual brain to be used to test drugs, reducing the need for human trials.

Leading the project, which could get a £825million EU grant next month, is Professor Henry Markram. He will be working with other European scientists, including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge.

Professor Markram, who is based in Switzerland, said: ‘The complexity of the brain makes it hard for neuroscientists to truly understand how it works. Simulating it will make it much easier, allowing them to manipulate and measure any aspect.’

When complete, it is hoped the virtual brain will pave the way for more intelligent computers.

The human brain is widely considered to be the final frontier of science.

Over the past 15 years the team has produced a computer simulation of a cortical column – one of the building blocks of a mammal’s brain.

But the human brain is a totally different challenge. It has 100billion neurons, each one performing billions of ‘calculations’ per second – roughly the same as a desktop computer.

The brain computer will need to make a billion billion calculations a second, requiring the amount of electricity produced by a nuclear power station. Finding a way to power the computer is a major challenge.

Concerns about the consequences of creating a computer which ‘thinks’ have been raised but Professor Markram said: ‘This will help two billion people annually who suffer from some type of brain impairment.’