Blue Brain Project

The Blue Brain project is a pioneering project in understanding the workings of the brain by the formation of large-scale computer models. It was founded by Henry Markrams Brain and Mind Institute of the Ecole Polytechnique in Lausanne ( Switzerland ) and IBM (USA) launched in May, 2005.

An important milestone of the project was completed in late 2007: Blue Column has reached the goal of complete simulation of a neocortical column at the cellular level. Neocortical columns have a height of 2 mm and a diameter of 0.5 mm. In humans, they contain about 60,000 neurons. Blue Column refers to rats whose cortical columns contain about 10,000 neurons and about 108 synapses.

The simulation goes beyond the concept of the artificial neural network: it is based on biologically plausible and complex models of different types of nerve cells. Are used, developed by Phil Goodman Neocortical Simulator ( NCS ) in combination with Michael Hines ' software NEURON. The simulation is to be calculated on a Blue Gene supercomputer. Blue Column is to be realized within 2-3 years and then tested with a set of empirical data.

In the course of the development is to be continued in two directions:

In a 10 - year perspective different researchers to their own models of different brain regions can create and upload to an Internet database world. The Blue Brain software is to link these modules together and build from the first simulation of a complete brain. To achieve this, a plurality of still unsolved problems have to be overcome.

As a follow-up project at the EU level, the Human Brain Project is to be understood, which is also coordinated by Markram.