The article, authored by Katrin Amunts, Christoph Ebell, Jeff Muller, Martin Telefont, Alois Knoll and Thomas Lippert, explains the funding and governance structure for the HBP and emphasizes the neuroscientific approach at the core of the Project. The authors describe how and why the HBP was set up to decode the human brain, and that the key to understanding the brain lies in obtaining deep insights into the function and organization of the brain on multiple levels; this is fundamental to the HBP&'s neuroscientific approach. The article emphasizes the HBP&'s position as the first large-scale initiative in brain research, leading the way for other similar initiatives worldwide. The scale of the Project means that effective collaboration and interdisciplinary expertise, which can clearly be seen across all Subprojects, is crucial to its success.

The article reiterates the primary aim of the HBP, i.e. to build a European Research Infrastructure for brain research. To this end, the article explains how the Project is rooted in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), particularly in terms of the integrated system of the HBP Platforms and the services they offer to users. The roles of the Neuroinformatics Platform as the core of the IT architecture and of the High Performance Analytics and Computing Platform as the main hardware support are particularly considered. In addition, the article also highlights the role of the Collaboratory as the access point for the HBP Platforms. A key message is the importance of international cooperation, and the article underlines the types of partnership and collaboration the HBP anticipates for its future success.

We would suggest that for anyone seeking an overview of the aims, main achievements and future potential of the HBP, this article would be an excellent place to begin.

Read the full article on the Neuron website