The Human Connectome Project (HCP) is a five-year project sponsored by sixteen components of the National Institutes of Health, split between two consortia of research institutions. The project was launched in July 2009 as the first of three Grand Challenges of the NIH's Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. On September 15, 2010, the NIH announced that it would award two grants: $30 million over five years to a consortium led by Washington University in Saint Louis and the University of Minnesota, with strong contributions from Oxford University (FMRIB) and $8.5 million over three years to a consortium led by Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California Los Angeles.
The goal of the Human Connectome Project is to build a "network map" (connectome) that will shed light on the anatomical and functional connectivity within the healthy human brain, as well as to produce a body of data that will facilitate research into brain disorders such as dyslexia, autism, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia.
WU-Minn-Oxford consortium
The WU-Minn-Oxford consortium has collected a large amount of MRI and behavioral data on 1,200 healthy adults â€" twin pairs and their siblings from 300 families. The data are being analyzed to show the anatomical and functional connections between parts of the brain for each individual, and will be related to behavioral test data. Comparing the connectomes and genetic data of genetically identical twins with fraternal twins will reveal the relative contributions of genes and environment in shaping brain circuitry and pinpoint relevant genetic variation. The maps will also shed light on how brain networks are organized.
Using a combination of non-invasive imaging technologies, including resting-state fMRI and task-based functional MRI, MEG and EEG, and diffusion MRI, the WU-Minn will be mapping connectomes at the macro scale â€" mapping large brain systems that can be divided into anatomically and functionally distinct areas, rather than mapping individual neurons.
Dozens of investigators and researchers from nine institutions have contributed to this project. Research institutions include: Washington University in Saint Louis, the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at the University of Minnesota, Oxford University, Saint Louis University, Indiana University, University d’Annunzio in Chieti, Ernst Strungmann Institute, Warwick University, Advanced MRI Technologies, and the University of California at Berkeley.
The data that results from this research is being made publicly available in an open-source web-accessible neuroinformatics platform.
MGH/Harvard-UCLA consortium
The MGH/Harvard-UCLA consortium will focus on optimizing MRI technology for imaging the brain’s structural connections using diffusion MRI, with a goal of increasing spatial resolution, quality, and speed. Diffusion MRI, employed in both projects, maps the brain's fibrous long distance connections by tracking the motion of water. Water diffusion patterns in different types of cells allow the detection of different types of tissues. Using this imaging method, the long extensions of neurons, called white matter, can be seen in sharp relief.
The new scanner built at the MGH Martinos Center for this project is "4 to 8 times as powerful as conventional systems, enabling imaging of human neuroanatomy with greater sensitivity than was previously possible." The scanner has a maximum gradient strength of 300 mT/m and a slew rate of 200 T/m/s, with b-values tested up to 20,000. For comparison, a standard gradient is 45 mT/m, with a b-value of 700.
Behavioral testing and measurement
To understand the relationship between brain connectivity and behavior better, the Human Connectome Project will use a reliable and well-validated battery of measures that assess a wide range of human functions. The core of its battery is the tools and methods developed by the NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral function.
Publications
There have been many scientific publications using data from the Human Connectome Project
See also
- Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are
- Connectomics
- Connectogram
- Outline of brain mapping
- Outline of the human brain
References
External links
- Official website of the Human Connectome Project
- Home of the Harvard/MGH-UCLA consortium Human Connectome Project
- "The Human Connectome Project", NIH Blueprint, St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine, retrieved 2013-02-16Â
- "The Human Connectome Project", Neuroinformatics Research Group, St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine, retrieved 2013-02-16Â
- The Human Connectome Project NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
- The NITRC Human Connectome Project (HCP) at Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (NITRC)
- Related Connectome Projects
- The umbrella site for all Human Connectome Project work funded by the NIH
- Open Connectome Project
- on-line game tracing neurons in the retina EyeWire, a project developed by MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
- developing Human Connectome Project The developing Human Connectome Project, a project led by King’s College London, Imperial College London and Oxford University, aims to make major scientific progress by creating the first 4-dimensional connectome of early life.
- Press releases
- Purdy, Michael (2010-09-15). "$30 million project will map the brain’s wiring" (Press release). St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine. Retrieved 2012-02-16.Â
- Asher, Jules (2012-03-29). "Brain wiring a no-brainer?" (Press release). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
Scans reveal astonishingly simple 3D grid structure â€" NIH-funded study
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- News reports
- Mitra, Partha (2012-05-22), The Brain's Highways: Mapping the Last Frontier, Scientific American, retrieved 2013-02-16,
Are neurons organized like roads?
 - Dillow, Clay (2010-09-16), The Human Connectome Project Is a First-of-its-Kind Map of the Brain's Circuitry, Popular Science, retrieved 2013-02-16Â
- $30 million project will map the brain's wiring, The Medical Daily, 2010-09-16, retrieved 2013-02-16Â
- Gustin, Georgina (2010-10-08), Brain mapping study centered in St. Louis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, retrieved 2013-02-16Â