---
title: "BRAIN Initiative"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAIN_Initiative"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:29:50.117439+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

According to news reports, the research intends to map the dynamics of neuron activity in mice and other animals and eventually the tens of billions of neurons in the human brain.
In a 2012 scientific commentary outlining experimental plans for a more limited project, Alivisatos et al. outlined a variety of specific experimental techniques that might be used to achieve what they termed a "functional connectome", as well as new technologies that will have to be developed in the course of the project. Among others, they indicated that initial studies might be performed in Caenorhabditis elegans, followed by Drosophila, because of their comparatively simple neural circuits. Additionally, mid-term studies could be performed in zebrafish, mice, and the Etruscan shrew, with subsequent studies ultimately to be conducted in primates and humans. They proposed the development of nanoparticles that could serve as voltage sensors to detect individual action potentials, as well as nanoprobes that could function as electrophysiological multielectrode arrays. In particular, they called for the use of wireless, non-invasive methods of detecting neuronal activity, either utilizing microelectronic very-large-scale integration or based on synthetic biology rather than microelectronics. In one such proposed method, enzymatically produced DNA would serve as a "ticker tape record" of neuronal activity, based on calcium ion-induced errors in DNA polymerase coding. Eventually, the obtained data would be analyzed and modeled by large scale computation. Moreover, a related technique proposed the use of high-throughput DNA sequencing for rapidly mapping neural connectivity.

=== Timeline ===
In 2014, the Working Group proposed the following timeline:

2016–2020: technology development and validation
2020–2025: application of those technologies in an integrated fashion, aimed at achieving new fundamental discoveries about the human brain

== Working group ==
The advisory committee is:

== Participants ==
As of December 2018, the BRAIN Initiative website lists the following participants and affiliates:

National Institutes of Health (Alliance Member)
National Science Foundation (Alliance Member)
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Alliance Member)
Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (Alliance Member)
White House BRAIN Initiative (Alliance Affiliate)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (B.I. Participant)
Simons Foundation (Alliance Member)
National Photonics Initiative (B.I. Participant)
Allen Institute for Brain Science (Alliance Member)
Janelia/Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Alliance Affiliate)
Neurotechnology Architecting Network (B.I. Participant)
Pacific Northwest Neuroscience Neighborhood (B.I. Participant)
University of California System Cal-BRAIN (B.I. Participant)
University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute (B.I. Participant)
Blackrock Microsystems (B.I. Participant)
GlaxoSmithKline (B.I. Participant)
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (B.I. Participant)
Boston University Center for Systems Neuroscience (B.I. Participant)
General Electric (B.I. Participant)
Boston Scientific (B.I. Participant)
Carnegie Mellon University BrainHub (B.I. Participant)
NeuroNexus (B.I. Participant)
Medtronic (B.I. Participant)
Pediatric Brain Foundation (B.I. Participant)
University of Texas System UT Neuroscience (B.I. Participant)
University of Arizona Center for Innovation in Brain Science (B.I. Participant)
Salk Institute for Biological Studies (B.I. Participant)
Second Sight (B.I. Participant)
Kavli Foundation (Alliance Member)
University of Utah Neurosciences Gateway (B.I. Participant)
Blackrock Microsystems (B.I. Participant)
Ripple (B.I. Participant)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (B.I. Participant)
NeuroPace (B.I. Participant)
Google (B.I. Participant)
Inscopix (B.I. Participant)
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (B.I. Participant)
Brain Canada Foundation (B.I. Participant)
Denmark's Lundbeck Foundation (B.I. Participant).

== Reactions ==
Several scientists offered differing views of the plan. Neuroscientist John Donoghue stated that the project has the potential to fill a gap in neuroscience research between, on the one hand, activity measurements at the level of brain regions using methods such as fMRI, and, on the other hand, measurements at the level of single cells. Psychologist Ed Vul expressed concern, however, that the initiative would divert funding from individual investigator studies. Neuroscientist Donald Stein expressed concern, believing it would be a mistake to initiate the project by allocating financial resources to the development of different technological methods before specifically outlining which neurological activities and parameters would be measured exactly. On the other hand, physicist Michael Roukes argued that nanotechnology research methods have been steadily evolving and have already become sufficiently developed to make the time right for a brain activity map. Neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás declared at the first Rockefeller meeting, "What has happened here is magnificent, never before in neuroscience have I seen so much unity in such a glorious purpose."
The projects face great logistical challenges. Neuroscientists estimated that the project would generate 300 exabytes of data annually, presenting a significant technical barrier. Most of the available high-resolution brain activity monitors are of limited use, as they require invasive surgical implantation with the opening of the skull. Parallels have been drawn to past large-scale government-led research efforts, including the map of the human genome, the voyage to the moon, and the development of the atomic bomb.

== See also ==
Allen Brain Atlas
Blue Brain Project
BrainMaps
Brain Mapping Foundation
Brain/MINDS
China Brain Project
Decade of the Brain
Decade of the Mind
G20 World Brain Mapping & Therapeutic Scientific Summit
Human Connectome Project
List of animals by number of neurons
List of neuroscience databases
Organization for Human Brain Mapping
Outline of brain mapping
Outline of the human brain
Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics
SpiNNaker

== References ==

== Further reading ==
doi:10.1038/s41592-018-0210-0 "The impact of the NIH BRAIN Initiative", Nature Methods editorial, November 2018.

== External links ==
Official website