…as imaged by the Blue Brain Project… a joint initiative of IBM and Switzerland-based Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne to build a digital 3D model of the brain using IBM’s Blue Gene supercomputer:
The first phase of the project will be to make a software replica of a column of the neocortex. The neocortex constitutes about 85% of the human brain’s total mass and is thought to be responsible for the cognitive functions of language, learning, memory and complex thought. An accurate replica of the neocortical column is the essential first step to simulating the whole brain and also will provide the link between genetic, molecular and cognitive levels of brain function. The second and subsequent phases will be to expand the simulation to include circuitry from other brain regions and eventually the whole brain.
Beautiful…
