BRAIN Initiative Project

About The BRAIN Initiative

Composed of federal and non-federal members and affiliates, the BRAIN Initiative Alliance mission is to coordinate and facilitate communications from its members related to the BRAIN Initiative. The Alliance seeks to inform and engage the public and the scientific community about scientific successes emerging from the BRAIN Initiative, and opportunities for further discovery. Visit the website for further information and resources.

About The Brain Activity Map (BAM) Project

The BRAIN Initiative partners meeting President Obama before the Announcement, April 2013 (Credit: The White House)

In 2011, 13 neuroscientists and 14 nanoscientists met at the Kavli Royal Society International Centre outside London for a special symposium entitled, “Opportunities at the Interface of Neuroscience and Nanoscience.” During this meeting, the idea of mapping the functioning brain was discussed—a concept that has been described by some as “the Holy Grail” of neuroscience.

Scientific discussions continued over the course of almost a dozen formal and informal meetings, scores of teleconferences, a number of Kavli Futures Symposia and published science papers. Eighteen months later, the Brain Activity Map Project proposal would prove important to the scientific thinking behind the BRAIN Initiative, as well as a major catalyst for its launching. Learn more