Landing on the moon, which required a massive commitment of money and resources by the U.S. government, was easy compared to unlocking the mysteries of the brain. That's why the BRAIN Initiative, which was announced last year by President Obama to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain, initially aroused skepticism from some scientists who thought the project was too ambitious.

BRAIN stands for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. In support of this initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has committed $40 million in the first year to develop better technologies for investigating the brain. The goal, among many, is to map the activity of every neuron and cell in the brain.

Rafael Yuste, MD, PhD, who conceived his own audacious 10-year project to map the brain circuits that enable mental activity, initially wondered if the BRAIN Initiative might be overreaching a bit. In the past year, however, Dr. Yuste, a professor of biological sciences and neuroscience at Columbia University, has become one of the BRAIN Initiative's most enthusiastic advocates.

"I am very supportive of the BRAIN Initiative and the way it is developing," says Dr. Yuste, who is also co-director of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia. "The NIH leadership is very responsive to criticism and is on course to make the BRAIN initiative an historic project," one that could greatly advance our knowledge of the causes of neurological diseases and lead to better methods for diagnosis and treatment.

Where Does the Initiative Stand Now?

The Initiative's 15-member advisory group, after consulting with members of the scientific community, has identified several goals, including mapping the brain circuits that Dr. Yuste envisioned. Other projects will attempt to identify how various brain cell types contribute to health and disease, develop better technologies for monitoring brain activity, and link brain activity to behavior. The ultimate goal, of course, is to combine everything into a better understanding of how the brain works.

"It's always true in science that once you have better tools, you get a more detailed understanding of problems," says Gregory K. Farber, PhD, director of the Office of Technology Development and Coordination at the NIH.

Better techniques for recording brain activity, for example, would help scientists understand what prompts the progression of such diseases as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy. Improvements in imaging technology would provide a clearer picture of what's going on within the skull.

Scientists eager to get started on research projects have been submitting applications, hoping for a chunk of the $40 million appropriated for the first year.

The working group has recommended ramping up the original $40 million in funding to $100 million the second year, $200 million the third, and $400 million each year after that, for a total cost of $4.5 billion over 10 years. That would make the BRAIN Initiative the largest brain science project in history—even bigger than the European Union's Human Brain Project, which will attempt to create computer simulations of brain activity.

While the cost may sound enormous, Cori Bargmann, PhD, a co-chair of the advisory committee, put it in perspective. "The entire cost of the space program to put a man on the moon added up to about one six-pack of beer for every person in America living at the time," she says. "And the entire cost of the BRAIN Initiative proposed here adds up, inflation corrected, to about one six-pack of beer for each American over the entire 12 years of the program."

If the early projects succeed in creating more efficient tools, the overall cost of research could go down over time, she adds.

Judging from the research proposals already submitted, the BRAIN Initiative has the potential to make enormous contributions to neuroscience, according to Dr. Farber.

"I'm privileged to have access to all the applications, and we've had a series of great ideas that have come in in response to the BRAIN initiative," he says. "I think the community has taken this opportunity seriously and given us some really exciting ideas, and I expect great science will result from the [research grant] awards that are made."

For More Information

• For the latest news, visit The BRAIN Initiative at the National Institutes of Health.