The human brain is arguably the most sophisticated information processing device in nature. It forms the basis of our emotions like love and hate, how we still remember events from our childhood and the basis of traits like intelligence and creativity. The study of the brain is really about the study of who we are. Diseases of the brain touch virtually every family—the problems of suicide, gun violence, and mental illness, the opioid crisis and substance abuse, dementia and neurodegenerative disease.
The brain is the by far the most complex organ in our bodies with roughly 100 billion neurons and 1000 trillion synaptic connections. The complexity remains a major barrier to both understanding healthy function but also to solve diseases of the brain. Solving problems on this scale will require unprecedented collaboration among scientists and engineers across many disciplines.
Neuroscience is undergoing a revolution with innovative technologies to monitor and manipulate at the resolution of single genes, at spatial resolution of a width of a human hair, and the temporal resolution of a thousandth of a second. And to do this across entire nervous systems while an animal is perceiving, thinking and acting.
These approaches are generating massive amounts of data far beyond the capacity of traditional methods to analyze. This has created a critical need for advancements in computational neuroscience, data science, and artificial intelligence to interpret these complex datasets. At the Michigan Neuroscience Institute, researchers are working at the forefront of this revolution, utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovative approaches to unlock the mysteries of the brain.
The integration of disciplines such as biology, engineering, psychology, and computational sciences is key to this effort. By leveraging expertise from diverse fields, the institute aims to drive breakthroughs in understanding how the brain functions in health and disease. This, in turn, can lead to new treatments for neurological and psychiatric conditions that affect millions worldwide.
The Michigan Neuroscience Institute is committed to training the next generation of scientists, fostering collaborations across departments and schools, and sharing discoveries that will ultimately enhance human health and well-being. Through interdisciplinary research and collaboration, the institute is poised to make transformative impacts on neuroscience and medicine.