Human Connectome Project
This article needs to be updated.(June 2023) |
The Human Connectome Project (HCP) is a five-year project sponsored by sixteen components of the
The goal of the Human Connectome Project is to build a "network map" (
WU-Minn-Oxford consortium
The WU-Minn-Oxford consortium developed improved MRI instrumentation, image acquisition and image analysis methods for mapping the connectivity in the human brain at spatial resolutions significantly better than previously available; using these methods, WU-Minn-Oxford consortium collected a large amount of MRI and behavioral data on 1,200 healthy adults — twin pairs and their siblings from 300 families - using a special 3 Tesla MRI instrument. In addition, it scanned 184 subjects from this pool at 7 Tesla, with higher spatial resolution. The data are being analyzed to show the anatomical and functional connections between parts of the brain for each individual, and will be related to behavioral test data. Comparing the
Using a combination of
Dozens of investigators and researchers from nine institutions have contributed to this project. Research institutions include: Washington University in St. Louis, the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at the
The data that results from this research is being made publicly available in an open-source web-accessible neuroinformatics platform.[7][8]
MGH/Harvard-UCLA consortium
The MGH/Harvard-UCLA consortium will focus on optimizing MRI technology for imaging the brain's structural connections using diffusion MRI, with a goal of increasing spatial resolution, quality, and speed. Diffusion MRI, employed in both projects, maps the brain's fibrous long-distance connections by tracking the motion of water. Water diffusion patterns in different types of cells allow the detection of different types of tissues. Using this imaging method, the long extensions of neurons, called white matter, can be seen in sharp relief.[9][10]
The new scanner built at the MGH
Behavioral testing and measurement
To understand the relationship between brain connectivity and behavior better, the Human Connectome Project will use a reliable and well-validated battery of measures that assess a wide range of human functions. The core of its battery is the tools and methods developed by the NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral function.[14]
Research
The Human Connectome Project has grown into a large group of research teams. These teams make use of the style of brain scanning developed by the Project.[15] The studies usually include using large groups of participants, scanning many angles of participants' brains, and carefully documenting the location of the structures in each participant's brain.[16] Studies affiliated with the Human Connectome Project are currently cataloged by the Connectome Coordination Facility. The studies fall into three categories: Healthy Adult Connectomes, Lifespan Connectome Data, and Connectomes Related to Human Disease. Under each of these categories are research groups working on specific questions.
Healthy Adult Connectomes
[17] The Human Connectome Project Young Adult study made data on the brain connections of 1100 healthy young adults available to the scientific community.[18] Scientists have used data from the study to support theories about which areas of the brain communicate with one another.[19] For example, one study used data from the project to show that the amygdala, a part of the brain essential for emotional processing, is connected to the parts of the brain that receive information from the senses and plan movement.[20] Another study showed that healthy individuals who had a high tendency to experience anxious or depressed mood had fewer connections between the amygdala and a number of brain areas related to attention.
Lifespan Connectome Data
There are currently four research groups collecting data on connections in the brains of populations other than young adults. The purpose of these groups is to determine ordinary brain connectivity during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and aging. Scientists will use the data from these research groups in the same manner in which they have used data from the Human Connectome Project Young Adult study.[21]
Connectomes Related to Human Disease
Fourteen research groups investigate how connections in the brain change during the course of a particular disease. Four of the groups focus on
Although theories have been put forth about the way brain connections change in the diseases under investigation, many of these theories have been supported by data from healthy populations.[20] For example, an analysis of the brains of healthy individuals supported the theory that individuals with anxiety disorders and depression have less connectivity between their emotional centers and the areas that govern attention. By collecting data specifically from individuals with these diseases, researchers hope to have a more certain idea of how brain connections in these individuals change over time.
Status
The project has yet to be officially declared complete.
Useful links
HCP wiki - Human Connectome Project wiki
ICA-FIX - Documentation on ICA-FIX algorithm used on resting state fMRI data[23][24][25]
See also
- Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are
- Connectomics
- Connectogram
- Human Brain Project
- Outline of brain mapping
- Outline of the human brain
References
- ^ NIH Launches the Human Connectome Project to Unravel the Brain's Connections, National Institutes of Health, 2009-07-15, retrieved 2013-02-16
- ^ "The Human Connectome Project", NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, National Institutes of Health, retrieved 2013-02-16
- ^ a b $40 million awarded to trace human brain's connections, National Institutes of Health, 2010-09-15, retrieved 2013-02-16,
Souped-up scanners to reveal intricate circuitry in high resolution
- ^ Ghosh, Pallab; Van Wedeen, M.D. (2013-02-16). "Inside the brain's wiring" (video). Boston: BBC News Online. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- S2CID 89023120.
- ^ "$40 Million Awarded to Trace Human Brain's Connections". NIMH. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ "Connectome - Homepage".
- ^ "ConnectomeDB".
- UCLA, archived from the originalon 2012-03-05, retrieved 2013-02-16
- PMID 26364861.
- ^ Improving SNR in high b-value diffusion imaging using Gmax = 300 mT/m human gradients, Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 20 (2012) 2738
- ^ "About the Center". 22 March 2019.
- PMID 25287963.
- ^ "Components of the Human Connectome Project - Behavioral Testing - Connectome". humanconnectome.org. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
- PMID 27571196.
- ^ UpAndRunning. "Connectome - Homepage". www.humanconnectome.org. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
- ^ UpAndRunning. "HCP Young Adult - Connectome - Publications". www.humanconnectome.org. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ "Publications | Human Connectome Project". Archived from the original on 2017-05-07. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
- PMID 28231395.
- ^ S2CID 21758303.
- ^ UpAndRunning. "Connectome - HCP Lifespan Studies". www.humanconnectome.org. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ UpAndRunning. "Connectome - Human Connectome Studies Related To Disease". www.humanconnectome.org. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- PMID 23702415.
- PMID 27989777.
- PMID 24389422.
External links
- Official website of the Human Connectome Project
- Home of the Harvard/MGH-UCLA consortium Human Connectome Project
- "The Human Connectome Project", NIH Blueprint, St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine, retrieved 2013-02-16
- "The Human Connectome Project", Neuroinformatics Research Group, St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine, retrieved 2013-02-16
- The Human Connectome Project NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
- The NITRC Human Connectome Project (HCP) at Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (NITRC)
- Related Connectome Projects
- The umbrella site for all Human Connectome Project work funded by the NIH
- Open Connectome Project
- on-line game tracing neurons in the retina MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
- developing Human Connectome Project The developing Human Connectome Project, a project led by King's College London, Imperial College London and University of Oxford, aims to make major scientific progress by creating the first 4-dimensional connectome of early life.
- Press releases
- Purdy, Michael (2010-09-15). "$30 million project will map the brain's wiring" (Press release). St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University School of Medicine. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- Asher, Jules (2012-03-29). "Brain wiring a no-brainer?" (Press release). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
Scans reveal astonishingly simple 3D grid structure — NIH-funded study
- News reports
- Mitra, Partha (2012-05-22), The Brain's Highways: Mapping the Last Frontier, Scientific American, retrieved 2013-02-16,
Are neurons organized like roads?
- Dillow, Clay (2010-09-16), The Human Connectome Project Is a First-of-its-Kind Map of the Brain's Circuitry, Popular Science, retrieved 2013-02-16
- $30 million project will map the brain's wiring, The Medical Daily, 2010-09-16, retrieved 2013-02-16
- Gustin, Georgina (2010-10-08), Brain mapping study centered in St. Louis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, retrieved 2013-02-16