Cartographers of the Brain: Mapping the Connectome

SYNOPSIS: Scientists are attempting to map the wiring of the nearly 100 billion neurons in the human brain. Are we close to uncovering the mysteries of the mind or are we only at the beginning of a new frontier? Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/lX5S_1bXUhw

Imagine navigating the globe with a map that only sketched out the continents. That’s pretty much how neuroscientists have been operating for decades. But one of the most ambitious programs in all of neuroscience, the Human Connectome Project, has just yielded a “network map” that is shedding light on the intricate connectivity in the brain. Join leading neuroscientists and psychologists as they explore how the connectome promises to revolutionize treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders, answer profound questions regarding the electrochemical roots of memory and behavior, and clarify the link between our upbringing and brain development.

This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

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Original Program Date: June 4, 2017
MODERATOR: John Hockenberry
PARTICIPANTS: Deanna Barch, Jeff Lichtman, Nim Tottenham, David Van Essen

Mapping the Brain 00:06

What is a connectome? 06:02

Santiago Ramón y Cajal 10:18

Is the brain signal electricity? 17:09

Who inspired you to do this work? 25:56

Brain development in youth 29:45

Do the maps we have now help us explain the brain? 32:43

A series of subtraction and progressive processes. 39:17

What is a Von Neumann machine 46:08

How can we develop new synapse responses in an adult brain? 50:45