Image provided by David Van Essen
One of the greatest, and arguably the most fascinating, mysteries of all time does not exist far out in space or deep in the ocean. Instead, this mystery resides inside our own heads and is responsible for all of our thinking and reasoning surrounding its mystique: the human brain.
A team of brain investigators based at Washington University in St. Louis is about to embark on a five-year journey to map the intricate circuits in the brain. In the same vain as the Human Genome Project, the Human Connectome Project is the first of its kind. Researchers will utilize cutting-edge brain scanning techniques to map the circuitry of more than 1,000 healthy brains of twins and sibling pairs in hope of gaining the first full look at how the human brain operates.
Dr. David Van Essen, Edison Professor of Neurobiology and department head of anatomy and neurobiology at Washington University, is one of the principal investigators for the Connectome Project, which involves a team spread across nine universities in the U.S. and Europe. Van Essen shares principal investigator duties with Dr. Kamil Ugurbil at the University of Minnesota, who will oversee the development of the hardware and brain scanning technology needed for the project.
Together, this team of investigators will make a great foray into the recesses of the mind. We were able to speak with Van Essen about the logistics of the project and what it means to have such a groundbreaking effort concentrated in St. Louis.
Why has a study of this magnitude never been done before?
A study such as this is only now coming onto the horizon because the technology required has not been possible until very recently. It’s been a very dramatic process over the past decade, especially in the past two or three years, in developing and refining the methods for learning about brain circuitry at the resolution we need to get a good handle on how our brains are wired and how they differ from one person to the next.
Why do you think your team was chosen from among other competitors for the project?
I think we have a generally exciting, broad, and powerful vision of what we aspired to do. We have an outstanding team of investigators concentrated at WashU, but our team is spread across nine universities in the United States and Europe. We have strengths at WashU in studying the organization of the brain and its function from a neurobiological standpoint. Our partners at the University of Minnesota are world leaders in developing and refining the methods for acquiring the best possible data from cutting edge magnetic resonance (MR) scanners. We looked very broadly to identify the best people in the world to form a team. We worked intensively in the planning process, and now we’re in the doing process and it has been very gratifying to see an enthusiastic and committed group of investigators come together.
There’s also the important role of Saint Louis University, which has a rare resource in terms of a facility for magnetoencephalography (MEG), a method for picking up signals from the brain based on the electrical and magnetic fields that are created as people think or carry out tasks. This method is wonderfully complementary to the scanning methods at WashU, which are based on MR. Having SLU as a part of our team gives us an added dimension to our overall approach
Do you think people will be enthusiastic to volunteer for the project?
We expect enthusiastic participation based in large part on the success of one of our key collaborators, Andrew Heath, who has worked for many years with individuals recruited from the Missouri Family Registry. He has experience in indentifying individuals, approaching them, and explaining what the research is about and why it’s exciting and important for people to volunteer if they are asked. We have that track record from other projects he has led over the years and in relation to this project, we anticipate that individuals who learn about the project will become interested and excited. We hope that most of them will be willing to participate.
Why use twins or sibling pairs for this study? Does this limit the volunteer pool?
That’s correct for Phase II, the main stage of acquiring data, which will occur during years 3-5. During the first two years we will be acquiring pilot data as we continue to refine the various aspects of data acquisition and analysis. During this period we will be looking for volunteers that are not part of the other pool. Phase I will be open to volunteers locally, preferably if they don’t have a twin, which would make them eligible for this phase.
Is there any talk of doing a second phase of this project to scan people with brain damage, as opposed to those with healthy brains?
Absolutely. We anticipate this project will be successful and as success beings to emerge we anticipate that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be providing opportunities and funding to support research into the countless diseases and disorders that afflict humankind. We would consider a major motivation of this project to eventually understand what kinds of circuitry abnormalities occur in schizophrenia, autism, ADHD and numerous other disorders, as well as changes that occur during normal development and aging. It will be several years before we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and launch separate projects, but we do see that as a critical part of the eventual success of this project.
How does an understanding of the pathways in the brain provide more valuable information than looking at specific brain structures?
When we look at the structure of the brain with a conventional MR scan, we can see where the gray matter is—where nerve cell bodies are and all the connections. We can also see white matter—the long distance wires, which are similar to the cables of an electronic circuit. It’s only with the newer method of analyzing brain activity that we can dig deeper than just identifying structure and actually learn how these parts and wires are connected. It’s the connections and their proper function that give us our extraordinary abilities to see, hear, talk, think, have emotions, and the other consequences of complex brain circuitry. All of the differences between people are ultimately rooted in differences in brain circuitry. We really need to be able to directly analyze brain circuits in order to better understand how our thoughts are carried out and to characterize the abnormalities of brain function. It’s a much more direct attack on the essential aspect of what the brain is about when we explore the actual wiring.
What does it mean for the city of St. Louis to have a project like this based here?
I think it’s a very exciting opportunity, and everyone in St. Louis can feel proud that we have a first-rate institution with an outstanding track record in neuroscience. We have the ability to put together a team that is carrying out an exciting effort on one of the great mysteries and challenges of our time, using cutting edge methods to accelerate our progress in this area.
For additional information on Dr. Van Essen and the Human Connectome Project, please visit humanconnectome.org.
