Mapping, understanding and manipulating the human brain connectome with MRI

人脑是一个极其复杂的网络，由数以百万计的神经细胞组成，由数万亿根纤维连接起来。理解这种复杂的连接网络——所谓的人类连接组——已经成为神经科学的中心目标，其规模可与人类基因组计划相媲美。这个项目将开发新的脑成像方法来精确地绘制连接体。它将研究信息是如何在大脑的不同区域之间传递的，以及大脑网络功能的个体差异与我们的基因构成之间的关系。它还将决定我们是否能够以一种有针对性的方式操纵连接组特定回路的功能，以期开发出治疗脑部疾病的新方法。

The human brain is an extraordinarily complex network, comprising millions of nerve cells connected by trillions of fibres. Understanding this intricate web of connectivity – the so-called human connectome – has become a central goal of neuroscience and is comparable in scale to the human genome project. This project will develop new brain imaging methods for accurately mapping the connectome. It will investigate how information is communicated between its different regions and how individual differences in brain network function relate to our genetic make-up. It will also determine whether we can manipulate the function of specific circuits of the connectome in a targeted way, in the hope of developing new treatments for brain disorders.