Mapping, understanding and manipulating the human brain connectome with MRI

人脑是一个异常复杂的网络，由数以万亿计的神经细胞通过数万亿条纤维连接在一起。了解这种错综复杂的连接网络--即所谓的人类连接体--已成为神经科学的中心目标，在规模上可与人类基因组计划相媲美。该项目将开发新的脑成像方法，以精确绘制连接体。它将研究信息是如何在不同区域之间交流的，以及大脑网络功能的个体差异如何与我们的基因构成有关。它还将决定我们是否能够有针对性地操纵连接体特定回路的功能，以期开发出治疗大脑疾病的新疗法。

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.