Ep. 402: How we are taking the brain virtual

Guest: Dr. Randy McIntosh, Simon Fraser University

Over the past twenty years, scientists have made great strides in understanding the brain and, at the same time, they know very little about how it works.

Neurobiologist Lu Chen says, “We know very little about the brain. We know about connections, but we don’t know how information is processed. Learning, for example, doesn’t just require good memory; it also depends on speed, creativity, attention, focus and – most importantly – flexibility. Understanding exactly how the neural pathways function could lead to improved treatments for depression, genetic disease and many other conditions.”

Enter renowned Simon Fraser University neuroscientist Dr. Randy McIntosh, who identified a significant challenge – a need for a virtual brain that will house research from around the world. Dr. McIntosh envisioned and co-created the “Virtual Brain” as a platform for use by a wide range of researchers to simulate their work in a complex interdisciplinary manner that will allow them to see the effect their work has on the brain.

McIntosh says, “I have been building the ideas around an inclusive and extended approach to neuroscience that goes outside traditional boundaries – and I am confident that SFU is the place to make these ideas a reality.”

Stuart McNish invited Dr. Randy McIntosh to join him for a Conversation That Matters about the vast new world of brain research that allows scientists to boldly go where no neurologist has gone before.