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Brains and Cognition in the Netherlands 2011: Discovery and Application
Column by Leon Kenemans, Scientific Director NIBC
Research on brains and behavior is receiving a lot of interest, and for good reason. The time is right for a breakthrough in understanding and utilizing the capabilities of the human brain. Fathoming the mechanisms of a single neuron as well as the way in which the millions of cells in our brain interact is proceeding ever more rapidly.
A multitude of practical applications are just around the corner. From tools to regulate our own behaviour to methods to optimally absorb information or acquire skills. From brain scans that allow us to communicate with coma patients to magnetic stimulation to influence brain functioning and behaviour.
The National Initiative for Brains and Cognition (NIBC) was founded to realize these promises. In 2010 dozens of highly-motivated PhD and postgraduate students started out on several research projects funded by us. It is their goal to generate new and remarkable scientific insights that will undoubtedly lead to practical applications for society.
Liaison on a national level is extremely important, particularly for the advanced, costly technology used to generate images of the human brain in action. That is why the NIBC has made an effort to group the initiatives of national experts in this field (the 3N initiative). We are now acting jointly to persuade national and international funding bodies to invest.
In 2011 we will initiate new fundamental research. Closer cooperation with business partners and European initiatives will be realized and there will be a stronger focus on ICT. No doubt this will be a year full of creative brain waves, in explorers and appliers, with all of them on the same wave length.
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