In today’s TheNew York Times,“The Brain in Exquisite Detail” explores the dramatic brain mapping and imaging being done through the Human Connectome Project.
What does the $40 million, federally funded effort mean for the autism community?
“Ultimately this is about ushering in an era of more personalized medicine,” says Daniel Smith, Autism Speaks senior director of discovery neuroscience. “Our community is a very diverse population, and no single intervention will be right for everyone who seeks treatment. More immediately, this is about understanding how differences in brain wiring produce differences in behavior."
By mapping the human brain in great detail, the Human Connectome Project is providing a baseline understanding of how the brain operates, Dr. Smith adds. “By better understanding the connections between brain regions and within brain regions, we can better understand the uniqueness of each individual and their symptoms and develop treatments best for them."
Autism Speaks is a partner in Autism BrainNet, a national repository of brain tissue vital to such work. Autism Speaks' broad portfolio of research projects also includes a wealth of groundbreaking neuroscience studies.
You can explore all the research Autism Speaks is funding using this website’s grant search.
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