Thankfully, President Obama has secured the necessary endowment to fund a momentous project that will effectively map the human brain. Known as the "Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies" Project, or BRAIN, the outcome will ease human suffering and enhance the overall wellness of our collective consciousness.
According to the April 8, 2013 issue of MIT Technology:
[t]he “next great American project,” as Obama called it, could help neuroscientists understand the origins of cognition, perception, and other enigmatic brain activities, which may lead to new, more effective treatments for conditions like autism or mood disorders and could help veterans suffering from brain injuries.I trust that this project will shed flood lights on the nature and pathology of our conduct as it is dictated neurologically from the most fascinating object in our known universe: the human brain.
Oftentimes I muse over the etiology of things like morality, greed, altruism, elation, euphoria and my own hellish depression. When I consider the vicious actions taken by some people, I wonder if that portion of their brains devoted to the preservation of the ethic has experienced a congenital or traumatic warp. Alternatively, when I think of people, like my friend Tom Adams, who seem to be perfectly aligned to do the right thing under any set of conditions, I wonder if that same area of the neurological centerpiece is more vibrant, pink and full of thriving electric circuitry.
But verbs, like "wonder," and "consider," should be removed from the vernacular by the psychological and psychiatric communities, which are in critical need of the technology promised by the BRAIN project. As it now stands, psychiatrists must rely upon the reports of psychologists, which are, in turn, almost entirely dependent upon the narrative provided by the suffering patient in order to fashion a recipe of psychotropic medicines to counter their mental illness. There exists no in-depth MRI or CT scan, nor blood testing, which would enable these professionals to peer microscopically into our cerebral inner-workings. The result? Trial, error, adjustment, trial, error, adjustment and oftentimes successful treatment. But sadly, the ideal amalgam is never discovered in countless other instances, despite myriad attempts. In either event, the process now in place may be long and especially arduous for both patient and physician. And delay is not kind to this potentially fatal disease; fatal to both patient (suicide) and others (homicide).
So thank you, Mr. Obama, for your willingness to to stick your own head out in the name of progress, science, health and humanity.
The promise of cognitive rewards is as manifold as the brain itself.
