A New Age of Computing and the Brain: Report of the CCC Brain Workshop

Throughout its history, humankind has been fascinated by a question that is simple to pose, yet remarkably resistant to resolution: "How does the brain work?" Philosophers have debated the workings of the mind for centuries. Da Vinci made detailed sketches of the brain. By the turn of the century, scientists began to understand some of the brain's basic structure and function. Today, we can image and record brain activity from the neural to whole-brain level. Yet, divining how the structure and function of the several billion neurons and their trillions of interconnections leads to the complexity, diversity, and adaptability of human behavior continues to elude us. It is indeed ironic that almost every advance in brain science has given us a deeper appreciation of the challenges of understanding the brain.