Center for Computational Brain Science

About

Computational neuroscience is a multidisciplinary field that seeks to understand the functions of the brain at all levels — from cells to cognition — using principles from physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, biology, cognitive science and psychology.

Computational neuroscientists ask questions such as:

How do neurons communicate information?
What are the organizational principles in networks of neurons that facilitate learning and generalization?
How does the architecture of higher-level brain organization contribute to distinct cognitive functions?
How is information flow disrupted in neurological and psychiatric conditions?
How can we leverage formal mathematical models to lend insight into these questions?

About CCBS

The Center for Computational Brain Science (CCBS) is housed within the Carney Institute for Brain Science, a collaborative hub for computational brain scientists who are revolutionizing their field. CCBS leverages existing synergies and establishes shared infrastructure, setting itself as a destination for scientists around the world looking to acquire high-level computational skills.

One signature feature of the center is its BRAINSTORM program, designed to enable the advancement of high-risk projects and ideas with the potential for commercialization or broader adoption by the scientific community or by industry. The center also provides cross-training in computational methods for students, basic scientists and physician-scientists. Each year, the center hosts a two-week modeling competition workshop, featuring daily lectures and discussions, hands-on coding tutorials and advanced sessions that provide a deeper understanding of complex modeling approaches, pitfalls and concepts.

Brown has strong, internationally recognized leadership across the spectrum of diverse areas within computational brain science. Our center brings this expertise together, and it facilitates synergistic combinations of basic science with theory that can lead to novel applications in the areas of artificial and natural intelligence and neurotechnology and psychiatry.

Michael Frank Director of the Center for Computational Brain Science and Edgar L. Marston Professor of Psychology

Mission

The mission of the Center for Computational Brain Science is:

To create an intensive rich computational neuroscience community to foster collaborations between basic brain science researchers and engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists.
To improve the human condition via computational approaches to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, bringing computational neuroscience innovations to real-world industry and clinical applications.

The center invests in high-risk, high-gain research with the potential for conversion to startups, thereby accelerating the translation of computational approaches to clinical applications and commercialization.

The center emanated from the Carney Institute’s Initiative for Computation in Brain and Mind, created in 2012.

The data revolution in brain science est arrivé. Brown is leading the way in computational methods that use brain signals to understand cognition and other high-level brain functions. Brown is a powerhouse of world-class scientists who are exploring, inventing, debating and collaborating.

Diane Lipscombe Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Director of the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science