The Human Brain : What we know and the challenges ahead

The human brain is an extremely complex organ consisting of 100 billion nerve cells which are interconnected through a million billion connections adding up to 3.2 million kilometre of wiring.  This intricate organ, packed in 1.5 kg of tissue mass presents research challenges unheard of in the history of science and hence is aptly referred as the last frontier in biology. Emily Dickinson might seem to have taken poetic license when she wrote, “the brain is wider than the sky … deeper than the sea”, but to us neuroscientists, struggling to understand the brain function, it seems that ‘the brain is so near and yet so far’. Since the 1990s’ we have witnessed an explosion of knowledge in neuroscience and the stage is set in the new millennium for a more thorough understanding of the human brain and for translating our understanding into strategies to protect the brain from the vagaries of nature, both genetic and environmental. In order to achieve this goal “neuroscience research has accommodated multidisciplinary methods integrating the many levels of functional organisation of the brain, from molecules to neurons to networks to systems to behaviour. 

Apart from the interest in understanding how human brain performs complex cognitive functions and finding links between behaviour, brain and mind, there are serious health related issues affecting the brain. Brain-related disorders affect large section of population and contribute up to one-third of the total disease burden in both developing and developed nations. From birth to old age, a host of neurological and mental illnesses afflict mankind.  Most of these are poorly understood and many defy current therapeutic strategies. Due to enormous complexity of the brain, our understanding of most of these diseases is poor and treatments are palliative rather than curative. Through the study of the normal brain and its diseases and disorders, brain research can enhance the development of our children and help them to fulfil their potential, enrich adult life, and improve the likelihood of successful ageing.