Supercomputer Builds One Of The Most Realistic Virtual Brains Ever Created

Scientists have developed one of the most detailed virtual models of a mouse brain, offering researchers a new way to study how the brain works and how diseases such as Alzheimer's develop. The project was led by experts from the Allen Institute in the United States and the University of Electro-Communications in Japan.

The team has successfully simulated an entire mouse cortex, the part of the brain responsible for processing information. Although the mouse brain is much smaller and less complex than the human brain, both share several structural similarities, making this model a valuable resource for future research.

The virtual brain includes an extraordinary 9 million neurons and 26 billion synapses, all connected across 86 different regions. Powered by a supercomputer, the system can perform quadrillions of calculations per second, allowing scientists to observe brain activity in remarkable detail.

For comparison, a real mouse brain contains about 70 million neurons packed into a space roughly the size of an almond. Researchers say the new simulation will help them run controlled experiments that are impossible to perform on living brains, and could open the door to deeper insights into neurological disorders.

"This shows the door is open," says computational neuroscientist Anton Arkhipov, from the Allen Institute. "We can run these kinds of brain simulations effectively with enough computing power."

"It's a technical milestone giving us confidence that much larger models are not only possible, but achievable with precision and scale."

The findings were presented at the SC25 supercomputing conference and have been published online.