At President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address the
next potential US government initiated international project was introduced. If
you didn’t catch it is the brain mapping.
So the last project was the well-known Human Genome
Project (HGP). That project mapped out
a chromosome which was a costly project but provided fruitful and immensely beneficial developments such as gene therapy. Today, in a press
release the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies
(BRAIN) program was announced.
The obvious correlation of this project is through Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI) however let us considering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A 2006 article (pdf
link) cites many effects of traumatic stress on the brain.
Stress results in
acute and chronic changes in neurochemical systems and specific brain regions,
which result in long term changes in brain “circuits,” involved in the stress
response. Brain regions that are felt to play an important role in PTSD include
hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. Cortisol and
norepinephrine are two neurochemical systems that are critical in the stress
response. (Bremner, 2006)
This article goes into much detail about the functions of
the brain. One section deals with
cognitive processes. This section notes
deficits in declarative memory. This is long term memory like events or
knowledge. So any way that article is
packed full of great information.
This project could be very fruitful however I
feel that this project will be more challenging than the HGP. My number one reason for it being more
complicated is brain/neuro plasticity. This is the brains ability and inclination to alter
itself. It can change both functionally and
physically. Confused yet? Here is a link
to PTSD and the Brain
webpage that has many more great links.
How do you think the BRAIN project could affect service
members, veterans and their families? 
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