Our brain is an unparalleled network of connections. It consists of 86 billion brain cells connected, on average, to about 10,000 other cells. Every time we learn something new – saying “hello” in Chinese, practicing a new judo move, or preparing a new recipe – connections are added. Those billions and billions of connections make our brain most like a powerful, complex computer.
This is the perfect topic for the second edition of IO Next. Today, we are proud to publish ‘The Brain’. It is a magazine with stories of scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators who share a common goal: to understand better the most complex system there is, piece by piece.
On our website, Brain Week begins today, which means we publish an article from the magazine each day.
We begin with the story of colleague Mauro Mereu, who set out to learn about electrical treatment techniques for mental illness. Because as long as our supercomputer is up to speed, it’s a fascinating organ. But for people with depression or other mental illnesses, it can sometimes feel like a prison. Treatment is often with drugs, which can have unpleasant side effects. Electrical therapy is developing rapidly and can provide relief.
I recommend that you read the articles not there, but in the magazine. Because there, together with the fantastic design by colleague Marieke Brouwers, they tell one story. That of the brain, which is as elusive as it is surprising.
From now on, an edition of IO Next will appear every month. Subscribe here to receive the subsequent editions automatically in your mailbox.
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