France: Opening the Human Brain Research Center

On November 24, France launched NeuroSpin Human Brain Research Center, which is considered to be the world's largest research center in this area. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin attended the opening ceremony of this center in Saclay, outside Paris.

NeuroSpin under the French Atomic Energy Agency (CEA) is considered to be the largest human brain research facility in the world.

The total investment value for this center construction project is 51 million so far, and will continue to expand under the framework of French - German partners. It is expected that NeuroSpin Center will officially go into operation from the beginning of January 2007.

Here, 150 scientists in many fields such as neuroscience, imaging diagnostics and nuclear physics . will jointly study the brain and cognitive processes in humans.

At the same time, they will also study diseases of the nervous system, abnormalities in intellectual development, mental illnesses (psychiatric isolation, depression .), aging of the brain and Active mechanism of the brain.

Currently 2 out of 4 NeuroSpin scanners have been installed at the center, in which one has a magnet with a magnetic strength of 3 te xla (tesla, magnetic induction unit, 1 tesla = 20,000 times the magnetic unit Earth field) used for examination and clinical research, a 7 te xla machine for preclinical and clinical studies in humans.

It is expected that by 2008, the Center will put into operation a 17,6 te-xla machine, specializing in the study of small animals.

The installation of an 11.7 te-xla master scanner - the world's most powerful machine manufactured for human body research, is being studied under the French-German project.

NeuroSpin Center (Photo: claude-vasconi.fr)