CAMH is using futuristic brain science to cure depression

CAMH is using futuristic brain science to cure depression

The new Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics uses brain modelling to get inside our heads

Image courtesy of CAMH

One of the coolest new intersections of technology and biology is the sphere of neuro­informatics, where scientists use computational magic to find patterns in brain data. CAMH’s new Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics opened this fall with the goal of deploying the science to diagnose and treat mental illness. Staff will build large-scale models that simulate the brain’s circuitry to determine how mental illness affects different populations, learn the molecular causes of conditions like depression and schizophrenia, and develop new clinical treatments. The centre will employ up to 90 people—algorithmists, deep learning experts, mathematical ­modellers—all in the hopes of using the science of big data to get inside our heads.

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