Scientists Build Ultra-Detailed Digital Mouse Cortex Using Japan’s Fugaku Supercomputer
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Researchers have taken a major step forward in computational
neuroscience by creating one of the most detailed digital reconstructions of
the mouse cortex ever produced. Using Japan’s world-class Fugaku
supercomputer, the team built a virtual brain model containing around 10
million neurons and 26 billion synapses—a scale that captures both
the structure and intricate behaviour of real cortical circuits.
The project was led by scientists from the Allen Institute in the U.S.
and the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, combining
cutting-edge biology with high-performance computing.
A Supercomputer-Powered Look Inside the Brain
To build the model, researchers integrated extensive
biological datasets from the Allen Institute, including cell types,
connectivity patterns, and anatomical structure. These inputs were processed
using the institute’s Brain Modelling Toolkit, then executed on Fugaku’s
massive computing infrastructure.
Each of the roughly 10 million neurons inside the simulation
is represented as a branching, multi-compartment structure, allowing the
model to capture electrical behaviours at the sub-cellular level.
When running at full capacity, Fugaku simulated the entire mouse cortex at a
rate of 32 seconds of computation for every 1 second of real neural activity—a
remarkable feat for a model of this complexity.
What This Digital Cortex Could Reveal
Scientists believe the simulated cortex could become a
powerful tool for understanding brain disorders and testing new treatments.
Because the model operates as a full network, researchers can observe how
conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and other
neurological disorders spread through the brain—or how therapeutic
interventions might stop them.
This work complements other global efforts to build detailed
digital brain systems.
- At Stanford,
researchers have created an AI-based “digital twin” of the visual cortex
capable of predicting how thousands of neurons react to new visual
stimuli.
- Meanwhile,
teams at EPFL have generated full-brain synthetic wiring diagrams
(digital connectomes) that closely match laboratory-measured data.
Together, these projects highlight how computational
neuroscience is entering a new era—one where entire brain regions can be
studied, manipulated, and understood without ever touching a living animal.
#Neuroscience #Supercomputing #Fugaku #AllenInstitute
#BrainSimulation #AIResearch #DigitalTwin #ScienceNews #EPFL #StanfordResearch
#MouseCortex
