The Individual Brain Charting project has released its fifth and largest update of high-resolution brain scan data. The update adds new cognitive tasks to one of the most detailed public brain-mapping resources available.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, is a safe scanning method that measures changes in blood flow to show which parts of the brain become active during different mental activities. The new data come from 11 volunteers who each completed up to nearly 40 hours of scanning under very consistent conditions.
The project began in 2014 as part of the Human Brain Project. It repeatedly scans the same people while they perform many different tasks, such as solving math problems, navigating spaces, recognizing emotions, processing rewards, and holding information in working memory. This approach helps reveal how various mental processes work together inside one person's brain, rather than comparing averages across different groups of people.
Detailed mapping of individual brain activity
With the latest release, the collection now covers 67 tasks, 530 contrasts between task conditions, and 188 cognitive concepts. The added variety strengthens the foundation for precise studies of brain organization and for testing computer models of how the brain works. Researchers can use the data to check whether new models of brain function or artificial intelligence systems accurately reflect real neural activity across many different situations.
The entire dataset is freely available through EBRAINS, Europe's digital platform for brain research. EBRAINS stores and shares neuroscience information while following rules that make data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, as well as compliant with privacy laws.
One noted challenge in such long-term studies is keeping volunteers committed to many return visits for scanning. The participants showed strong engagement, which made the large dataset possible. The update supports broader efforts to understand individual differences in brain function and to improve models used in cognitive science and related fields.
This research is published in Nature Scientific Data.