THE HUMAN BRAIN DIVERSITY PROJECT

What is it about?

The Human Brain Diversity Project will build a database of 40,000 individuals across 4 countries and continents over the next five years consisting of EEG recordings along with extensive information about demographics, lifestyle, technology use, diet and cognitive and mental health assessments.

The study will sample from a range of settlements and ecosystems based on population, geographical environment and infrastructure that span as best possible the diversity of human settlements around the globe. It will also be stratified across the lifespan targeting age cohorts in specific increments.

Why is this project important?

Most of human brain research has been done in the United States and Europe on small samples (the median study size is around 60 people), typically college students. However, the brain is an experience dependent organ and evolves in both structure and function based on our life experiences. Today human experience across the planet diverges more than it ever has before in terms of income and access to the nutrients, resources, tools and technologies that alter the rate and nature of stimulus experience. With 6 out of 7 billion people living outside of the US and Western Europe, and only 13% of adults being college educated, current research does not represent the vast majority of humanity. Give that the human brain is profoundly important for every social and economic outcome from education to jobs to ultimate human fate, it is imperative that we understand how its function is impacted by our diverging access to resources and experience of the world. With this understanding we can make better policy decisions, design better social interventions and positively impact the course of human life.

What’s the present status of the project?

Presently, the surveys, assessment tools and hardware are being developed and individually piloted before large scale deployment. Thus far over 3,000 individuals have been studied across four countries in pilot studies. Take a look at this video of participant recruitment for one of these pilots in India.