Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications

136 Pages·2009·2.86 MB·English

by  Committee on Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications

Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
OppOrtunities in
neurOscience fOr
future Army ApplicAtiOns
Committee on Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
Board on Army Science and Technology
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
The NaTioNal academies Press 500 Fifth street, N.W. Washington, dc 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National
Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the
National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible
for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. W911NF-07-C-0117 between the National Academy of Sciences
and the Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this
publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies
that provided support for the project.
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Cover: Neuronal pathways in BrainBow mice. Neurons in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in memory,
are labeled in different colors, with their neuronal outgoing projections pointing to the left. This is the first
time so many different neurons have been separately visualized on such a large scale. Courtesy of Jean Livet,
Joshua R. Sanes, and Jeff W. Lichtman, Harvard University, 2008.
Copyright 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
commiTTee oN oPPorTuNiTies iN NeuroscieNce For FuTure army
aPPlicaTioNs
FLOYD E. BLOOM, Chair, Professor Emeritus, The Scripps Research Institute
RICHARD A. ANDERSON, Professor of Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology
RONALD R. BLANCK, Vice Chairman, Martin, Blanck, & Associates
EMERY N. BROWN, Professor of Anesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital
JOSEPH T. COYLE, Eben S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Harvard University
MARY “MISSY” CUMMINGS, Boeing Assistant Professor, Director of Humans and Automation
Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. MARK DAVIS, Professor, Director of Psychoneuroimmunology, Division of Applied
Physiology, University of South Carolina
MICHAEL S. GAZZANIGA, Director, The Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, University of
California at Santa Barbara
RICHARD J. GENIK, II, Director, Emergent Technology Research Division, Wayne State
University
PAUL W. GLIMCHER, Professor of Neural Sciences, Economics, and Psychology, New York
University
PETER A. HANCOCK, Provost, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Central Florida
STEVEN KORNGUTH, Director, Center for Strategic and Innovative Technologies, Professor of
Pharmacy, University of Texas
MARTIN P. PAULUS, Professor in Residence, Department of Psychology, University of
California at San Diego
JUDITH L. SWAIN, Executive Director, Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences; Lien Ying
Chow Professor of Medicine, National University of Singapore; Adjunct Professor of
Medicine, University of California at San Diego
PAUL J. ZAK, Director, Center for Neuroscience Studies, Professor of Economics and Clinical
Professor of Neurology, Claremont Graduate University
staff
ROBERT J. LOVE, Study Director
NIA D. JOHNSON, Senior Research Associate (through July 2008)
JAMES C. MYSKA, Senior Research Associate
ANGELA L. MARTIN, Senior Program Assistant
v
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
Board oN army scieNce aNd TechNoloGy
MALCOLM R. O’NEILL, Chair, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Vienna, Virginia
ALAN H. EPSTEIN, Vice Chair, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Connecticut
DUANE ADAMS, Carnegie Mellon University (retired), Arlington, Virginia
ILESANMI ADESIDA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
RAJ AGGARWAL, Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
SETH BONDER, The Bonder Group, Ann Arbor, Michigan
JAMES CARAFANO, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.
W. PETER CHERRY, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Ann Arbor,
Michigan
DARRELL W. COLLIER, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (retired), Leander,
Texas
JAY C. DAVIS, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (retired), Livermore, California
PATRICIA K. FALCONE, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California
RONALD P. FUCHS, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington
PETER F. GREEN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
CARL GUERRERI, Electronic Warfare Associates, Inc., Herndon, Virginia
JOHN J. HAMMOND, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Fairfax, Virginia
M. FREDERICK HAWTHORNE, University of Missouri, Columbia
MARY JANE IRWIN, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
ELLIOT D. KIEFF, Channing Laboratory, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
LARRY LEHOWICZ, Quantum Research International, Arlington, Virginia
ROBIN MURPHY, Texas A&M University, College Station
RICHARD R. PAUL, Consultant, Bellevue, Washington
EDWARD K. REEDY, Georgia Tech Research Institute (retired), Atlanta
DENNIS J. REIMER, DFI International (retired), Arlington, Virginia
JONATHAN M. SMITH, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
MARK J.T. SMITH, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
MICHAEL A. STROSCIO, University of Illinois, Chicago
JUDITH L. SWAIN, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla
WILLIAM R. SWARTOUT, Institute for Creative Technologies, Marina del Rey, California
EDWIN L. THOMAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
ELLEN D. WILLIAMS, University of Maryland, College Park
JOSEPH YAKOVAC, President, JVM LLC, Hampton, Virginia
staff
BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director
CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager
DEANNA P. SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator
vi
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
Preface
The study of the human brain, its capacities, and its who must make the hard decisions on which science and
diseases remains one of the greatest scientific and philo- technology to pursue.
sophical challenges ever undertaken. That said, compiling The committee examined the basis of new neuroscience-
this report to consider aspects of what has been learned and based technologies and the likelihood that they could one day
is being learned about the brain that can be useful to the have an impact on Army capabilities. I believe the report pro-
operations of the U.S. Army has also proven to be extremely vides both a valuable snapshot of the nature of neuroscience
challenging. First, the field of neuroscience is so dynamic today and a well-formulated conceptualization of how its
that significant new findings are being announced almost growing number of facets could affect the Army. Although
daily. The ability to define the systems of neurons that are the science is a moving target, actions could be taken now
activated as a human learns, practices, and performs mental to track the progression of new concepts that will lead to
tasks has allowed impressive integration of the constantly developments with high potential for Army use.
accruing understanding of how neurons use their genes to I would like to thank the committee for its hard work
create proteins that enable them to function together. The in interviewing numerous experts, assessing the pertinent
ability to correlate brain images with function and behavior issues, and developing recommendations to address the
has already translated into accelerated programs to develop many demands of its statement of task (see page 9). The
yet more advanced imaging tools and techniques. I believe, committee, in turn, is grateful to the many Army personnel
as many others do, that despite the almost constant growth engaged in related research and technology developments for
of neuroscience over the past four decades, the future of the useful information they provided. We also greatly appre-
neuroscience applications will grow at a rate that has not ciate the support and assistance of the National Research
been seen since the birth of microprocessor-based personal Council (NRC) staff, which ably assisted the committee in
computers. It was against this backdrop of a rapidly grow- its fact-finding activities and in the production of this report.
ing science, and the even more rapidly changing translation In particular, I thank Robert Love and his staff, who success-
of that science into useful applications, that the committee fully organized several major meetings in multiple locations.
addressed the issues in this report. They also maintained a secure central Web forum, where our
Second, along with the growing number of scientists guests’ messages accumulated, along with remote interviews
engaged in neuroscience, the scope of neuroscience is also with people unable to attend our meetings, and through
expanding at an ever-accelerating rate—so fast, in fact, that which we wrote, shared our expertises, and developed the
scientists and engineers have difficulty reconciling their consensus for the report we present here. In addition, we also
perceptions of what is and isn’t included. Several new sub- specifically recognize the essential role played by consulting
disciplines have been created in the past few years, easily technical writer Robert Katt as he helped us communicate to
identified by the “neuro-” prefix, linking neuroscience our intended audiences within the Army the richness of the
knowledge with valuable applications and technologies both data and the often subtle nuances of how those data could be
medical and nonmedical. Which of them have proven to be used by the Army for its current and future operations.
substantive enough to be declared authentic components of The study was conducted under the auspices of the NRC
applied neuroscience and to be deemed contributors to that Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST), which was
future? Yet a third challenge has been to prepare a report established as a unit of the NRC in 1982 at the request of the
that could satisfy and be understood by an audience of both U.S. Army. The BAST brings broad military, industrial, and
generalists and specialists, as well as by those in the Army academic scientific, engineering, and management expertise
vviiii
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
viii PRefACe
to bear on technical challenges of importance to senior bers nominated and appointed to serve as formal members
Army leaders. The Board is not a study committee; rather, of the study committee, asked to endorse the committee’s
it discusses potential study topics and tasks; ensures project conclusions or recommendations, nor did they review final
planning; suggests potential experts to serve as committee drafts of the report before its release.
members or reviewers; and convenes meetings to examine
strategic issues for its sponsor, the Assistant Secretary of the
Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology). Floyd Bloom, Chair
Although the Board members are listed on page vi of this Committee on Opportunities in Neuroscience
report, they were not, with the exception of any Board mem- for Future Army Applications
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html

acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by indi- Edward G. Jones (NAS), University of California,
viduals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical Davis,
expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Michael M. Merzenich (NAS), University of California,
National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The San Francisco,
purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and Gregory J. Moore, Pennsylvania State University, and
critical comments that will assist the institution in making its Daniel Schacter, Harvard University.
published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the
report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, Although the reviewers listed above have provided
and responsiveness to the study charge. The review com- many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not
ments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor
the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the did they see the final draft of the report before its release.
following individuals for their review of this report: The review of this report was overseen by Dennis W. Choi
of Emory University and Richard M. Shiffrin of Indiana
Huda Akil, University of Michigan, University. Appointed by the National Research Council,
Michael Bennett (NAS), Albert Einstein College of they were responsible for making certain that an independent
Medicine, examination of this report was carried out in accordance with
John Cacioppo, University of Chicago, institutional procedures and that all review comments were
David Dinges, University of Pennsylvania, carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of
Stephen Drew, Science Partners, this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and
Christopher Green, Wayne State University, the institution.
ix
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12500.html
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.