About 80 European research institutions and some from outside the EU will take part in the HumanBrainProject, which is estimated to cost more than 1bn euros.
Meanwhile the HumanBrainProject will attempt to simulate the trillions of neural connections that make up a humanbrain in an effort to comprehend how the organ functions.
Unlike the effort to decode the human genome, or the project to put a man on the moon, the mapping of the humanbrain is a fuzzy endeavor, with no obvious milestones along the way.
The project will use supercomputer-based models and simulations to reconstruct a virtual humanbrain to develop new treatments for neurological conditions.