Tulsa Neurosurgeon Says Obama's $100 Million Brain Mapping Plan Is Needed

President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $100 million to help find a cure for dementia and other diseases that affect the brain.

He's calling it the BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative, and he said it could change the way we understand the human mind, while creating jobs and pumping money into the economy.

Doctors say it could unlock one of the least understood organs in our body.

Dr. Patrick Han, a neurosurgeon at St. John Health System, said the plan is desperately needed.

He said doctors and scientists are familiar with the brain's anatomy - which part of the brain is responsible for a particular behavior - but he said the research into how those areas interact is still in its primitive stages.

"The brain--we have learned a lot over the last 50 years. However, I would say our knowledge of the brain [is dwarfed by] that compared to other organs," Han said.

He said he was pleased to hear of President Obama's proposal to map the human brain.

The President wants Congress to spend $100 million, and is asking private companies, universities and philanthropists to jump on board.

"As humans, we can identify galaxies light years away, we can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears," President Obama said.

Read President Obama's Remarks On The BRAIN Initiative

Dr. Han said brain mapping research could help find cures to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other genetic diseases. In addition, he said, it could teach scientists how memories are stored and how people learn.

The President's plan is being compared to President Kennedy's mission to send humans to the moon, only this mission would delve deep inside what makes humans human.

"I think it's a very worthwhile effort. I think we need to have realistic expectations on the short term of what is going to be achieved with this information, but, in the long term, I think the potential is significant," Han said.

The President has said he wants a study to be done of the ethical, legal, and societal implications of the research.

The National Institutes of Health is in charge of defining the goals of the project.