[2][3][4] Using high-performance exascale supercomputers it built infrastructure that allowed researchers to advance knowledge in the fields of neuroscience, computing and brain-related medicine.

The HBP was coordinated by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and was largely funded by the European Union.

Fundamental to the HBP approach is to investigate the brain on different spatial and temporal scales (i.e. from the molecular to the large networks underlying higher cognitive processes, and from milliseconds to years).

To achieve this goal, the HBP relies on the collaboration of scientists from diverse disciplines, including neuroscience, philosophy and computer science, to take advantage of the loop of experimental data, modelling theories and simulations.

The HBP is coordinated by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and involves researchers from over 117 partner institutions in 19 countries across Europe.

The scientific direction is provided by representatives from each of the HBP's Subprojects, which form the Science and Infrastructure Board (SIB).

The call for funding for the Project's initial two-and-a-half-year 'Ramp-Up Phase' of EUR 54 million closed in November 2013 and the results were announced in March 2014.

[18] Central to this controversy was an internal dispute about funding for cognitive scientists who study high level brain functions, such as thought and behaviour.

In its response, the HBP said that "while neuroscience research generates a vast amount of valuable data, there is currently no technology for sharing, organising, analysing or integrating this information, beyond papers and even databases.

[19] Peter Dayan, director of computational neuroscience at University College London, argued that the goal of a large-scale simulation of the brain is radically premature,[20] and Geoffrey Hinton said that "the real problem with that project is they have no clue how to get a large system like that to learn".

[19] In 2015 the project underwent a review process and the three-member executive committee, led by Henry Markram, was dissolved[3][23][24] and replaced by a 22-member governing board.

[27] EBRAINS consists of a set of infrastructure initiatives (such as brain atlases),[28] tools and services (such as the sPyNNaker software suite for SpiNNaker hardware),[29] and community projects.