Investing in brain research will lead to life-saving treatments for the millions affected by neurological diseases, offering hope for one in three people—whether that’s you, a family member, or a close friend.
The following is an excerpt of a panel discussion with Dr. Jan Claassen and Paris Brain Institute Ambassador Jean Reno at the Transatlantic Leaders Forum “Dare, Share, and Care” organized in New York on October 18th, 2024. Parts of the conversation have been edited or not reported for clarity and length.
The heart on the picture is a creation of Sophie Simone Designs
To support brain research and for more information on Paris Brain Institute America: https://parisbraininstitute-america.org/
What do New York-based French Actor Jean Reno (known for his roles as “Leon: The Professional,” “Mission Impossible,” “The Pink Panther,” “French Kiss,” “Ronin”) and Columbia University neurologist Dr. Jan Claassen have in common?
A great heart and a brilliant mind.
Jean Reno has supported the Paris Brain Institute, one of the world’s leading research and clinical centers for brain science, since its inception 15 years ago. Dr. Claassen has collaborated with Paris-based neuroscientists for a decade and is currently involved in the Consciousness Mapping bilateral project between the Paris Brain Institute and Columbia University. This project is one of the first research initiatives funded by the newly established Paris Brain Institute America.
On October 18th, 2024, French Founders, Tikehau, and Goldman Sachs invited them to discuss how their daring investment in brain research has influenced the field of science. Over the years, neuroscientists have shifted from merely observing and analyzing diseases to actively seeking solutions, treatments, and cures that will impact one in three people.
Before engaging with Dr. Claassen and Jean Reno on stage at the Transatlantic Leaders Forum, I shared with the audience of tech, business, and financial leaders what ChatGPT produced when I asked the AI tool to define the brain:
“The brain is the central organ of the nervous system in humans and many other animals. It is responsible for processing sensory information, controlling movement, regulating bodily functions, and enabling higher cognitive functions such as thinking, memory, and emotions. The human brain is estimated to contain about 86 billion neurons and roughly the same number, if not more, of glial cells.”
As we often think of space as the next frontier, we should also look closer to home, inside the mysterious engine that drives our body and mind: the brain.
The World Health Organization states, “Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide.” In 2021, it was estimated that a staggering three billion people were living with a neurological condition.
JC Agid: Doctor Claassen, what are the glial cells?
Dr. Jan Claassen: Everybody always talks about the neurons. That’s what we think of when we think of the brain; that’s where the electrical activity is transmitted. The glial cells are basically the support system. They help the brain cells, the neurons, to function. So, you cannot underestimate them. They’re crucially important. When we think about how to modulate brain function, we think about the glial cells.
Let’s talk about figures: We own 86 billion neurons and 86 billion glial cells. We all are very rich.
Dr. Jan Claassen: We are wealthy, but when disease hits you, like a stroke, you lose millions of neurons every minute before you start an intervention. If you have a little clot going into your vessel, into the brain, and you detect that early enough, you can put it out again, and you can sort of make that brain survive. But you lose millions of neurons every minute you do this later.
Where are we at with brain research?
Dr. Jan Claassen: It is probably the most exciting time to be in brain research. There’s been work on the brain (…) and the Paris Brain Institute has played a pivotal role in that. But the brain is sort of hidden underneath: we don’t have direct access to the brain—(unlike) the eyes that we can directly observe. It has, therefore, been difficult to study the brain for a long time.
What makes brain research now easier?
Dr. Jan Claassen: With technological developments, imaging, and electrophysiological techniques, we now have a window into the living brain. Before, it was usually after the person died that we could examine (the brain) in great details. The living brain was always a mystery. The digital revolution has been an enormous opportunity. The advancement (of brain research) is not a linear curve; it’s really exponential at the moment. For the longest time in neurology, it was all about talking in a fancy way and making a diagnosis, but you couldn’t really help most patients. Now, we can help patients a lot of the time.
Jean Reno, you and a few friends—such as Jean Todt, Maurice Lévy, Lindsay Owen Jones, Luc Besson, Michael Schumacher etc.—decided to help three Professors—Gérard Saillant, Olivier Lyon-Caen, and Yves Agid—launch this institute.
Jean Reno: Dr. Jan Claassen is just a genius. His heart is ten times bigger than mine because he searches for me, he searches for (cures), and I say, ‘bravo to you every day.’ That’s why I’m here. People like him dedicate their lives to us. I am proud to be here because we now work for and with Americans. This is fantastic. We exchange information, and we can go further. I’m here only because of the women and men who started the Paris Brain Institute. We need people like them. I mean, I have a good life, I have a fantastic family. I’m happy. I’m old, but that’s okay, so, I dedicate my life to other people.
Neurology has moved from a more observational specialty to one focused primarily on treating and trying to help some patients recover.
Dr. Jan Claassen
Jean Reno, let’s watch a short video that shows about Paris Brain Institute, which you have helped create.
Jean Reno, Paris Brain Institute now have an American philanthropic arm called Paris Brain Institute America, chaired by Martine Assouline along with your wife Zofia and Mathilde Coste. This organization funds specific research projects between Paris Brain Institute and American Institutions such as Columbia University (with Dr. Claassen) on consciousness mapping and Harvard Medical School on glioblastoma. Why is it so important to involve Americans and be present in the United States?
Jean Reno: Because of people like Dr. Claassen. America can take us by the hand to follow the road. We need to be together, exchange information and work together. We need people, you know, clever people.
And we need people to support his journey.
Jean Reno: Absolutely.
Dr. Jan Claassen: I wouldn’t say anybody takes anybody else by the hand; we all take each other by the hand. Together, we are stronger. I have collaborated with my colleagues and friends at the Paris Brain Institute for the past decade. There are fantastic scientists and minds in Paris and good people here. If you really want to make fundamental discoveries, (what you need) is collaboration. Nobody can do this by themselves for many reasons. We all have special expertise. We have access to different patient populations.
Dr. Jan Claassen is just a genius. His heart is ten times bigger than mine because he searches for me, he searches for (cures), and I say, ‘bravo to you every day.’
Jean Reno
This journey, Dr. Claassen, takes you to something called consciousness mapping. A few weeks ago, you made the cover of Columbia magazine and talked about hidden minds. What is consciousness mapping, this project you are co-leading with the Paris Brain Institute?
Dr. Jan Claassen: My lab is interested in consciousness. I’m trying to figure out what consciousness is. I’m an intensivist, so my clinical work is in the intensive care unit. I have a lot of patients with disorders of consciousness, and for many years I’ve always been standing there at the bedside and wondering when somebody was not responsive, whether they were truly not conscious. Families often would say, ‘I think my mom is in there, there’s something there.’ But as a scientist, what you cannot prove and cannot calculate, you brush off and you ignore.
So, we developed a project where we are looking at the electrical activity of the brain and at imaging, and we were able to show that every fourth patient who looks like they’re unresponsive is actually conscious, they can hear you. Together, with my friends in Paris, we came up with this idea of trying to map consciousness. Once you know that phenomenon is there, we show that it correlates with outcomes. Those patients that have this activation have a higher chance to recover. But then you’re trying to figure out why don’t they just respond? If they’re conscious and you ask them, ‘Show me two fingers,’ why don’t they do it? You can see that the brain understands it and that they could do this: they are not paralyzed. They can actually move their arms, but they’re not doing it. Where’s the wiring broken? And then why is it important to figure that out? Why do we need to develop this map of the brain to understand what’s going on? Because if we understand that map, we can also develop treatments.
Our science has moved from a more observational specialty to one focused primarily on treating and trying to help some patients recover. I’ve been in this neural field for 25 years, and it’s already been a revolution. People that we couldn’t help initially but just sit there, look at them, and talk very fancily about them, we can now do something. We can pull clots out; we can treat them with medications. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The speed at which the digital revolution is happening impacts also the scientific revolution, and it will fundamentally change everything.
Jean Reno: Our mission is very important, and we need you to continue. When (Dr. Claassen) speaks, I understand how big the mission is and how devoted he is to the mission. We need you.
Investing in brain research is vital. Think about the pandemic. We found a vaccine quite quickly, but the research did not start at the beginning of the pandemic. It was the result of the work of dozens and hundreds of scientists and the investments of billions of dollars into research for decades. Is that what we’re also talking about when discussing the brain? Investing for the future?
Dr. Jan Claassen: Absolutely. This is a really good example. The fundamental research done for the rapid sequencing that allowed vaccines to be developed within a year is unprecedented. Obviously, that wasn’t just research that happened that year; there were decades of research. Scientifically, it was ready for the vaccine to be developed.
How is AI going to transform brain research?
Dr. Jan Claassen: If you think about these patients that I described earlier who look completely unresponsive but are conscious inside, there are ways, we think, to start communicating with them, and that’s by AI. For example, with ALS, this degenerative disease of the nervous system. In the later stages, patients cannot move anything at all—they are in some ways locked in in their body. There are AI-supported tools that detect the brain activity that allows speech generation just by the person thinking about it. So, we are building a brain computer interface to see whether maybe one of those patients in this locked-in state could articulate what they feel, what they want to be done. This sounds like science-fiction, but it is, I think, possible to do that in our lifetime.
Jean and Jan: Let’s then dare to invest in human intelligence, share your knowledge, and care for more people. As the French entrepreneur and ALS patient Olivier Goy says, let’s all be “Invincible.”
Join Paris Brain Institute America, learn more and support brain research on consciousness mapping (partnership with Columbia University) and on glioblastoma (partnership w
