How private foundations and governments helped build theoretical neuroscience.

Private foundations and governments collaborated with scientists to establish centers that significantly advanced theoretical and computational neuroscience, shaping the field's development.

• Why it matters: Understanding how strategic investments in neuroscience infrastructure and training influence scientific progress can inform future funding and policy decisions, especially as the field impacts AI and psychiatry.
• What they did: The NeuroView describes how these entities created centers with "local critical mass," trained "outsiders," and promoted theory-experiment collaborations, thereby fostering the growth of the discipline.
• The result: These efforts helped launch AI and computational psychiatry, demonstrating that targeted support can accelerate scientific innovation and interdisciplinary applications.