The Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) is an international society dedicated to advancing the understanding of the anatomical and functional organization of the human brain using neuroimaging. A primary function of the society is to provide educational forums for the exchange of up-to-the-minute and groundbreaking research across neuroimaging methods and applications. OHBM achieves this through its member led committees and an Annual Meeting that is held in different locations throughout the world.

OHBM Mission

The purpose of the Society shall be to advance the understanding of the anatomical and functional organization of the human brain, and promote its medical and societal applications.

OHBM Will…

• Bring together researchers who are engaged in investigations relevant to human brain organization (MRI, fMRI, PET, EEG/MEG and other cutting edge approaches such as electrophysiology, preclinical imaging, neuroepidemiology, genetics); and
• Engage in other activities to facilitate communication among these scientists and promote education in human brain organization.

OHBM History

It was 1995 when the first gathering of brain imagers convened in Paris, France to share science and discuss techniques and challenges in this newly emerging field. Organizers Bernard Mazoyer, Per Roland and Rudiger Seitz thought it would be a small meeting but this meeting resulted in over 800 people gathering in Paris to take part in the inaugural “International Conference on Human Brain Mapping”. The following year, a second event was held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and was organized by Jack Belliveau, David Kennedy and Bruce Rosen. During a memorable Boston conference town hall meeting (chaired by Alan Evans), the attendees expressed their interest in having a formal organization created. OHBM was officially incorporated in 1997 during the Copenhagen, Denmark meeting, when the general assembly approved the newly created by-laws (written by an ad hoc committee chaired by David Van Essen) and elected its first officers. The Human Brain Map database workshops organized by Peter Fox in the early nineties, and the two early international conferences provided the foundation and served as a catalyst for organizing those working in this growing and quickly changing area of neuroscience. The Annual Meeting of OHBM has become the premiere event in the brain mapping community attracting leading researchers and students alike. Since its inception, OHBM has continued to evolve in response to the needs of our members and student post-doc group in the field of human functional neuroimaging and its movement into the scientific mainstream.

For more on the history of OHBM, you can download a NeuroImage editorial written by Aina Puce and Bernard Mazoyer with this link.

Oral History Project