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Get to know the Bernstein Network!

Get to know the Bernstein Network!

Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience

Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience

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Bernstein Conference 2025

Bernstein Conference 2025

Bernstein Conference

Bernstein Conference

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Welcome

The Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience connects experimental and theoretical scientists. It comprises more than 200 research groups and 450 individual scientists from all over the world who combine experimental neuroscientific approaches with theoretical models and computer simulations.

The Bernstein Network was launched in 2004 through a major funding initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) which aimed at advancing the transfer of theoretical knowledge to clinical and technical applications. The network is named after the German physiologist and biophysicist Julius Bernstein (1839-1917).

News

Göttingen, Germany June 4, 2025

Madame de Staël Prize for member of Die Junge Akademie Viola Priesemann

At its annual General Assembly, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities ALLEA (All European Academies) presented the Madame de Staël Prize to physicist Viola Priesemann. The award was announced in December 2024.

Munich, Germany June 12, 2025

How artificial intelligence can learn from mice

The ability to precisely predict movements is essential not only for humans and animals, but also for many AI applications — from autonomous driving to robotics. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered that artificial neural networks can perform this task better when trained with biological data from early visual system development.

Mainz, Germany June 5, 2025

Neighbourly help in the brain: Nerve cells step in when lost

How the brain largely maintains its function when neurons are lost – this is what researchers at the University Medical Center Mainz, the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) and Hebrew University (Jerusalem) have deciphered. They show that neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex reorganize within a short period of time, with other nerve cells taking over the tasks of the lost neurons. These findings could form the basis for future research into natural ageing processes and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Neuroscience.

Berlin, Germany May 20, 2025

Asian elephants have larger brains than their African relatives

African elephants are the largest land animals on earth and significantly larger than their relatives in Asia, from which they are separated by millions of years of evolution. Nevertheless, Asian elephants have a 20 percent heavier brain, as scientists from Humboldt University Berlin and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) were able to demonstrate together with international colleagues. They also showed that elephant brains­ triple in weight after birth. These results, published in the scientific journal PNAS Nexus, provide potential explanations for behavioural differences between African and Asian elephants as well as for the pachyderms' long youth, during which they gain enormous experience and learn social skills.

Events

Bernstein Conference

Bernstein Conference 2025

Satellite Workshops

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Calls

Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientists Prize

The Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientists Prize recognises the work of outstanding young scientists in the field of neuroscience and helps advance their careers as researchers. The Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientists Prize, named after American neuroscientist and Nobel laureate Prof. Eric Kandel, was established in 2009 in order to recognise the work of outstanding young scientists in any field of neuroscience and to help advance their careers as researchers. The prize is awarded every two years by the Hertie Foundation in conjunction with FENS since 2010, being under the patronage of the German Ministry for Education and Research.

Deadline: 24.07.2025

The Brain Prize

The Brain Prize is an international award that recognises and celebrates highly original and groundbreaking advances in any area of brain research, from basic neuroscience to applied clinical research. The window for nomination is open from May 1 to September 1 every year.

Deadline: 01.09.2025

Plus 3 perspectives program

With its Plus 3 funding programme, the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation aims to support outstanding junior group leaders in Germany conducting basic research in biology, chemistry, and medicine.

Deadline: 15.09.2025