Bernstein Network News. Find the latest news from our researchers regarding current research results, new research projects and initiatives as well as awards and prizes.
Call for Nominations – Valentin Braitenberg Award
We are currently accepting nominations for this year's Valentin Braitenberg Award for Computational Neuroscience. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2025.
The visual system through the eyes of AI
Using artificial intelligence to understand the visual system in the brain: An international research team (MICrONS) with the participation of the University of Göttingen has developed new AI models to decode the complex processing of visual stimuli in the brain. The researchers investigated how the shape, connectivity pattern and activity of nerve cells in the mouse brain are related. The project's key findings have been published in a series of articles in the journals Nature and Nature Communications.
How the brain controls movement under uncertainty
A new study by neuroscientists at the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen shows that our brain deals with different forms of visual uncertainty during movements in distinct ways. Depending on the type of uncertainty, planning and execution of movements in the brain are affected differently. These findings could help to optimize brain-computer interfaces that, for example, help people with paralysis to control prostheses or computers with their thoughts alone (Nature Communications).
Artificial neurons organize themselves
Göttingen research team constructs network of self-learning infomorphic neurons
Deciphering the sequence of neuronal firing
How does the brain retain a sequence of events in memory? Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Tübingen and the University of Tübingen investigated this question. Using a unique measurement technique with implanted electrodes in the human brain, they were able to test a widely accepted theory of memory processes for the first time. The response pattern of the nerve cells did not align with the theory, but could be explained by a new model. The results have now been published in the journal "Nature Neuroscience".
Two brain areas in competition
The locus coeruleus and the ventral tegmental area vie for influence over the formation of memory content. This has been demonstrated by a team of neuroscientists using light-gated nerve cells.
Temperature during development influences connectivity between neurons and behavior in fruit flies
Researchers find more synapses and postsynaptic partners in the brain of Drosophila melanogaster correlating to lower environmental temperature during pupal development.
Neural network deciphers gravitational waves from merging neutron stars in a second
Binary neutron star mergers emit gravitational waves followed by light. To fully exploit these observations and avoid missing key signals, speed is crucial. In a study to be published in Nature on March 5, 2025, an interdisciplinary team of researchers presents a novel machine learning method that can analyze gravitational waves emitted by neutron star collisions almost instantaneously – even before the merger is fully observed. A neural network processes the data and enables a fast search for visible light and other electromagnetic signals emitted during the collisions. This new method could be instrumental in preparing the field for the next generation of observatories.
Insights into creativity: overarching ‘maps’ in our brain
Creative thinking uses specific patterns to store information
How our brain manages the perfect balancing act: Study conducted by Dresden university medicine provides new insights
The "Signatures of criticality in efficient coding networks" study provides new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of brain function. An international research team from Dresden, Tübingen, Paris and Shanghai developed a mathematical model to simulate a neural network that mimics the functioning of real brain cells. Unlike in previous studies, the network was not tuned directly towards a critical state, but optimized to process information as efficiently as possible – similar to our brain in everyday life.