The cortex allows us humans to think, perceive our environment and act purposefully. Certain patterns of brain activity enable this; they emerge early in brain development through dynamic processes of self-organisation. This is shown by researchers from the University of Minnesota (UoM) and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) in a study published in Nature Communications. They found that the networks of the young cortex convert unstructured input into highly organised activity patterns. The organisation of these patterns is therefore not determined externally (e.g. by sensory input), but arises through interaction between the nerve cells and follows dynamic laws.

Researchers at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) have used brain simulations to develop a theory on the formation of traveling waves of activity. These waves influence cognitive processes in the human brain such as learning or remembering. Understanding traveling waves of activity can support in treating patients with cognitive disorders.

The brain modulates visual signals according to internal states, as a new study by LMU neuroscientist Laura Busse reveals.

Knowledge of spatial reference systems is necessary for the control of neuroprostheses.

Contrary to previous assumptions, nerve cells in the human neocortex are wired differently than in mice. Those are the findings of a new study conducted by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and published in the journal Science. The study found that human neurons communicate in one direction, while in mice, signals tend to flow in loops. This increases the efficiency and capacity of the human brain to process information. These discoveries could further the development of artificial neural networks.

Now in spring, some of us have a particular craving for ice cream. Picture this: You want to take a walk to your favourite ice cream parlour for the first time after winter. You can probably remember how to get there. How does our brain guide us to such rewarding places? In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology (LIN) in Magdeburg used state-of-the-art methods to answer this question. They discovered that our brain uses a special code to guide us to places that promise rewards.

During this year's spring conference of the German Physical Society (DPG), Viola Priesemann received the Young Scientist Award for Socio- and Econophysics. The physicist conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) and the University of Göttingen. The prize is endowed with 7,500 euros and honors her work on propagation processes in complex systems.

EBRAINS Germany, the German National Node of the EBRAINS digital research infrastructure for neuroscience, has been formally established with the signing of a cooperation agreement between the participating institutions: Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ, Node Lead), Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Heidelberg University, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, and Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience.

Analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster connectome as part of the FlyWire consortium provides new insights into the organization of the visual system

The fascination for the unknown drives progress. Thanks to it, organisms are able to survive in a constantly changing environment. Curiosity therefore essentially shapes human development. But what is behind it? Researchers hypothesize that curiosity is not so much a fixed character attribute, but rather a complex interplay between different regions of the brain. Dr. Petra Mocellin and the research team led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Remy at the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology (LIN) have decoded a neuronal circuit in the brain that regulates curiosity for the first time. The results were recently published in the renowned scientific journal Neuron.