The postulate “fire together, wire together” suggests a general mechanism of synaptic plasticity, which is thought to underly network wiring and cell assembly formation. In a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology, three researchers at the Bernstein Center Freiburg shed new light on this process, which is fundamental for robust brain function.

LMU neuroscientists have shown that breathing coordinates neuronal activity throughout the brain while sleeping and resting.

It is probably one of the most extensive investigative files in the history of science. The case has been unsolved for centuries. The reporting, at first heavily influenced by speculation and philosophical deliberations, has had tangible and convincing successes to report in recent decades. The investigators' methods are improving, and the circle of suspects is shrinking. The noose is tightening. A new episode in this whodunit has just been released.

No less than three young female scientists receive the Bernstein SmartSteps Award 2021 for the excellent presentation of their research results in the novel online seminar series of the Bernstein Network. Gily Ginosar (Weizman Institute, Israel), Miriam Henning (University of Mainz) and Helene Schreyer (University Medical Center Göttingen) were ranked first by the independent jury with equal points.

The computational neuroscientists Professor Alexander Ecker from the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) has received a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC will fund his project "Deep Neuron Embeddings: Data-driven multi-modal discovery of cell types in the neocortex" for five years with a total of 1.5 million euros. Ecker and his team want to find out how the shape of a neuron in the cerebral cortex relates to its function.

The new "Decision Circuits Lab" under the direction of Torben Ott at the Bernstein Center Berlin explores fundamental questions about how the brain implements decisions - using experiments, theory and esprit.

Researchers discover principle of dendritic constancy

A new study proposes a full-scale model of the entorhinal cortex–dentate gyrus–CA3 network, providing a conceptual overview of the computational properties of this brain network, to show that it is an efficient pattern separator.

Göttingen researchers investigate the effect of certain enzymes in the healthy and diseased brain

Improving medical research requires researchers in the natural sciences - so-called Medical Scientists - to work on patient-oriented issues, too. However, career prospects are rarely clearly defined and there is a lack of systematic advanced training programs. This is where the new funding line of the EKF Foundation steps in. After announcing the two Else Kröner Medical Scientist funding lines for postdocs in September, a new program for younger scientists is following suit in Tübingen.