Conference venue It can be hard to fit in time for career planning alongside your academic workload but it is definitely worthwhile. The options open to you are varied but after some time in academia, it can be a real challenge to (re-)navigate the job market. The entry routes into jobs are not transparent, you might not know what to…
Clinical neuroscience Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Bidirectional brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are critical for restoring sensorimotor function, yet most existing systems decode motor signals without providing sensory feedback. The primary somatosensory cortex (S1) represents a key target for restoring touch and proprioception. Here, we propose an optogenetic framework combining bicistronic expression, two-photon calcium imaging, and holographic stimulation to map and recreate…
Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Otto-Creutzfeldt award, poster prize, young scientist award, sponsors draw, thanks and wrap up.
Keynote speech \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Predictive processing has emerged as a unifying framework for understanding brain function, yet it often underestimates the role of the body and environment. In this talk, I introduce Embodied Predictive Processing, an extended framework that emphasizes the co-development of brain, body, and environment through active perception and action. This perspective reconceptualizes intelligence as…
Theoretical and computational neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Natural viewing entails repeating stimuli, whose processing could be optimized. Repetition typically leads to reduced neuronal firing rates and, as I will show, to increased neuronal gamma-band synchronization in visual cortex, likely preserving postsynaptic impact. These gamma increases are stimulus-specific, do not transfer to other stimuli, persist for minutes, occur with…
Theoretical and computational neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Whole-brain computational models provide a framework for linking structural connectivity with large-scale brain dynamics. In this talk, I will present recent work using neuroimaging-informed dynamical models to reproduce and perturb functional brain activity, forming the basis for “digital twins” of individual brains. By combining generative modelling with empirical data, these models…
Theoretical and computational neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre An unexpected finding during a clinical trial for a disease that causes blindness opened the door to a new type of treatment. Briefly, the trial was focused on an optogenetic gene therapy for a disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa, but in the process of assessing patients, a new mechanism-of-action emerged. This allowed…
Cellular and molecular neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Neurotransmitter release requires a release apparatus at the presynaptic active zone, which regulates several steps in the process of preparing synaptic vesicles for fusion and utilising the action potential induced Ca2+ signal to rapidly trigger vesicle exocytosis. I will provide experimental data that describe and compare the role of synaptotagmin 1…
Cellular and molecular neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre A main hallmark of aging in several species is autophagy dysfunction, and pharmaceutical or genetic interventions that improve its function delay aging symptoms. Yet, why autophagy becomes dysfunctional with age is still poorly understood. We discovered that neuronal senescence is caused by autophagic flux impairment, which seems to be based on…