8. May 2026

Helen Blank | “I know you! Hierarchical predictive processing in speech and face perception”

Systems and cognitive neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre How does the brain resolve sensory ambiguity? By combining computational modeling, fMRI, and EEG across speech and face perception, we identify a unified hierarchical principle of predictive processing. In both domains, prior expectations exert dual influences: they sharpen sensory representations in early processing regions to facilitate identification, while triggering prediction errors…

8. May 2026

Hari Prasad Sreekrishnapurath Variyam

Flash talk \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Understanding cortical microcircuits and their dynamics is a central goal in cellular neuroscience. Dissociated cortical cultures exhibit a wide range of dynamical repertoires and provide a rich model system for exploring these processes (1). Here, we introduce an experimental setup for directly interfacing with optogenetically modified cell cultures: HD-M.A.N.T.I.S. (High-Density Multielectrode-Array-based Neural Targeting…

8. May 2026

Niklas Alvar Laasch

Flash talk \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre The mammalian cerebral cortex displays a complex network architecture supporting high-level cognition, yet the developmental rules driving its formation remain poorly understood. Current computational models often rely on static templates or global optimization, failing to capture the physical morphogenesis of neural tissue. Here, we present a multi-scale generative model integrating tissue-level mechanics with…

8. May 2026

Hannah Zoé Kerger

Flash talk \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Understanding the dynamical behaviour of neural networks is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. Theoretical approaches usually provide complete knowledge of the phase space, facilitating a thorough characterisation of the dynamical system. Characterising experimental systems, however, presents a far greater challenge. Neuronal cultures possess a large number of degrees of freedom, many of which…

8. May 2026

Pieter Roelfsema | “Toward visual brain prostheses: restoring sight through cortical and thalamic stimulation”

Emerging techniques | Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Our goal is to restore vision by directly stimulating the visual brain, bypassing damaged eyes of blind individuals. Electrical stimulation of visual cortex can evoke phosphenes, even in patients blind for decades. Using arrays of 1,000 electrodes, we demonstrated that patterned stimulation can generate recognizable visual forms. However, cortical implants face limitations in…

8. May 2026

Benjamin Judkewitz | “The smallest vertebrate brain knows how to sing”

Emerging techniques \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre I will describe our work on Danionella cerebrum, a tiny fish that is small and transparent even in adulthood, when neural circuits and behavior have matured. Despite having the smallest known adult vertebrate brain, Danionella displays a rich set of behaviors, including courtship, schooling and – remarkably – acoustic communication. I will discuss…

8. May 2026

Ana Pinheiro | “From voice to speaker: computational mechanisms of self-voice perception and hallucinated agents”

Clinical neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre How does the brain know a voice is truly one’s own? Self-voice processing integrates sensory evidence with motor-related predictions generated during speech, enabling the distinction between self-generated and external voices. Drawing on behavioral and neuroimaging research across the psychosis continuum, I argue that alterations in these mechanisms provide a principled framework for understanding…

8. May 2026

Volker Busskamp | “Transient vascularization improves retinal ganglion cell survival and function in human retinal organoids”

Clinical neuroscience \ Manfred Eigen lecture theatre Human retinal organoids offer promise for modeling retinal disease and testing therapies but are limited by poor vascular support and axonal instability, leading to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration. We developed a bioengineered retinal organoid platform incorporating stem cell–derived endothelial cells to form transient vascular-like networks and microfluidic devices to stabilize axonal growth….