Max Planck Institute for Brain Research

Max Planck Institute for Brain Research
New building of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt

The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research is located in Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded as Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin 1914, and moved into new buildings in Frankfurt 1962. It is one of 80 institute in the Max Planck Society (Max Planck Gesellschaft).

Research

Research at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research focuses on the operation of brain circuits. It is carried out in the scientific departments of Erin Schuman and of Gilles Laurent, in the Emeritus Group of Wolf Singer, and in several research units. Two new scientific departments will soon be added, together with the transfer of most research activities to a new Institute building, to be inaugurated in 2012. The common research goal of the Institute is a mechanistic understanding of neurons and synapses, of the structural and functional circuits which they form, of the computational rules which describe their operations, and ultimately, of their roles in driving perception and behavior. The experimental focus is on all scales required to achieve this understanding - from networks of molecules in dendritic compartments to networks of interacting brain areas. This includes interdisciplinary analyses at the molecular, cellular, multi-cellular, network and behavioral levels, often combined with theoretical approaches.

Graduate Program

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neural Circuits is a graduate program offering a Ph.D. The school is run in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main as well as the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies and the Ernst Strüngmann Institute.

External links

Coordinates: 50°5′35″N 8°39′5″E / 50.09306°N 8.65139°E / 50.09306; 8.65139