Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
Encyclopedia
The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology is a research institute
of the Max Planck Society
located in Martinsried
, a suburb of Munich
in Germany. Research centers on the basic mechanisms and functions of the developing and adult nervous system
. Main focus areas include the mechanisms of information processing and storage. It is one of 80 institute in the Max Planck Society
(Max Planck Gesellschaft).
), southwest of Munich. In 1998, the Theoretical and the Clinical parts of this institute segregated and the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology became an independent institute.
, Prof. Hans Thoenen, and Prof. Bert Sakmann
) and the External Scientific Members (Prof. Yves-Alain Barde and Prof. Reinhard Hohlfeld).
is situated directly next door on the Martinsried campus. Other institutes such as the University Hospital Großhadern
, the Gene- und Biological-Centers of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Innovation and Startup Center for Biotechnology (IZB) are only a few minutes walk away.
Close cooperation also exists between the institute and the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(Israel), the University of California, San Diego
(USA), the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
(USA) and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (Munich, Germany).
A lively international exchange is, among others, realized via several student-exchange programs with cooperating institutes. The participation in graduate school programs and the International Max Planck Research School
(IMPRS) assure the efficient and comprehensive education of PhD students.
Visitor groups and school classes can also gain insight into the work at the institute on other days. Guided tours are coordinated to suit the group’s interests and prior knowledge.
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
of the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
located in Martinsried
Martinsried
Martinsried is a section of Planegg, a municipality neighboring Munich, Germany. Martinsried lies about 15 km southwest of Munich's city center.Martinsried is mostly known as the location of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the...
, a suburb of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in Germany. Research centers on the basic mechanisms and functions of the developing and adult nervous system
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...
. Main focus areas include the mechanisms of information processing and storage. It is one of 80 institute in the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
(Max Planck Gesellschaft).
History
It was created as "Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie" in 1917, and incorporated into the Kaiser Wilhelm Society 1925 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Psychiatry. In 1984, the institute moved to Martinsried (PlaneggPlanegg
Planegg is a municipality in the district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the river Würm, 13 km west of Munich ....
), southwest of Munich. In 1998, the Theoretical and the Clinical parts of this institute segregated and the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology became an independent institute.
Scientific Focus
Scientific research at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology is grouped into four departments and eight research groups. Numerous thematic connections between the groups result in a multitude of interactions and joint projects. About one third of the approximately 250 members of the institute come from abroad.Departments
- The department Cellular and Systems Neurobiology, led by Professor Tobias BonhoefferTobias BonhoefferTobias Bonhoeffer is a German neurobiologist. He is director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and head of the department Cellular and Systems Neurobiology....
pursues the question “what happens, when the brain learns?”. Unlike a static object, the structure of the brain constantly changes according to current requirements. For example, in order to learn something, the contact between single nerve cells needs to be strengthened. This is accomplished in part through the creation of new contact sites and their information-transmission sites, the synapseSynapseIn the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...
s. The basic principles and mechanisms of this plasticitySynaptic plasticityIn neuroscience, synaptic plasticity is the ability of the connection, or synapse, between two neurons to change in strength in response to either use or disuse of transmission over synaptic pathways. Plastic change also results from the alteration of the number of receptors located on a synapse...
are explored in this department.
- How optical input is processed in a fly’s brain is investigated in Professor Alexander BorstAlexander BorstAlexander Borst is a German neurobiologist. He is director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and head of the department Systems and Computational Neurobiology....
’s department Systems and Computational Neurobiology. The “cockpit” of a fly is amazing: During its speedy flight, optical information is analyzed and processed and aversion maneuvers induced within split seconds – and all of this is done with a mere 60 nerve cells. The scientists investigate how these cells accomplish their complex tasks through a combination of physiological measurements, the latest techniques in microscopyMicroscopyMicroscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
, and computer simulationComputer simulationA computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
s. The observed circuits prove interesting also for applications in roboticsRoboticsRobotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.
- The department Molecular Neurobiology, led by Professor Rüdiger KleinRüdiger KleinRüdiger Klein is a German neurobiologist. He is director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and head of the department Molecular Neurobiology....
investigates the molecular mechanisms of cell communication in the nervous system. The development of something so complex like the nervous system is only possible with a highly functional cell communication. Likewise, an effective communication between neighboring as well as between more distanced cells is essential for day-to-day survival. Part of the investigations to unravel these functions includes the role of receptor tyrosine kinaseReceptor tyrosine kinaseReceptor tyrosine kinases s are the high-affinity cell surface receptors for many polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. Of the 90 unique tyrosine kinase genes identified in the human genome, 58 encode receptor tyrosine kinase proteins....
in the growth and function of nerve cells.
- In certain diseases of the nervous system, the immune system is misled and attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
is among the most common of these autoimmune diseasesAutoimmunityAutoimmunity is the failure of an organism to recognize its own constituent parts as self, which allows an immune response against its own cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an autoimmune disease...
. The department Neuroimmunology led by Professor Hartmut WekerleHartmut WekerleHartmut Wekerle is a German medical scientist and neurobiologist. He is director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and head of the department Neuroimmunology....
investigates the basic principles and mechanisms of this conflict between immune and nervous system. The close collaboration with the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology at the University Hospital GroßhadernKlinikum GroßhadernThe Klinikum Großhadern of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in the Großhadern district of Hadern is the largest hospital complex in Munich, owing to its affiliated institutions and 1,418 beds...
provides the rare possibility to connect basic research with applied medicine.
Research Groups
- The best microscopes are only of little aid if the cells or processes to be investigated are hardly discernible from their background. Dr. Oliver Griesbeck and his Research Group Cellular Dynamics develop biosensors, which stain specific cells or change their fluorescent hue when something goes on in the investigated nerve cell.
- What we see, understand, and think is computed by the outer shell of the brain, called cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex contains billions of nerve cells, which each connect to about a thousand other neurons. The Research Group Structure of Neocortical Circuits, led by Dr. Moritz Helmstaedter, is aiming at mapping parts of this highly complex neuronal network in order to understand the computations that the cerebral cortex can perform.
- The ability to recognize and to discriminate between particular odors is only possible through the precise wiring between neurons in the periphery and neurons in higher brain centers - connections, which are instrumental in driving important behaviors. How neurons on smell organs are specified and integrated into functional neuronal networks is the focus of the Max Planck Research Group Sensory Neurogenetics, led by Dr. Ilona Kadow.
- The Max Planck Research Group Axon Guidance and Neuronal Connectivity, led by Dr. Takashi Suzuki, investigates the genetic interplay, which enables growing axons to connect to their respective partners. The group’s model organism is the fruit fly Drosophila, whose known genome provides optimal research conditions.
- Like many other animals, flies can learn to associate a stimulus (for example an odor) with a positive or negative event. Which neuronal and synaptic mechanisms lead to this associative learning is investigated by Dr. Hiromu Tanimoto and his Max Planck Research Group Behavioral Genetics.
Emeritus and External Scientific Members
The institute’s scientific reputation is also based on six well-known professors, who work regularly or permanently at the institute. The institute’s webpage provides more information about the Emeritus Scientific Members (Prof. Albert Herz, Prof. Georg W. KreutzbergGeorg Kreutzberg
Georg W. Kreutzberg is a German neuromorphologist. Kreutzberg was long-serving director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried near Munich.He remains active as emeritus director at that institute....
, Prof. Hans Thoenen, and Prof. Bert Sakmann
Bert Sakmann
-External links:*...
) and the External Scientific Members (Prof. Yves-Alain Barde and Prof. Reinhard Hohlfeld).
Cooperation
In addition to the manifold internal cooperation is the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology linked through numerous projects to its neighboring institutes. The Max Planck Institute of BiochemistryMax Planck Institute of Biochemistry
The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry is a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich. The Institute was "founded in 1973 by the merger of three formerly independent institutes: the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, the Max Planck Institute of...
is situated directly next door on the Martinsried campus. Other institutes such as the University Hospital Großhadern
Klinikum Großhadern
The Klinikum Großhadern of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in the Großhadern district of Hadern is the largest hospital complex in Munich, owing to its affiliated institutions and 1,418 beds...
, the Gene- und Biological-Centers of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Innovation and Startup Center for Biotechnology (IZB) are only a few minutes walk away.
Close cooperation also exists between the institute and the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
(Israel), the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
(USA), the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine is the school of medical education of the University of Miami. The main medical campus is located in the Civic Center, Miami, Florida within the UM/Jackson Memorial Medical Center complex...
(USA) and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (Munich, Germany).
A lively international exchange is, among others, realized via several student-exchange programs with cooperating institutes. The participation in graduate school programs and the International Max Planck Research School
International Max Planck Research School for molecular and cellular Life Sciences
-International Max Planck Research Schools:To date more than 60 have been established in Germany, each representing a joint cooperative of Max Planck Institutes and one or several German universities...
(IMPRS) assure the efficient and comprehensive education of PhD students.
Public relations
The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology attempts to render its research as transparent to the public as possible. The institute’s website informs in short news texts about ongoing work and events. Once every two years, the institute opens its doors to the general public on open day.Visitor groups and school classes can also gain insight into the work at the institute on other days. Guided tours are coordinated to suit the group’s interests and prior knowledge.
External links
- Homepage of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
- Homepage of the Max Planck Society
- Homepage of the International Max Planck Research School for Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences (IMPRS-LS)
- Homepage of the Bernstein Center for Computational Neurosciences (BCCN)
- Computational Neurobiology at the University of California, San Diego