Ernst-Strüngmann-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

The highlights of the 2026 Annual Meeting were the presentation of the Max Planck Startup Award and Otto Hahn Medals, and an expert panel discussion on the future of democracy

Nonlinear units act as switches that switch between different linear processing modes depending on the context

If an event is more likely to occur at a certain point in time, the brain tracks the time until it occurs more precisely 

A new study by researchers at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute in Frankfurt suggests that cognitive states such as motivation and focus can be identified from facial expressions, even across species

New insights into neural waves could revolutionize the development of energy-efficient AI systems

We perform simulations of recurrent networks inspired by the mammalian cerebral cortex and discovered that our harmonic oscillator recurrent network (HORN) model captures essential properties of its dynamics, revealing a novel computational strategy that exploits synchrony, resonance, phase shifts and interference of traveling waves for fast, highly parallel computations. We implemented the HORN principle in analog electronic hardware, showing that it is a powerful computational substrate while at the same time being robust and highly energy efficient.

The representation of space in the brain has been studied for decades. Our team at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) aims to fully resolve the underlying neuronal network on a cellular level. To achieve this, we use state-of-the-art 3D Electron Microscopy and AI-based analysis technology. Since these techniques are limited in volume, we mainly focus on the brain of the Etruscan shrew, the smallest terrestrial mammal. This will enable us, for the first time, to test long-standing hypotheses about the setup of the navigational system in mammalian brains.  

How does neuronal activity represent complementary cognitive processes simultaneously at any given moment? Different animal species have used different strategies to solve this neural processing challenge – are they evolutionarily conserved or species-specific? To study these questions, our lab conducts parallel experiments in the two most dominant model species of systems neuroscience: monkeys and mice. We examine visually guided decision-making and responses of these animals in a natural context.

Is coherence between brain areas a mechanism for communication, or is it a byproduct of inter-areal connectivity and oscillatory power? At the Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience we added new experiments, developed and tested a model how inter-areal coherence results from communication, based on inter-areal connectivity and oscillatory power.

Our perception of the world relies on the coordinated activity of many billions of neurons in the brain. We at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) have found evidence for a processing strategy of the brain that uses repeated encounters with a visual stimulus to respond more efficiently in a short time. Detailed knowledge of this mechanism could open up ways to use these abilities for medical therapies in the future.