Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence

What shapes a neuron’s form, function and how quickly it matures? For this year’s two Young Scientist Award...

Targeted activation of specific nerve cells using pulses of light alleviates motor impairments in an animal model of...

Neurons that control when zebra finches call back fire more strongly when the caller is familiar. Fixed calls, flexible...

Scientists trace dynamic color-change circuit in zebrafish larvae Background matching: Researchers traced how zebrafish...

Study of female canaries provides fascinating insights into how brain plasticity works and how it can maintain core...

New insights into the emergence of brain cells that keep neural activity in balance The brain in balance: Excitatory...

Sleep-deprived European jackdaws trade vigilance for deep sleep – a strategy that could carry risks in the wild. Summary:...

New research shines light on how the brain interprets nutritional and hydration needs and turns them into action. To...

As in larger brains, mouse visual cortex neurons with the same function cluster in columns For over 50 years, it has been...

New study reveals surprising female influence on song learning in zebra finches. In the world of zebra finches, males...

Zebra Finches Defy Age-Related Learning Limits We all know the adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks...

Study reveals how proteins direct nerve cell precursors to turn into specialized neurons Brain development is a highly...

Specialized nerve cells in the brain inhibit food intake during nausea. Satiety, nausea or anxiety can all lead to a loss...

In nerve cells, the hormone regulates whether mitochondria are shut down or kept running The hormone insulin controls many...

Indicator molecules make changes in calcium levels outside of cells visible for the first time The mineral calcium is a...

To distinguish motion patterns, a neuronal computation is performed three times in a row Recognizing motion requires an...

Brain circuits for vision develop without any input from the retina in zebrafish Animals possess specialized networks of...

Nightingales match the pitch of their whistle songs to those of their rivals in real time Nightingales are well known for...

Birds show remarkably similar sleep patterns to humans and may experience flight in their dreams Dreams have been...

A neuronal microcircuit leverages the same type of signal for multiple purposes An orchestra of complex neuronal networks...

A hormone and specialized brain cells regulate feeding behavior in mice Knowing when it’s time for a meal – and when to...

A detailed atlas of gene expression in the zebrafish brain When one travels through rough terrain, maps come in handy...

Two new international programs for doctoral students start at the Max Planck Institutes in Martinsried and Seewiesen...

New Neuropixels technology provides evidence of mosaic-like neural connections For the first time, neuroscientists from...

Woodpeckers taste sweet, but wrynecks—unusual woodpeckers that specialize on ants—lost the ability to taste sugars Many...

Specialized nerve cells in the zebrafish visual system enable recognition of conspecifics Humans are famously social...

Cellular power plants carry along blueprints to make new proteins at their destination “If you’re going on a...

Omnipresent and yet hardly explored: Electrical synapses. They are part of the brain of almost every animal species, yet...

Study deciphers how a single nerve cell can multiply. Neurons are constantly performing complex calculations to process...

Structure and function of neurons are closely linked in the cerebral cortex. One of the most exciting questions in...

Insights into the mechanisms leading to different cell types in the brain Our brain is extremely complex, performing...

The brain uses bodily signals to regulate fear. Fear is essential for survival, but must be well regulated to avoid...

Pupil size changes in awake and sleeping birds in opposite ways to mammals. The pupil not only regulates the amount of...

Mice’s learning skills help researchers pinpointing brain areas where acquired knowledge is stored. Is it a Rembrandt or a...

New mouse type reveals when neurons fail to cope with misfolded proteins Proteins are the “tools” of our cells...

To fly straight, fruit flies need the ability to detect motion. Walking blindfolded in a straight line is a difficult task...

Longer breaks during learning lead to more stable activation patterns in the brain. We remember things longer if we take...

Yunmin Wu receives award for outstanding research For her insights into the neuronal mechanism of motion perception, Dr...

In the visual thalamus, neurons are in contact with both eyes but respond to only one. The visual thalamus is classically...

Mice master complex thinking with a remarkable capacity for abstraction Categorization is the brain’s tool to organize...

 A newly discovered circuit helps fish to prioritize. Being constantly flooded by a mass of stimuli, it is impossible for...

New study decodes the molecular diversity of neurons in the zebrafish retina. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the...

New method marks proteins and reveals the receptors in which neurons are dressed. Where in a nerve cell is a certain...

Neurons in a visual brain area of zebrafish are arranged as a map for catching prey. Spotting, pursuing and catching prey...

Interview with Yunmin Wu from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, who identified neurons enabling zebrafish to...

Vocal turn-taking is a fundamental organizing principle of human conversation but the neural circuit mechanisms that...

Inhibitory neurons in the zebra finch brain control coordinated vocal interactions Zebra finches can take turns when...

Premotor predictions facilitate vocal interactions. Here, we study such mechanisms in the forebrain nucleus HVC (proper...

If selection reinforces a behavior, brain activities soon change as well Personality varies widely. There are bold and...

Scientists immerse themselves into the structure of networks Under the framework of a new Marie Skłodowska Curie...

New area of application for gene scissors: Optimized proteins for biomedical research “Directed evolution” is...

Higher brain areas receive a functional rather than realistic view of the environment Every moment, our eyes receive...

High distinction for the Max Planck Director from Martinsried Tobias Bonhoeffer, Director at the Max Planck Institute of...

The face of a mouse reveals its emotions. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are the first to...

Identification of a protein complex that attracts or repels nerve cells during development. The three proteins Teneurin...

The neural code in the fly brain continuously adapts to environmental conditions. Our visual system is extremely good at...

Computer algorithms disassemble prey capture behavior of zebrafish into its components What is the common ground between...

Transparent fish larvae reveal how a decision makes its way through the brain Without hardly noticing, we make countless...

Neurons in the spinal cord integrate tactile information and help coordinate walking. Many people are uncomfortable when...

Larval zebrafish require both global and local visual stimuli to avoid drifting. If you drift off course, it’s useful to...

Max Planck scientists describe the mechanism of partial phagocytosis. Cells can cut up rough: They will sometimes even...

The insular cortex processes negative emotions and bodily states. The insular cortex is an important, yet almost hidden...

A mouse’s brain creates a multi-sensory impression of the nearby environment When viewing objects within reach of our...

Neurobiologists show how movement information flows through the fish brain We see with our brains. How do nerve cells...

Max Planck scientists create the first nerve cell atlas of a vertebrate brain If zebrafish larvae used the internet, they...

Neurobiologists train artificial neural networks to map the brain Is it possible to understand the brain? Science is still...

Vocal control areas in the brain of weaver birds fire in time when they sing together When a male or female white-browed...

Many organisms coordinate rhythmic motor actions with those of a partner to generate cooperative social behavior such as...

Amacrine cell in the fruit fly visual system consists of electrically isolated subunits CT1 is different. In general, a...

Scientists from Georgia Tech and Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology receive $750,000 grant for research A collaboration...

Zebrafish brain reveals a deceptively simple organization for encoding complex sensorimotor information Despite our...

Max Planck neurobiologists show how visual perceptions are translated into behavior Prey or predator? The brain has only a...

HS cells correct an unwanted rotation movement by slowing down the legs We are not easily knocked off our feet. A fruit...

Our next NeuroRetreat will be held in Munich at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry on May 12-14, 2019. This invitation...

Zebrafish identify virtual shoal partners based on motion patterns typical of their species What does it take for a fish...

Researchers publish building instructions to promote biomedical research To be able to examine the function of individual...

Genetically modified mice deliver first indication that human intestinal bacteria can trigger multiple sclerosis Multiple...

Optobow method makes functional connections between individual neurons visible Using light alone, scientists from the Max...

New method allows linking individual neurons and network activity to behavior in zebrafish Scientists from the Max Planck...

Adhesion of migrating neurons influences the folding of the cerebral cortex Folds in the human brain enlarge the surface...

Neurobiologists reveal how the brain of a behaving vertebrate encodes sensory and motor inputs In order to successfully...

Researchers develop a light-sensitive technique to visualize and manipulate neuromodulation with unprecedented spatial and...

Researchers develop a light-sensitive technique to visualize and manipulate neuromodulation with unprecedented spatial and...

Neurobiologists discover important characteristics of the motion detector in the fly brain In order to react to changes in...

Neurobiologists program a neural network for analyzing the brain’s wiring How does consciousness arise? Researchers...

Transplanted embryonic nerve cells can functionally integrate into damaged neural networks When it comes to recovering...

Researchers discover a signaling pathway that enables cells to reach their destinations through repulsion When cells grow...

Computation of motion by T4 cells in the fly brain more complex than previously believed As indicated by their name...

Many birds fly non-stop for days or longer, but do they sleep in flight and if so, how? It is commonly assumed that flying...

Birds engage in all types of sleep in flight, but in remarkably small amounts For the first time, researchers have...

A team of scientists headed by Niels Rattenborg from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen has...

The contact points of cells in the cerebral cortex form functional groups The cerebral cortex resembles a vast switchboard...

Signaling molecules can make neuronal extensions retract at a distance Eph receptors and their partner proteins, the...

Neurons return to their original state after a change The adult brain has learned to calculate an image of its environment...

Gestural communication in bonobos and chimpanzees shows turn-taking and clearly distinguishable communication styles Human...

Polyamine receptors boost food selection and reproductive success The amount and composition of nutrients required by the...

Receptor modifies how mated fruit flies perceive polyamines The perception and reactions to odours and tastes can change...

Neurobiologists show how satiety may influence decisions Anyone who has gone shopping while hungry knows that the shopping...

The fly brain takes typical features of the environment into account when calculating motion Our visual environment is...

Initiation of joint travel in mother-infant dyads is communicated via gestures and vocalizations Not only humans learn how...

Neurobiologists characterize nerve cells that detect motion by light changes The ability to see the direction in which...

Short-term adjustments of signal characteristics allow animals to maintain reliable communication in noise. Noise...

Bats adapt their echolocation calls to noise Bats find their way acoustically when they are flying by using echolocation...

Optical illusions show how the fly brain processes contrast and motion information If the price of a product is reduced...

Singing developes independent from gender differences in the brain In female songbirds, brain areas responsible for song...

Late-hatched canaries learn their songs as well as early-hatched birds Most songbirds learn their songs from their father...

When food smells simultaneously appealing and repulsive, the learning centre aids decision-making For most of us, a...

Nerve cell signals can be modulated and blocked by individual contacts In our brain, information is passed from one cell...

Motion direction is computed by similar types of neural circuits At first glance, the eyes of mammals and those of insects...

Opponent activity of a new type of neuron is responsible for selective motion vision Motion despite immobility. The...

Researchers describe how an approaching object triggers a flight reaction in the fish brain Humans and animals...

Staining method brings the reconstruction of all nerve cells and their connections within reach Learning, it is widely...

New research published in Genome Biology reveals clues on the evolution of singing behaviour in canaries. Stefan Leitner...

While the song of all songbirds is controlled by the same neural circuit, the hormone dependence of singing behavior...