Graduate Training Centre

The Graduate School of Neural and Behavioural Sciences / International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) provides research-oriented training in cognitive, behavioral and systems neuroscience. A major aim of the research is to understand the role of higher brain functions that allow humans and animals to operate successfully in natural environments. Topics include the neuronal basis of perception and its top-down control by attention, expectation and motivation. Furthermore, spatial orientation, the planning and execution of movements, the storage and retrieval of memories, and the processing of language and communication are all being investigated. A wide spectrum of neuroscientific methods is employed, in particular brain imaging methods and their application in neurology, psychiatry and neurocognition.

Curricular focus of this graduate program:

• functional neuroanatomy
• basics in computational neuroscience
• essential maths, statistics and programming
• physical and physiological basis of brain imaging and recording
• sensory and motor systems neuroscience
• cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology
• neurophysiology and psychophysics
• mechanisms of learning & memory and sleep

The major partners of this graduate school are, in addition to the CIN, the Max-Planck-Institute (MPI) for Biological Cybernetics and its IMPRS, which provide financial support and whose international scientists contribute extensively to teaching and laboratory training.

The Graduate School of Neural Information Processing provides research-oriented training in a wide spectrum of computational neuroscience topics, such as coding principles in the sensory periphery and their clinical application; population coding in the early sensory cortex; perceptual inference mechanisms; and multi-sensory integration processes. Other fields of research include brain-computer interfaces, neuroprosthetics and rehabilitation robotics. The interdisciplinary combination of neurobiological, psychophysical and theoretical approaches will not only advance understanding of sensory and neural information processing, but also promote the development of technical devices mitigating lost sensory organ or brain function.

Curricular focus of this graduate program:

• neural data analysis and models of neural coding and computation
• machine learning for neuroscience
• computational motor control and computational vision
• rehabilitation robotics and brain-computer interfaces
• physical and physiological basis of neural recordings and brain imaging
• mathematics, statistics and programming
• systems neuroscience and neurophysiology
• basic mechanisms of learning & memory and cognitive neuroscience
   

The major partners of this graduate school are, in addition to the CIN, the Tübingen Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience and the MPI for Biological Cybernetics and its IMPRS and the MPI for Intelligent Systems. They provide financial support and their international scientists contribute substantially to teaching and laboratory training.

The Graduate School of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience provides research-oriented training with a focus on neurological and psychiatric disorders employing genetic, molecular and cellular approaches, as well as molecular imaging techniques and transgenic mouse technology. Of particular importance is basic and clinical research on mechanisms leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and frontal-temporal dementia. A second research focus is on pathomechanisms in sensory organs, in particular the eye and the inner ear. Further research topics include neurooncology and neuroregeneration.

Curricular focus of this graduate program:

• molecular and cell biology of neurons and glia
• sensory systems neuroscience and their pathology
• neurophysiology, neurochemistry and neurotransmitters
• cellular and molecular mechanisms of learning and memory
• microscopy, cell and molecular imaging techniques
• genetic and molecular basis of neural diseases
• neural plasticity and neuroregeneration
• model organisms in neurobiology
• developmental neurobiology
   

In addition to the CIN, major partners of this graduate school are the Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases who provide financial support and whose international staff provides teaching and laboratory training.