The "Schülerlabor Neurowissenschaften" offers a fascinating introduction to the scientific study of causality in neuroscience for senior high school students from all over Germany, giving them the chance to undertake fascinating experiments relating to research into neuroscientific themes.
At the heart of everything: school pupils
Since it was established in 2008 the student lab has become well-established as an after-school learning facility in southern Germany, attracting a consistent level of visitors (roughly 2,000 school pupils a year). For many years now, all the one-day school visits – perhaps the most important activity of the student lab – have been fully booked.
Publications
As well as running the student lab, Prof. Dr. Uwe Ilg actively researches the fundamental principles of sensomotoric integration with his team in the Oculomotor work group at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research. Recording and analyzing eye movements provides insights into central nervous system activities such as the redirection of attention.
Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH): website of the ‘Oculomotor laboratory’ research group
The following publications can be found on the Orcid database
Publications of the work group in international journals
- 2021: Video-game play and non-symbolic numerical comparison
- 2020: The effect of age and gender on anti-saccade performance
- 2019: Neuroscience for the next generation
- 2016: Video game players show higher performance but no difference in speed of attention shifts
Study of eye movements when using a microscope - 2015: Association between vestibulo-ocular reflex suppression, balance, gait, and fall risk in ageing and neurodegenerative disease: protocol of a one-year prospective follow-up study
- 2014: The effects of video game play on the characteristics of saccadic eye movements
- 2013: Dissociation of reach-related and visual signals in human superior colliculus
- 2011: Visual Stability and the Motion Aftereffect: A Psychophysical Study Revealing Spatial Updating
- 2010: Influence of global motion onset on goal-directed eye movements
- 2008: Anticipatory smooth-pursuit eye movements in man and monkey
Initiation of smooth-pursuit eye movements by real and illusory contours
The role of areas MT and MST in coding of visual motion underlying the execution of smooth pursuit eye movements
The neuronal basis of smooth pursuit eye movements in the rhesus monkey brain
Staff
During their visit, high-school students are guided by capable assistants who as students of biology (often also BEd or MEd) or psychology not only learn specialist knowledge but also communicative skills. Our assistants receive professional training, enabling them to advise the school pupils and answer any questions about working in the student lab.
Our current student assistants include:
- Behavioral biology project – Philipp Dennenmoser
- Oculomotor project – Jana Kimmich
- Julia Fechner
- Tobias Froeba
- Lorenz Gewert
- Max Harkotte
- Kerstin Jacobson
- Romy Lorenz
- Ann-Katrin Mainka
- Sophie Moore
- Leelja Rößler
- Giulia Röth
- Johanna Trost
- Laura Uhl
- Interns: Ömer Öztürk
Advisory board
The concept and planned activities of the student lab, the design and teaching content of the experiments, and the structure of the budget are monitored by an advisory board, consisting of representatives from stakeholder groups.
The current advisory board consists of the following:
- Hans Oberhollenzer: Head teacher of the Lise Meitner Gymnasium Böblingen
- Dr. Brigitte Kern-Veits: Head teacher of the HAP Grieshaber high school
- Monika Bösing: Biology teacher at the Kepler high school Tübingen
- Andreas Hachenberg: Tübingen regional councilor
- Prof. Dr. Horst Herbert: Graduate Training Centre for Neuroscience
- PD Dr. Matthias Munk: General psychiatry and psychotherapy with clinical work
Association
If you would like to support the student lab, you can become a member of the Förderverein Schülerlabor Neurowissenschaften e.V. or make a donation.
The association’s bank details are:
IBAN: DE20 6039 1310 0300 1780 00
BIC: GENODES1 VBH
with the Volksbank in der Region eG.
We are recognized as a non-profit organization by the Tübingen tax office; our tax number is 86166/34019
Download:
Flyer and registration form
The student lab is currently supported by:
- Adolf Leuze Foundation
- German Research Foundation (DFG)
- German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)
- The Hertie Foundation
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN)