Max Planck Neuroscience

Ann Rose Bright and Inbal Shainer have received the 2026 Young Scientist Award. Bright found that late-born inhibitory neurons mature faster; Shainer showed that a neuron’s location can shape its form and function beyond gene activity alone. Learn more: bit.ly/4rqX0xV

How does the brain predict when an event will occur? It uses the same probability calculation across timescales from milliseconds to seconds, offering new insights into how the brain prepares for and responds to change. Explore the findings: bit.ly/4xBLrp8

Early adversity may reshape male and female brains differently. A study co-led by @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social used AI-guided video tracking and whole-brain mapping to reveal opposite patterns of activity and connectivity among the sexes. Read more: bit.ly/4Afyy6F

Can reducing childhood poverty influence biological aging? Research by @mpib-berlin.bsky.social in @nathumbehav.nature.com found that when mothers received $333 vs. $20 a month, their children’s biomarkers showed signs of better long-term health: bit.ly/4A74daw

Can AI help expand human knowledge? Researchers at @mpib-berlin.bsky.social found that people can learn outside-the-box strategies unearthed by AI and pass them on as lasting knowledge. Explore the possibilities: bit.ly/46dXf5L

Can listening to heavy metal music change our pain tolerance? Researchers at @mpicbs.bsky.social found that “metalheads” at the Wacken Open Air music festival could endure cold-induced pain longer than a control group. Explore the findings: bit.ly/4gUktTr

Welcome Mara Mather, director of the new Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience at @mpib-berlin.bsky.social. Explore her work in how brain aging, body regulation and emotions connect to affect neurodegenerative disease development and prevention: bit.ly/4r910TO

Join us in congratulating Dr. Erin Schuman, who was awarded the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. The @mpibrain.bsky.social scientist received this prestigious recognition for her discoveries in how neurons produce proteins locally. Learn more: bit.ly/4v6jeWm

Congratulations to @mpfneuro.bsky.social CEO & Scientific Director Dr. David Fitzpatrick, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was recognized with this rare honor for his exceptional contributions to neuroscience research & discovery: bit.ly/4xSyjNR

Scientists at @mpfneuro.bsky.social, Zeiss, & MetaCell developed Neuroplex, an imaging pipeline that tracks brain activity across up to 9 cell types at once. Published in @elife.bsky.social, the work shows how neural circuits collaborate to drive behavior: bit.ly/440tHaQ

New research from @mpiforbi.bsky.social reveals how zebra finches’ brains change the rhythm of their calls based on familiarity with another bird. This suggests that social context influences the neuronal activity involved in their vocal communication: bit.ly/3PtShwT

Discovery: @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social & @uni-muenster.de researchers found that synaptic impairment can predict cognitive schizophrenia symptoms. These findings could lead to development of more targeted treatments: bit.ly/4uFddjC

Can the smell of food in utero influence future health? Researchers at @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social discovered that the scent of high-fat foods triggers a neural circuit that alters fetal brain development, potentially rewiring metabolism. bit.ly/49baeqH

Can brain scans reveal future health risks? Researchers at @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social and @lmu.de used machine learning to discover brain patterns that predict weight gain in patients starting antipsychotic treatment. bit.ly/4tdWPFE

Scientists at @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social discovered that cells near brain injuries produce a stress-relieving hormone that promotes myelin repair after brain injury. See what this breakthrough might mean for mental illness: bit.ly/4di6y8V

As one of the many interactive exhibits aboard the MS Wissenschaft, visitors this summer can use a citizen science app where game-like tasks are used for cognitive testing. See how scientists from @mpicybernetics.bsky.social link decision-making behavior & mental health development: bit.ly/3OnalYY

How do neurons endure starvation? Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social have discovered a survival strategy where inactive ribosomes pair into tightly linked disomes. bit.ly/47Vm2wQ

How does evolution rewire a brain to change behavior? Researchers from @mpinb.mpg.de have discovered that aggression can evolve by repurposing existing neural circuits: bit.ly/4sJgugw

How much information does the brain need to recognize a face? Researchers at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social have discovered that we can recognize familiar faces using surprisingly low-resolution images: bit.ly/4dqTXRl

Can we distinguish between human and artificial voices? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics have learned that AI-generated voices are still perceived as less attractive on average: bit.ly/4dsyRSz

How can we accurately show what the brain is doing in real time? A new AI model developed by @mpicybernetics.bsky.social reveals distinct brain states by capturing complementary signals in non-invasive imaging. bit.ly/4sfgqp5

How does light shape our actions? Researchers at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social and Light for Public Health are translating global discoveries about light, circadian rhythms, and behavior into 26 consensus statements: bit.ly/4bOT2ci

Researchers at @mpfneuro.bsky.social found that removing the Centaurin-α1 brain protein reduced Alzheimer’s neuroinflammation, amyloid buildup, and synaptic loss in mice. The discovery shows promise for future therapeutics: bit.ly/4kF1CwX

A new discovery by @mpfneuro.bsky.social has uncovered how the motor cortex and the striatum work together like an hourglass to control the timing of our movements. Learn more: bit.ly/4rOljEV

How do zebrafish change color to blend into their backgrounds? Researchers at @mpiforbi.bsky.social bi.bsky.social found key cell types that trigger the “dimmer switch” phenomenon. Their work may also help explain why mammals lost this survival trick: bit.ly/48M62hk

Meet two new research groups at @mpibrain.bsky.social: Evolutionary Neuroscience & Behavior led by @pbrand.bsky.social, and Brain Algorithms & Circuits led by Gregor Schuhknecht. More on their research at bit.ly/3MyIyU6

Pioneering neuroscientist @erin-schuman.bsky.social, Ph.D., Director & Professor at @mpibrain.bsky.social, has been elected as a Member of @nam.edu. Discover her groundbreaking research: bit.ly/4nZBcWS

New tool to better understand dementia? Research from @mpfneuro.bsky.social & @weillcornell.bsky.social shows promise. By tracking specific cellular switches, researchers discovered one switch that plays a role in stronger memory development: bit.ly/4nZMYRh

For patients with Alzheimer's, the natural memory process breaks down. Svenja Brodt at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social found a compensatory mechanism: the cerebral cortex can quickly form long-term memories through active learning & repetition, challenging the hippocampus-first model. bit.ly/4o8zLq7

@mpicybernetics.bsky.social postdoc Denis Chaimow is recognized by @ohbmofficial.bsky.social for conducting the first pre-registered replication study in laminar fMRI: bit.ly/4nlDnUi

Open science breakthrough: @arc-cogitate.bsky.social has launched an open-access iEEG dataset of 38 people, including work from @ae.mpg.de. This high-resolution resource tests competing theories & is available to researchers worldwide: bit.ly/49gRhne

Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social have created a vividly detailed atlas of the mouse hippocampus, combining RNA & protein data to pinpoint more than 27,000 molecules at single-synapse resolution: bit.ly/3WgAaui

A 5-year project at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social is using fMRI to understand shared mechanisms and the role of dopamine in hasty or delayed decision-making in schizophrenia and OCD. Explore the study: bit.ly/49juJSR

New discovery: Researchers at LMU University Hospital of Psychiatry, IMPRS-TP & Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry found a mechanism for schizophrenia cognitive symptoms. Explore early maturation in oligodendrocytes, which may become a treatment target: bit.ly/48gHXzd

Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social found that ribosomes may be able to be assembled on-demand & where needed. This discovery could influence future research on synaptic plasticity, memory formation & protein-associated neurological disorders. Explore the study: bit.ly/3VRVbuU

Researchers from @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social, Helmholtz Munich & the University of Sydney have identified shared biological mechanisms in 3 psychiatric disorders, including disruptions in circadian rhythm & dopamine levels. Explore the research: bit.ly/4mjec4e

Lean mice that smell food before eating feel full; obese mice don’t. Why? Research from @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social found a link between olfactory bulb nerve cells and the brain area that triggers satiety. This could shed light on how humans react to smelling food: bit.ly/4nX4XZI

How do rats sense their world? Through their whiskers! Researchers at @mpinb.mpg.de found that whisker movement is controlled by surprisingly diverse brain areas, including sensory and motor regions working together. Explore the research: bit.ly/3TMNbuh

Research from @mpiforbi.bsky.social ‪in @natneuro.nature.com shows that later-born inhibitory neurons mature more quickly in the developing brain. This allows them to synchronize with earlier-born neurons and maintain balanced networks. bit.ly/3TIghem ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Research from @mpfneuro.bsky.social shows a connection between lack of the gene PTEN in specific neurons in the amygdala and rewiring of anxiety and fear circuits. This hyper-local brain circuitry discovery may lead to future targeted therapies: bit.ly/4nWSa9z

Researchers at @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social have identified a group of nerve cells in the brains of mice that have an outsized influence on appetite and weight gain. Humans have similar nerve cells, and this discovery may lead to new obesity treatments. Learn more. bit.ly/4fHjpS1

LLMs’ creative processes are similar to humans’, favoring either a flexible or persistent approach to ideation. See why @mpicybernetics.bsky.social suggests choosing an LLM that finds ideas in the same way as a particular human can improve collaboration. maxplanckneuroscience.org/almost-like-...

For the first time, researchers from @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social have shown how environmental stressors alter neuronal balance before birth. Explore the research: maxplanckneuroscience.org/stress-alter...

Despite the trillions of synapses in the brain, there is sparse connectivity between neurons. This may be a feature, not a flaw, per new research at @mpinb.mpg.de‬. A study finds that “sparse connectivity” of neurons may contribute to more efficient info-processing in the brain: bit.ly/4kO1TMY

Researchers from @bmc-lmu.bsky.social and @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social have found why “misplaced” neurons in the brain can lead to periventricular heterotopia. Explore how these insights into disrupted brain wiring could lead to new treatments.‬ maxplanckneuroscience.org/misplaced-ne...

How do our brains predict what’s next? Research from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience & @goetheuni.bsky.social, published in @natcomms.nature.com, explores how brain rhythms influence our navigation of time: bit.ly/3GpD8rU

How does the brain know when it’s time to rest? Explore new research from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior in Bonn, in which advanced imaging reveals the role of glial cells in regulating the wake/rest cycles and energy balance of fruit files. bit.ly/4kM90pd

What is consciousness? An international research consortium led by Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics set out to test two leading theories. Their groundbreaking collaborative effort yields a new way to study complex scientific questions: maxplanckneuroscience.org/rethinking-c...

New research from @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social shows early life stress may contribute to resiliency in female mice, thanks to a specific protein in the brain neurons. This may lead to improved mental health treatments: maxplanckneuroscience.org/early-life-s...

For the first time, @mpiforbi.bsky.social researchers found functional neuron columns in the visual cortex of mice. The eye-specific neurons form clusters, like in the brains of larger animals. See how this deepens our understanding of fundamental brain organization: bit.ly/4iRPGpr