SFB 780: Synaptic Mechanisms of Neuronal Network Function

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Information processing in neuronal brain networks takes place at specialised contact sites, termed synapses. Synapses are highly diverse, and their function is incompletely understood. The aim of this Collaborative Research Centre is to study the structural and functional properties of identified synapses in the brain and to understand how their properties shape the dynamic activity of neuronal networks. This Collaborative Research Centre will concentrate on cortical neuronal networks. In particular, this Collaborative Research Centre aims three long-term goals. The first goal is to understand the mechanisms of signal transmission of identified glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses. The second goal is to examine modulation, functional plasticity and structural plasticity at synaptical junctions. The third goal is to acquire information about neuronal activity in vivo and to use this information, together with information about synaptic function obtained in vitro, to develop realistic network models. The interactive experimental-theoretical approach is likely to lead to a substantial increase in our understanding of neuronal network function at a quantitative level. The interdisciplinary research programme aims to clarify these central questions of neuroscience with characterisation of neuronal networks using molecular, genetic, morphological, functional and imaging techniques. The studies will cover investigations from simple animal models up to the human brain. The long-term goal is to understand the synaptical basis of higher brain functions and to get closer to a central goal of neurosciences.