Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolf Singer
Ernst-Strüngmann-Institute in Cooperation with Max-Planck-Society and Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research
Emeritus Group
Deutschordenstrasse 46
D-60528 Frankfurt am Main
Tel +49 69-96769 218
Fax +49 69-96769 327
E-Mail: wolf.singer@brain.mpg.de
Scientific Focus
Key Words
Functional organization of the cerebral cortex
Neuronal correlates of cognitive functions
Simulations of recurrent oscillator networks
Research statement
Research focuses on the analysis of neuronal mechanisms underlying higher cognitive functions, in particular visual perception, attentional mechanisms, and short-term memory. Particular emphasis is layed on the question how the numerous parallel computations occurring simultaneously in the cerebral cortex are bound together in order to assure coherence of cognition. The approach is experimental and comprises measurements of neuronal activity in animals complemented by extensive simulations of biologically inspired recurrent oscillator networks.
Methods
Electrophysiological measurements in nonhuman primates are complemented by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in human subjects performing similar cognitive tasks as the non-human primates. Causal evidence for the functional role of physiological phenomena is sought with comprehensive computer models.
Selected Publications
Effenberger, F., P. Carvalho, I. Dubinin and W. Singer (2023) The functional role of oscillatory dynamics in neocortical circuits: a computational perspective. bioRxiv September 1, 2023: 1-60 (https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.11.29.518360)
Yang, Y., K. Shapcott, A. Peter, J. Klon-Lipok, H. Xuhiu, A. Lazar and W. Singer (2023) Robust encoding of natural stimuli by neuronal response sequences in monkey visual cortex. Nature Communications 14, 3021: 1-18 (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38587-2)
Lazar, A., C. Lewis, P. Fries, W. Singer and D. Nikolic (2021) Visual exposure enhances stimulus encoding and persistence in primary cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 118(43), e2105276118: 1-11 (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105276118)
Singer, W. (2021) Recurrent dynamics in the cerebral cortex: integration of sensory evidence with stored knowledge. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 118(33), e2101043118: 1-12 (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas2101043118)
Galuske, R.A.W., M.H.J. Munk and W. Singer (2019) Relation between gamma oscillations and neuronal plasticity in the visual cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 116(46): 23317-23325