MindTalks

...gemeinschaftlich organisiert von:

Dr. Udo Ernst (Fachbereich 1, Computational Neurophysics Lab)

Dr. Detlef Wegener (Fachbereich 2, Cognitive Neurophysiology)

Prof. Dr. Tanja Schultz (Fachbereich 3, Cognitive Systems Lab)

Im Wintersemester 2025/2026 finden die meisten Vortr?ge im Cognium, Hochschulring 18 statt. 

20.10.2025 | 16:15 – 17:30

Haus der Wissenschaft, Sandstra?e 4/5, Olbers-Saal

Die parallele Evolution komplexer Kognition bei V?geln und S?ugetieren

Prof. Dr. Onur Güntürkün

Der berühmte Evolutionsbiologe Stephen Jay Gould bemerkte einmal treffend: ?Wenn man das Filmband des Lebens unter denselben Bedingungen zurückspulen k?nnte, würde die Evolution einen ganz anderen Verlauf nehmen, und der menschliche Geist würde nicht wieder entstehen, selbst wenn man dieses Band des Lebens tausendmal abspielen k?nnte.“ Im Gegensatz dazu schrieb sein zeitgen?ssischer Kollege Simon Conway Morris: ?Konvergenz deutet auf die Existenz einer tieferen Struktur der Biologie hin … Die evolution?ren Wege sind vielf?ltig, aber die Ziele sind begrenzt“. Jahrzehnte nach dieser Kontroverse entdecken wir zunehmend, dass die Evolution tats?chlich ernsthafte Einschr?nkungen in ihren Freiheitsgraden aufweist. Zumindest wenn es um das Gehirn und die Kognition geht. Nehmen wir nur einmal Folgendes: Menschenaffen wie Schimpansen verfügen über komplexe kognitive F?higkeiten und ein Gehirn von ca. 400 g, das einen gro?en Neokortex umfasst. Im Vergleich dazu haben V?gel wie Rabenv?gel und Papageien ein Gehirn von 3 bis 25 g und keinen Neokortex. Dies sollte es V?geln unm?glich machen, hohe kognitive F?higkeiten zu entwickeln. Studien der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte haben jedoch gezeigt, dass es keine einzige kognitive F?higkeit von Schimpansen gibt, die nicht auch bei Rabenv?geln und Papageien nachgewiesen wurde. Und nicht nur dass; auch die Mechanismen des Denkens sind absolut die gleichen. Wie ist das m?glich? Diese Frage l?sst mich nicht schlafen, weil sie grundlegende Annahmen über die Evolution und die neuronalen Grundlagen komplexer Kognition in Frage stellt. Inzwischen ist mir klar geworden, dass ich in die Tiefen der Evolution der Wirbeltiere zurückreisen muss, um Antworten zu finden. In diesem Vortrag geht es um diese Reise.

10.11.2025 | 16:15 – 17:30

Cognium room 1030, Hochschulring 18

Activation of the cerebral EPO system by 3-week motor-cognitive training with or without inspiratory hypoxia improves cognitive performance

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. vet. Hannelore Ehrenreich

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia is perceived as pivotal physiological driving force, allowing cells in brain and elsewhere to acclimate to lowered oxygen (O2) and abridged metabolism. The adaptation-mediating transcription program is induced by inspiratory hypoxia and/or intensive motor-cognitive tasks, provoking a relative decrease in O2 in relation to the acutely augmented requirement. We termed this fundamental, demand-dependent drop in O2 availability ′functional hypoxia′. Major players are hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) and associated prolyl-hydroxylases. HIF are transcription factors, stabilized by low O2 accessibility, and control expression of a multitude of genes, among them the potent procognitive growth factor erythropoietin (EPO). 
OBJECTIVES: Considering the far-reaching biological response to hypoxia which includes the activation of the cerebral EPO system, we initiated a first translational project, combining mild to moderate inspiratory with functional hypoxia. We had identified this combination earlier to benefit motor-cognitive attainment in mice. 
METHODS: A total of 20 subjects were included, 13 healthy individuals and 7 patients with depression, schizophrenia, and/or autism spectrum disorder. 
RESULTS: We show that motor-cognitive training under inspiratory hypoxia (12% O2) for 3.5 hours daily over 3 weeks is optimally tolerated. We present first signals of beneficial effects on general well-being, cognitive performance, physical fitness and psychopathology. EPO in serum increased under hypoxia. Flow cytometry of blood confirmed that mononuclear cell composition in blood of adults was not affected. 
CONCLUSIONS: Motor-cognitive training under inspiratory hypoxia is well tolerated by healthy individuals as well as by patients with depression, schizophrenia, and/or autism spectrum disorder. EPO is likely a pivotal mediator of the observed beneficial effects. To obtain reliable information regarding the ′add-on′ value of inspiratory on top of functional hypoxia, however, a single-blind study - with versus without inspiratory hypoxia - is required.

15.12.2025 | 16:15 – 17:30 

Cognium room 1030, Hochschulring 18

Exploring the Connection Between Brain Science and Humanoid Robots

Prof. Dr. Gordon Cheng

The human brain is one of the most fascinating entities we know. In this presentation, I will explain how insights from brain science can help us address the challenges of building advanced humanoid robots. Furthermore, I will demonstrate that the technical advancements achieved through this research can significantly improve the lives of people in need, such as restoring locomotion and hand function to individuals with severe impairments. Ultimately, this line of research aims to contribute to a more equitable and better society.

12.01.2026 | 16:15 – 17:30

Cognium room 1030, Hochschulring 18

Mind reading with brain scanners: Fact or fiction?

Prof. Dr. John-Dylan Haynes

Can we tell what someone is thinking just based on their brain signals? Recent advances in human neuroimaging have shown that it is possible to decode a person‘s conscious experience based on MRI measurements of their brain activity. Such ‘brain reading’ has mostly been studied in the domain of visual perception, where it helps reveal the way in which individual experiences are encoded in the human brain. It is also possible to decode mental states that do not reach conscious awareness (subliminal perception). Even high-level mental states such as intentions can be decoded with reasonable accuracies. To some degree, we can even predict a person‘s free choices several seconds before they believe to be making up their mind. This success has led to several highly speculative claims, including the prediction of purchase decisions and lie dection. Thus, 'brain reading' has been surrounded by considerable hype in recent years. But what exactly can be achieved? And what are the ethical challenges in this emerging field? 

19.01.2026 | 16:15 – 17:30

Cognium room 1030, Hochschulring 18

Gaining insight into complex, naturalistic brain activity through functional magnetic resonance imaging

Dr. Florian Ahrens

26.01.2026 | 16:15 – 17:30

Cognium room 1030, Hochschulring 18

Catching cognition in the act - New ways to track naturalistic cognitive processing across species

Dr. Marieke Sch?lvinck

Imagine, for a moment, doing grocery shopping. Even a simple task like this requires a lot of simultaneous thought processes: spatial navigation through the aisles, working memory to remember the shopping list, attention to spot the right food items, and so on. Typically, neuroscience studies these processes separately, and very differently in different species. In my talk, I will show how multiple cognitive processes can be studied simultaneously in a natural way in mice, monkeys, and humans, thus allowing for a rare, direct comparison between these three species.

Die Vortr?ge werden gr??tenteils auf Englisch gehalten (siehe Titel).

Für aktuelle Benachrichtigungen k?nnen Sie sich gerne in unsere Mailingliste eintragen lassen. Kontaktieren Sie dazu bitte Agnes Jan?en: ajanssen@neuro.uni-bremen.de