Research at the LIN is dedicated to the study of brain mechanisms of learning and memory and their pathophysiological dysfunction. The unique interdisciplinary approach comprises molecular biological, cellular and systems physiological as well as behavioural and cognitive aspects of brain processes.
The institute was founded in 1992. In 2011 it moved into the new institute building. It is structured into four departments, six research groups, and five special labs.
Main research topics are:
- Interaction of attention, motivation, and learning in human behavior, both in healthy volunteers and in patients with dysfunctions in evaluation and motivation,
- Stereotactic neurosurgery and Deep Brain Stimulation,
- Systems physiology of acoustic pattern processing including language and learning plasticity in the auditory cortex,
- Discovery of novel molecular components in CNS synapses, their topological organization, and functional interplay in neuronal signaling processes.
The Research Groups are headed by young scientists. Their research is complementary to the departments and devoted to mechanisms of visual attention and plasticity, to plasticity-related molecules and signaling pathways within neurons, to Systems Biology of learning in Drosophila, and to the pathophysiology and pharmacology of cerebral ischemia.
The special labs for Electron and Laser Scanning Microscopy, Molecular Biological Techniques, Neurogenetics, Primate Neurobiology and Non- Invasive Brain Imaging provide state-of-the-art technology and know-how for the research groups and departments and work on their own third party-funded scientific projects nonetheless.
The LIN is a cornerstone of the Magdeburg science campus „Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences“ (CBBS). LIN scientists are involved in four DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centres „Neurobiology of motivated Behaviour“ and „Molecular Organisation of Cellular Communication in the Immune System“, „A Companion Technology for Cognitive Technical Systems“ and „The Active Auditory System“.
The Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology launched its own PhD program comprising the „SynAGE Graduate Program“ and the Marie Curie Initial Training Network „N-Plast“.
