International Scientific Symposium
Join our one day scientific symposium on
“Development and function of cortical networks”
date / time: September 29, 2025 / 10:00 – 18:00 o’clock
location: Mainz, Campus of the JGU Mainz, BFZ, Duesbergweg 6, Germany
Confirmed Speakers
Prof. Zoltan Molnar (Univ. Oxford, UK) : Shadows of the Subplate – altered transient developmental circuits as an underlying cause of cognitive dysfunction
Prof. Alessandra Pierani (INSERM, Paris, France) : Transient neurons and the postnatal development of cortical circuits
Prof. Patrick Kanold (Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, USA) : The Influence of Spontaneous Activity and Sensory Experience on Early Cortical Circuits
Prof. Siegrid Löwel (Univ. Göttingen) : Panta rhei: the importance of silent synapses for vision and visual plasticity
Prof. Andreas Draguhn (Univ. Heidelberg) : Working together: how neurons are entrained into coordinated network activity
Prof. John Huguenard (Univ. Stanford, USA) : Destabilizing thalamocortical networks in epilepsy
Prof. Wolf Singer (ESI, Univ. Frankfurt) : Oscillations, waves and interference: The lingua franca of cortical computations
Prof. Marlene Bartos (Univ. Freiburg) : Slow emergence but high stability of memory traces in the hippocampus
Prof. Jochen Staiger (Univ. Göttingen) : The long and winding road to understanding VIP cells in barrel cortical function
Prof. Denise Manahan-Vaughan (Univ. Bochum) : Functional discrimination and physiological characterization of two distinct corticothalamic projection to the somatosensory thalamus
This scientific symposium will bring together leading international experts in the field of neurosciences with a focus on the development of sensory neocortical functions, and the role of oscillatory activity and GABAergic interneurons in the adult. An additional aspect of the symposium is to honor the scientific contributions and achievements of Prof. Heiko J. Luhmann (Institute for Physiology, UniMed Mainz). Dr. Luhmann has made various outstanding contributions on the physiology and pathophysiology of the neocortex and will officially step-back from his present senior professorship shortly after the symposium in October 2025. In this regard, the list of our invited speakers (see below) builds up a strong line from Prof. Luhmann’s research focus to the current-state of research on development of sensory neocortical functions. The invited international experts will present their latest results on different aspects on the topic in 20 min talks, and they will discuss open questions and limitations in the following 10 min discussion with the audience.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required since the location has limited space.
Program(PDF 80,0 KB)