In its Yearbook the Max Planck Society reports on the scientific research performed at its institutes. Scientists from different departments and research groups contribute. (Full Texts German only)

2011

2011, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Taubert, Marco; Villringer, Arno; Ragert, Patrick

Until recently, the general belief was that the structural organization of the human brain, apart from pathological conditions and aging, remains unchanged throughout adulthood. But recent evidence suggests that the brain is modifiable through learning across the lifespan. But to which degree and at what rate does experience changes brain structure? Recent research has shown that changes in brain structure already occur after a few sessions of training in a new motor task. This huge capacity for learning-induced brain changes might have a potential impact on rehabilitative training schedules. More...

2011, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Engel, Annerose; Keller, Peter E.

The ability to recognize the actions of other people as spontaneous or planned is an important pre-requisite for understanding and reacting to their behavior. Musical improvisation provides a valuable domain in which to study the neural bases of this ability. Experienced jazz musicians can detect whether or not a melody is improvised by merely listening to it. New results suggest that a brain structure known as the amygdala, which has been implicated in the detection of behavioral uncertainty, is sensitive to the degree of spontaneity in musical performance. More...

2010

2010, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Labadie, Christian; Möller, Harald E.

Nerve fibers of vertebrates are enveloped by a lamellar membrane sheath referred to as myelin. Myelin acts as an electrical insulator and is of fundamental importance for the nerve conduction. By use of relaxographic magnetic resonance imaging, it is feasible to obtain spatial information about the myelin sheath through the observation of intercalated water molecules. This leads to a novel modality for microstructural investigations of the living brain. More...

2009

2009, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Brauer, Jens

Language is a basic property of human beings that distinguishes them from any other being we know. Children seem to effortlessly acquire this complex system of symbols and meanings. It is still an open question how children’s brains learn to administer the multifaceted tasks involved in language comprehension. Answers to this question are given by imaging methods that allow us to observe the children’s brains during the processing of language. More...

2009, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Knösche, Thomas Reiner

The capabilities of the brain are based on an interplay between functional segregation and functional integration of neuronal populations within complex networks. The anatomical basis of these networks can be reconstructed using diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The dynamic interaction between the neuronal populations is described by models of neural masses and fields. The integration of these techniques with functional measurements and neuropsychological experiments opens up new perspectives for the investigation of the mechanisms of the human mind. More...

2008

2008, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Heidemann, Robin M.

Magnetic resonance imaging is the most important tool in modern Neuroscience. Due to the continuing improvements in spatial and temporal resolution in this imaging modality, great progress could be made in the field of brain science. Nowadays, however, a point has been reached where further improvements in resolution is limited. The use of so called high-field systems can overcome these limits and facilitate new findings about the human brain. More...

2008, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Haynes, John-Dylan

Is it possible to tell from a person’s brain activity, what this person is currently thinking, feeling or even what he or she is planning to do? Recent research has shown that it is possible to decode and predict a person’s thoughts from functional magnetic resonance imaging signals. Such “thought reading” based on brain activity can be useful in revealing how the brain encodes information. This line of research also has a number of clinical applications such as for the control of computers and artificial prostheses based on brain activity or for the detection of cognitive activity in fully paralysed patients. Mehr...

2007

2007, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Massen, Cristina; Lepper, Miriam; Prinz, Wolfgang

Among the most fascinating motor abilities of humans and animals is the capacity to use tools in order to achieve desired effects in the environment. A study of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences shows that humans have an abstract internal model of the tool-specific mapping between external effect and associated bodily movement which is accessed in the process of action planning. More...

2006

2006, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Schubotz, Ricarda I.