In his "Membrane Theory" of 1902, the German physiologist JuliusBernstein gave the earliest biophysical explanation of propagatingaction potentials and thereby provided the first truly quantitativetheory in electrophysiology.

Since then, Neuroscience has become a vast and growing area innatural sciences devoted to unraveling the function of the brain as oneof the most complex results of biological evolution. A thoroughanalysis of brain function still continues to be an outstandingscientific challenge.

Today a big step in the process of advancing our understandingis expected from the highly dynamic and interdisciplinary research lineof Neurotechnology. This discipline combines experiments withmathematical models, computer simulation and data analysis on the basisof well-defined theoretical concepts hopefully resulting inapplications (e.g. in Neuroprosthethics). It makes available ascientific language and methodology that can be used across disciplinesranging from neurobiology, cognitive science, systems biology toinformation technology. This task requires focussed interdisciplinarycooperation between engineers and theoreticians with a long-standinginvolvement in neuroscience collaborating with advanced experimentalgroups in order to investigate and design complete Neuro-BionicClosed-Loop Systems, neuro-sensing andneuro-stimulation strategies.

In 2004 the Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF) in Germany has started an initiative to create a "NationalBernstein Network Computational Neuroscience" now consisting of thefour Bernstein Centers for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin,Freiburg, Goettingen and Munich, five Bernstein Groups, elevenBernstein Collaborations, several Bernstein Awards, and last but notleast four Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology in the regions Berlin,Frankfurt/Main, Freiburg/Tuebingen and Goettingen.

The BMBF has bestowed the title of "Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience" to honour Bernstein's scientific achievements.

The Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology (BFNT) Goettingen integrates research groups at the

Georg-August-University GttingenMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (Dept. of Nonlinear Dynamics)Max Planck Institute forBiophysical Chemistry (incl. BiomedNMR)Max Planck Institutefor Experimental MedicineMax Planck Institute for BiophysicsGerman Primate CenterHannover Medical School

Moreover, active collaboration with the following industrial partnersfurther defines the scientific and technological core of the BFNTGttingen: Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, LEICA MicrosystemsGmbH, MED-EL GmbH, and Thomas Recording GmbH.

Thecoordinator of the BFNT Goettingen is Prof Woergoetter, Professor ofComputational Neuroscience at the University of Goettingen.

Prof. Dr. Florentin Woergoetter Georg-August-University of GttingenDepartment of Computational NeuroscienceFriedrich-Hund-Platz 1 37077 Gttingen

E: worgott @ bccn-goettingen.de

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Welcome to the Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology Gttingen