Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Scherberger, Hansjörg, Prof. Dr.

Group Leader Primate Neurobiology


  • Dipl. math. (MS Math), University of Freiburg, Germany, 1993
  • Dr. med. (MD), University of Freiburg, Germany, 1996
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept of Neurology, University of Zürich, Switzerland, 1995 – 1998
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 1998 – 2000
  • Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 2000 – 2004
  • Work group leader, Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH / University of Zürich, Switzerland, 2004 – 2009
  • Professor for Primate Neurobiology, University of Göttingen and Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH, since 2008



Major Research Interests

We are interested in how hand movements are generated in the primate brain and how intentions to grasp objects can be decoded for controlling a neural prosthesis. For this, we investigate the cortical representation of hand movements in motor-related cortical areas and their relation to sensory systems and decision making. Furthermore, we are developing brain-machine interfaces that can read out such movement intentions to control robotic devices. Such systems could be useful for future applications aiming to restore hand function in paralyzed patients.



Homepage Department/Research Group

http://dpz.eu/neurobiology



Selected Recent Publications


  • Varley TV, Sporns O, Schaffelhofer S, Scherberger H, Dann B (2023) Information-processing dynamics in neural networks of macaque cerebral cortex reflect cognitive state and behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 120 (2) e2207677120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2207677120
  • Scherberger H (2022) Distributed yet compartmentalized neural dynamics of hand actions. Neuron 110(1): 10-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.021
  • Schneider M, Broggini AC, Dann B, Tzanou A, Uran C, Sheshadri S, Scherberger H, Vinck M (2021) A mechanism for inter-areal coherence through communication based on connectivity and oscillatory power. Neuron 109: 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.037
  • Michaels JA, Schaffelhofer S, Agudelo Toro A, Scherberger H (2020) A goal-driven modular neural network predicts parietofrontal neural dynamics during grasping. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117(50): 32124-32135. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2005087117
  • Wilke M, Schneider L, Dominguez Vargas AU, Schmidt Samoa C, Miloserdov K, Nazzal A, Dechent P, Cabral Calderin Y, Scherberger H, Kagan I (2018) Reach and grasp deficits following damage to the dorsal pulvinar. Cortex 99: 135-149. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.011
  • Scherberger H (2017) Stirred, not shaken: motor control with partially mixed selectivity. Neuron 95(3): 479-81. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.021
  • Dann B, Michaels JA, Schaffelhofer S, Scherberger H (2016) Uniting functional network topology and oscillations in the fronto-parietal single unit network of behaving primates. eLife 5: e15719. doi: 10.7554/eLife.15719
  • Schaffelhofer S, Scherberger H (2016) Object vision to hand action in macaque parietal, premotor, and motor cortices. eLife 5: e15278
  • Janssen P, Scherberger H (2015) Visual guidance in control of grasping. Ann Rev Neurosci 38: 69-86. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-071714-034028
  • Schaffelhofer S, Agudelo Toro A, Scherberger H (2015) Decoding a wide range of hand configurations from macaque motor, premotor, and parietal cortices. J Neurosci 35: 1068-81. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3594-14.2015