Excellence Initiative: Molecular Microscopy for Brain Research

The human brain is probably the most complex structure that nature has ever brought forth. All functions, like learning, remembering, perceiving and feeling, are ultimately controlled by molecules. The molecular processes in the nerve cells can be studied only with high-resolution microscopes. The newly developed STED microscopy now enables biologists to observe structures in living cells on the nanometer scale.




Hence, the Cluster aims to adapt this method of microscopy to meet the requirements of intravital experiments. The DFG Research Centre on the Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB) at the University of Göttingen, which has been enhanced by the Cluster “Microscopy at the Nanometer Range”, will benefit from this. The CMPB studies molecular processes and interactions in neuronal cells to explain how the 3-D networks of highly specialised nerve cells actually function in the human brain. This includes investigating psychiatric and neurological disorders in order to be able to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

The participating institutions are the University of Göttingen as well as the European Neuroscience Institute (ENI-G) and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, both located in Göttingen.

In five minutes the film presents in brief the Cluster and its scientific research. The German Research Foundation video portal invites viewers to learn more about outstanding research promoted by the Excellence Initiative.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Diethelm Richter
Cluster of Excellence 171 “Microscopy at the Nanometer Range” – Chairman
Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen
Tel.: +49 551 39-5912
d.richter@gwdg.de

Further Informationen

• DFG Research Center Molecular Physiology of the Brain and Cluster of Excellence Microscopy at the Nanometer Range
• DFG-Video-Portal zu Exzellenzinitiative
• Fotos vom Making-of des Videos (Quick-Time-Format)