This section of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology studies biological timing during the 24-hour day.  Generally speaking, human alertness and attention (as well as countless other aspects of physiology) are governed by two mostly independent processes: a circadian oscillator that internally measures day length and consolidates some processes to daytime and others to nighttime, and a homeostatic hour-glass-like mechanism that determines the amount and intensity of sleep needed each day  (Borbely et al., 1981).  Our three groups study all aspects of these processes in mammals, from the molecular biology of cellular clocks to the pharmacology of sleep in human and mouse models.

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Borbely A.A. (1982)  A two-process model of sleep regulation. Human Neurobiology 1:194-204.

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Brain Dynamics on Multiple Scales - Paradigms, their Relations, and Integrated Approaches

Previous research paradigms in the brain sciences have often focused on one spatial or temporal scale only, for instance defined by the experimental technique of choice or a specific set of cognitive phenomena. This workshop aims at exploring paradigms and concepts such as complexity, information, or dynamical systems that provide bridges, links, relations, or connections between two, three or more "elements of brain science" and link them to recent developments in mathematics, physics, and neurobiological experimental techniques.

Interested? For more information go to the website of the

 Max Planck Institute of Complex Systems