News

News | Research

New study using the Julich Brain Atlas reveals how deaf people repurpose the auditory cortex to process visual information

In people who were born deaf, it had long been observed that brain areas normally involved in hearing become activated in other tasks. However, the precise nature of this reorganisation is not yet well understood. In a new study published in Nature Communications, a research team from Poland, Ireland and the US have found that areas of the auditory cortex take on a new role in processing visual meaning. The brain scanning study relied on fine structural parcellations of the auditory cortex available in the Julich Brain Atlas to define the regions of interest. Functional imaging measurements were made while participants watched silent animated films in an MRI brain scanner. The subsequent structure-function analysis was supported by the atlas-toolbox siibra. The Julich Brain Atlas and siibra are both openly available on the European Research Infrastructure EBRAINS. www.ebrains.eu

News | Announcement

New release of the Julich-Brain Atlas adds 52 new maps

Release 3.1 of the Julich Brain Atlas has been published and can be freely downloaded through the EBRAINS research infrastructure. The updated brain atlas now gives online access to 52 new probability maps of cortical and subcortical structures in a three-dimensional reference space.

Multivariate neural decoding of natural and deepfake speaker identities.
News | Research

Julich Brain Atlas used in study to understand how the brain detects deepfakes

Do our brains process natural and deepfaked voices differently? In a new study published in Communications Biology, scientists from Switzerland and Australia have shown that this is the case. Neuroimaging experiments identified two brain regions that respond differently to natural and deepfake voices. The results add to our understanding of neural mechanisms behind our ability to recognise deceptive information in digital environments. To precisely characterise the brain network, the researchers used probabilistic maps from the openly accessible Julich Brain Atlas on EBRAINS.

The figure shows the location and the probabilistic maps of the two different subdivisions of the red nucleus (RNp and RNm) in the human brain. The colors in each voxel indicate the probability of the structure being present there based on the variability in 10 human subjects.
News | Research

New study shows brain maps of the "red nucleus"

In a recent study, a German-American team of scientists has now revealed new insights into the evolutionary development of a brain structure that plays a crucial role in finely tuned and skillful hand movements. The researchers from C.&O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research at HHU Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich and Stony Brook University in New York studied a brain structure called the “red nucleus” (lat. Nucleus ruber). This nucleus is an important element of our motor system, especially for dexterous hand movements. 

Probability maps and Maximum Probability Map in the DLPFC.
News | Research

New brain maps on EBRAINS show organizational principles of the prefrontal cortex

Newly published new brain maps identify five new areas within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), that plays a crucial role in executive functions, including working memory, decision-making, and attention. The new study introduces 3D maps of cytoarchitectonic regions, enhancing our understanding of the prefrontal cortex's complexity.

Prof. Katrin Amunts, Joint Chief Executive Officer of EBRAINS (Copyright: Mareen Fischinger/Forschungszentrum Jülich)
News | Research | Announcement

EBRAINS Research Infrastructure Secures €38 Million in Funding for New Phase of Digital Neuroscience

The European Commission has signed a grant agreement to fund EBRAINS with €38 million until 2026. Over the next three years, the infrastructure will continue to develop tools and services to widely serve research communities in neurosciences, brain medicine, and brain-inspired technologies.

Katrin Amunts receives the 2023 Justine and Yves Sergent Award in Montreal, Canada, handed over by Yves Joanette, Deputy Vice-Principal of Research, Discovery, Creation and Innovation (University of Montreal), and Josette Noël, Secretary of the Faculty of Medicine (University of Montreal). Copyright: University of Montreal
Awards | News

INM-1 director Katrin Amunts receives Justine and Yves Sergent International Award

Katrin Amunts has been honoured with the 2023 Justine and Yves Sergent International Award, which is granted to outstanding female researchers for contributions in the field of cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging who have achieved a high international reputation. The award was presented during a conference at the University of Montreal, Canada, on Friday, December 8th, where Katrin Amunts gave the keynote “The human brain atlas – mapping the brain as a way to understand its function.”

Image showing a human brain with different brain areas highlighted in different colors
News

“Impressive research results” - external review panel evaluates final results of Human Brain Project

From 21-24 November, the final Human Brain Project (HBP) review was held in Brussels during which members of the HBP consortium presented the final project results to a panel of external scientific experts. The scope of this review was the final phase of the HBP, which ended in September 2023. Results were presented in detailed documentation and presentations and followed by extensive Q&As.

Event

7th BigBrain Workshop 2023

Registration is now open for the 7th BigBrain Workshop, taking place in the beautiful city of Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 4th to 6th, 2023. This workshop is an opportunity for the neuroscientific community to come together and present their cutting-edge research, discuss future prospects of the BigBrain data and tools, and explore how to better leverage high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to create multimodal, multiresolution tools for the high-resolution BigBrain and related datasets.

We are proud of our confirmed keynote speakers Kári Stefánsson, Paul Thompson, and Maryann Martone.

We are also pleased to announce that this year's BigBrain Workshop will be held in conjunction with an HBHL Training Day, taking place as a full day event on October 4, on-site at the conference venue. 

The event is free of charge but prior registration is required.  

Information about the programme will be updated regularly on the website:https://go.fzj.de/BigBrainWorkshop2023