05. October 2022

Circuits for Survival Circuits for Survival

Hertz Professor Dominik Bach invites to Inaugural Symposium

Understanding the brain with artificial intelligence - that is the major research goal of Dominik Bach, who has been Hertz Professor in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health" at the University of Bonn as of April this year. At an international symposium centering on his inaugural lecture, he invited several colleagues to discuss their research at the interface between neuroscience, mathematics and computer science.

In his inaugural lecture, Hertz Professor Dominik Bach presented, among other things, data from experiments.
In his inaugural lecture, Hertz Professor Dominik Bach presented, among other things, data from experiments. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
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Biological survival poses some of the hardest computational challenges that we can think of. Escaping a predator within a fraction of a second, learning novel strategies without error margin, remembering near-misses for a lifetime while forgetting unimportant detail – these are difficult tasks for any intelligent agent, biological and artificial. To shed light on how some of these problems might be solved in neural or digital circuits, Dominik Bach's symposium brought together speakers from molecular, circuit, systems, and computational neuroscience.

A full success: “The symposium showed the entire breadth of the topic: from abstract/mathematical planning algorithms to molecular mechanisms and the development of novel technology,” says Dominik Bach. “It provided fantastic intellectual stimulation and sparked many engaging conversations between scientists working in this field.”

Bianca A. Silva from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche (Italy) talked about the Neural mechanisms of memory update, Kevin Briggman from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior (Bonn) spoke on anatomically constrained models of visual circuit computations, and Vanessa Stempel from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (Frankfurt) discussed midbrain circuits for flexible instinctive behaviors. Jason Kerr of the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior gave his talk on tracking skeletal kinetics and imaging cortical activity in the freely moving animal, and Benjamin Grewe from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) spoke about sensory and behavioral substrates of avoidance learning in prefrontal cortex population activity. Moreover, Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tübingen, Germany) addressed the topic of risk, repetition, and rehearsal.

The composition of the speakers reflected the internationality of Bach's research group, which is based in London and Zurich in addition to Bonn. The keynote of the symposium was delivered by Dominik Bach himself with his inaugural lecture, in which he presented data from experiments designed to reveal biologically implemented decision algorithms. In the experiments, humans were exposed to various threats in a fully-immersive virtual reality, in which they could escape and run for shelter. “These data challenge the view that escape behavior is instinctive or hard-wired,” explained the psychologist, physician, and mathematician. “Instead, the underlying algorithm appears goal-directed, and dynamically updates decisions as the environment changes.” In contrast, information-seeking behavior might rely on simpler computations, he said. A special virtual reality lab, where more such simulations can take place, is currently under construction at the University of Bonn.

A packed Festsaal at the "Circuits for Survival" symposium.
A packed Festsaal at the "Circuits for Survival" symposium. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmer, Vice Rector for Research and Early-Career Researchers, welcomed the audience with a greeting and emphasized how important it is to work at the interfaces of disciplines.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmer, Vice Rector for Research and Early-Career Researchers, welcomed the audience with a greeting and emphasized how important it is to work at the interfaces of disciplines. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior spoke about tracking skeletal kinetics and imaging cortical activity in the freely moving animal.
Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior spoke about tracking skeletal kinetics and imaging cortical activity in the freely moving animal. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior spoke about tracking skeletal kinetics and imaging cortical activity in the freely moving animal.
Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior spoke about tracking skeletal kinetics and imaging cortical activity in the freely moving animal. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Hertz professor Dominik Bach between speaker Bianca Silva from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche in Italy (r.), Frank Bradke from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn (3rd from r.) and speaker Benjamin Grewe from the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ETH Zurich (4th from r.). Researchers from other Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) also listened with interest, including Paul Basu, Hertz Professor in the TRA "Present Pasts" (2nd from left).
Hertz professor Dominik Bach between speaker Bianca Silva from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche in Italy (r.), Frank Bradke from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn (3rd from r.) and speaker Benjamin Grewe from the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ETH Zurich (4th from r.). Researchers from other Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) also listened with interest, including Paul Basu, Hertz Professor in the TRA "Present Pasts" (2nd from left). © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics spoke about "Risk, Repetition, and Rehearsal" in his talk.
Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics spoke about "Risk, Repetition, and Rehearsal" in his talk. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Hertz Professor Dominik Bach spoke at his inaugural lecture to a packed University Festsaal.
Hertz Professor Dominik Bach spoke at his inaugural lecture to a packed University Festsaal. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tübingen, Germany) and Benjamin Grewe of ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in discussion.
Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tübingen, Germany) and Benjamin Grewe of ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in discussion. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Berlin-based Canadian pianist Ben Cruchley provided music following the presentations.
Berlin-based Canadian pianist Ben Cruchley provided music following the presentations. © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Hoch (center) was also a guest - here in conversation with Prof. Dr. Heinz Beck, Speaker of the TRA “Life and Health” (left) and Prof. Dr. Cyrill Stachniss, Speaker of the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence (right).
Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Hoch (center) was also a guest - here in conversation with Prof. Dr. Heinz Beck, Speaker of the TRA “Life and Health” (left) and Prof. Dr. Cyrill Stachniss, Speaker of the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence (right). © Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn
The speakers at the symposium "Circuits for Survival" (from left to right): Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior (Bonn), Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tübingen), Dominik Bach (Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health, University of Bonn), Benjamin Grewe from ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Vanessa Stempel from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (Frankfurt) and Bianca A. Silva from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche (Italy).
The speakers at the symposium "Circuits for Survival" (from left to right): Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior (Bonn), Peter Dayan from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tübingen), Dominik Bach (Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health, University of Bonn), Benjamin Grewe from ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Vanessa Stempel from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (Frankfurt) and Bianca A. Silva from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche (Italy). © Meike Brömer/ Uni Bonn
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