Hamburg Center of NeuroScience

The Hamburg Center of NeuroScience (HCNS) constitutes a network of neuroscientific activities in Hamburg from the molecular level to clinical research. It provides numerous interfaces between institutes, faculties, and universities in Hamburg.

Network

The HCNS network unites members from different clinics and institutes of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, the University of Hamburg and the Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg.

Publications

Exciting publications on various topics are constantly being published in our network. Here you will find a selection of the best ones.

Lectures

We organise high-level lectures within our network two to three times a year. Here you can find an overview of all previous lectures.

The main mission of the HCNS is promoting and facilitating large collaborative research projects.
Current examples can be found on the page projects.
A second goal of equal importance is optimizing student training and career development of researchers in the neurosciences.

The HCNS comprises more then 400 scientists and doctoral students of 31 institutes and clinical departments of the UKE, the University of Hamburg and the Helmut-Schmidt University. The HCNS follows the general philosophy that modern neuroscientific methods make it possible to understand normal and pathological function of the brain and, by understanding disease mechanisms, develop novel and more effective treatments for diseases.

Key research networks

Collaborative Research Center 936

Exploring neuronal networks and processes of neuroplasticity in the brain in close interdisciplinary cooperation with neurophysiology, psychiatry, systemic neuroscience and computational neuroscience.

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Collaborative Research Center TRR 169

Interdisciplinary cooperation between the existing fields of artificial intelligence, psychology and neuroscience, focused on establishing the topic of crossmodal learning as a new discipline.

Research Unit FOR 2419

Investigation of different aspects of activity-dependent structural and functional synaptic plasticity at the molecular and cellular level.

Research Unit FOR 5159

Deciphering the dynamic principles of prefrontal processing underlying cognitive flexibility.

The winners of our Best Thesis Award 2024

Valentina Krenz

Memories evolve over time, with emotional experiences often retained more vividly than mundane ones. This dissertation elucidates the evolution of memory, from repeated encoding and immediate retrieval to the neural reorganization of memory over time, and examines the influence of emotional arousal on this process. While traditional frameworks predict a linear reorganization of memories from the hippocampus to the neocortex in their original format, functional neuroimaging and behavioral data reveal that this process can be modulated and even reversed by pharmacologically elevated noradrenergic arousal, and that memories are semantically transformed in the course of their reorganization. The findings of this dissertation thus demonstrate that memory over time is far more dynamic than traditionally thought and critically influenced by emotional arousal, potentially explaining the enduring vividness of emotional memories.

Maximilian Wilmes

Both ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes are among the most common causes of death today, with a total of over 7 million deaths per year. In my doctoral thesis, I addressed two specific key issues in stroke treatment. On the one hand, there is a lack of imaging to detect ischaemia and haemorrhage in real time and to monitor their progression; on the other hand, a better understanding of the pathophysiology enables targeted treatment of stroke and its post-ischaemic inflammation. I was able to show that the P2X7 cation channel plays an important role in the post-ischaemic inflammation of ischaemic stroke and that  inhibition of this channel by specific nanobodies reduces parenchymal loss. In addition, we were able to visualise the intracerebral haemorrhage morphologically after a very short time and observe it in real time using magnetic particle imaging.