Podcasts

Code of the Mind: Episode 2

The Prediction Machine: The Story of Dopamine

Dopamine has long been called the brain's pleasure chemical — the one that surges when you eat sugar or scroll through your phone. That story turns out to be mostly wrong. What dopamine neurons are actually doing is more surprising, and more mathematical. This episode traces how that discovery came together — through a neurophysiologist recording from monkey brains and a pair of computational neuroscientists who had been reading about reinforcement learning. It ends with how the same math is being used to understand depression and addiction.

Code of the Mind - Episode 1

June 29, 2026

Vehicles for Thought: The World of Valentino Braitenberg

Valentino Braitenberg spent decades studying how the brain is wired, convinced that anatomy, looked at carefully enough, reveals function. But he is best remembered for a slim 1984 book about imaginary robots that seemed to feel fear, show aggression, fall in love. This episode takes us into his world — a life that spanned continents, and a mind that refused to stay in one discipline.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 7

March 23, 2026

The Sleeping Brain

In this episode, we explore the role of sleep for memory. We welcome back Svenja Brodt, who will talk about what different sleep phases contribute, the role of dreams, and whether pulling an all-nighter before an exam is a recipe for disaster. We also dig into what scientists are still trying to figure out about how sleep shapes what we remember – and what we forget. Co-host: Simon Faßnacht.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 6

The Science of Remembering

In this episode, we dive into one of the brain’s most fascinating abilities: remembering. We’re joined by Svenja Brodt; she will explain how the brain stores memories and how MRI helps reveal the interplay between the hippocampus and neocortex in shaping short-term and long-term memory. We discuss what this means for studying effectively for an exam and how the aging brain can still form new memories. Co-host: Simon Faßnacht.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 5

November 17, 2025

Inside the Thinking Brain
In this episode of Signals & Synapses, we take a deep dive into cognitive neuroscience. Join Romy Lorenz as she explores the science behind thinking, deciding, and understanding. What are neural networks in the brain? Why are they important and how can we explore them? And how might stroke patients benefit from fundamental research? Co-host: Christina Bruckmann.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 4

October 20, 2025

MRI (Almost) Without Magnets: Ultra-Low Field Imaging
In this episode of Signals & Synapses, we explore ultra-low-field MRI and how meaningful brain images can be made with almost no magnetic field. Join Kai Buckenmaier as he tackles the challenges of ultra-low field MRI, pushing the limits of how little magnetic field is needed to produce meaningful images of the brain. Co-host Dana Ramadan offers an ultra-high field perspective for contrast.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 3

April 14, 2025

Tuned In: The Rhythms of the Brain
What are brain oscillations, and why do we need them? In this episode, co-host Chiara Zanonato sits down with neuroscientist Pascal Fries to explore how these rhythmic patterns emerge in the brain and what roles they play. Together, they unpack the "communication through coherence" theory, a fascinating idea about how brain regions sync up.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 2

The Clocks Within Our Brains
How does the brain keep time? From anticipating a green light to following a song’s rhythm, our brains rely on internal clocks. In this episode, co-host Theresa Horn talks with neuroscientist Assaf Breska about how these timing mechanisms work, and why studying patients with cerebellar lesions is key to understanding them.

Signals & Synapses - Episode 1

Illuminating the Zebrafish Mind
The first episode of the new podcast „Signals & Synapses“ features Jennifer Li and Drew Robson, who use the unique model organism zebrafish to understand how cognition works.

Other podcasts

German and English language podcasts from the institute