Special Labs

Primate Neurobiology

Head:

The special lab provides techniques for neurobiological research on primates. These include behavioral testing, multi-electrode recordings of neuronal signals, electrical brain stimulation, and implant surgery. In collaboration with other units of the Leibniz-Institute we perform functional magnetic resonance imaging and anatomical reconstructions of the primate brain. The Animal House of the Leibniz Institute hosts a breeding colony for longtail macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

The research conducted by the special lab aims at elucidating the neuronal bases of auditory behavior and learning/memory at the level of single cells and cell assemblies. Our central approach is to study neuronal activity in monkeys while they perform an auditory task. This enables us to find out which and how neurons contribute to audition and acoustically guided behavior. Monkeys are usually trained, using instrumental conditioning with appetitive and aversive feedback, to perform auditory pattern recognition tasks or to switch between tasks. After task acquisition, monkeys are surgically prepared for repetitive electrophysiological recordings from auditory cortex and other brain structures of interest (e.g., medial geniculate body or ventral tegmental area).