[This is the old program from WS 2006/07. The current program and contact information can be found here.]

16 October 2006, 17:00

Hsuan-Yi Chen (Department of Physics and Graduate School of Biophysics, National Central University, Taiwan)
Models of nonequilibrium domains in biomembranes [Abstract] 

03 November 2006, 16:00

Ichiro Tsuda (Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
Modeling episodic brain memory  

Abstract:
How does the brain encode episode? Episodic memory has become interested in scientific society since finding of malfunction of formation of episodic memory caused by a damage of the hippocampus, especially, the part named CA1, which was clinically observed in the 1950’s and 80’s. On the other hand, simple memory has been explored in various contexts, especially, since Marr’s theory for archecortex (incl. the hippocampus), where Marr considered the hippocampus, especially, another part named CA3 to be responsible for associative memory. However, a conventional mathematical model of associative memory guaranteed only a single association in case without any given rule for the order of successive association. We hypothesize that it stems from the lack of inhibitory neuron. Actually, we obtain a successive association of stored patterns, which can be regulated by emergent chaotic activity of neural networks. A detailed observation of the architecture of CA3 ensures the presence of inhibitory neurons together with recurrent connections of excitatory neurons, the latter of which are necessary for a single association. We also made a model for CA1 which has much less recurrent networks, but internal connections of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. We found a Cantor set in the output of CA1 neurons and clarified the functional significance of this set in relation to episodic memory. Our hypothesis is that CA1 is responsible for the formation of episodic memory in the form of Cantor coding of temporal patterns. Furthermore, to observe the Cantor set in real brain we conducted an experiment, using the rat hippocampal slice. We observed the Cantor-like sets and affine transformations in the data, which indicate the IFS-like mechanism can actually work in the process of episodic memory formation.

17 November 2006, 16:00

Marc-Thorsten Hütt (School of Engineering and Science, International University Bremen IUB)
Exploring biological networks with dynamic probes [Abstract] 

24 November 2006, 16:00

Yuka Tabe (Department of Applied Physics, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan)
Dissipative structures in molecular thin films [Abstract] 

01 December 2006, 16:00, Habervilla, Faradayweg 8

Carsten Beta (Department of Fluid Dynamics, Pattern Formation and Nanobiocomplexity, MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen)
Directional sensing - an experimental approach based on microfluidics [Abstract] 

19 January 2007, 16:00

James Sneyd (Dept. of Mathematics, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Calcium oscillations: Using mathematics to do physiology [Abstract] 

02 February 2007, 16:00

Vadim N. Biktashev (Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK)
Asymptotic approaches to cardiac excitation models [Abstract] 

16 February 2007, 16:00

Chaiya Luengviriya (Institut für Experimentelle Physik, Universität Magdeburg)
Scroll wave instabilities in a chemical excitable medium [Abstract]