Theoretical Neuroscience Podcast
Episodes
On extracting spiking network models from experiments - with Richard Gao - #38
28 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
While some models aim to explain qualitative features of brain activity, other aim to reproduce experimental data quantitatively. If so, model parame...
On reproducibility of modeling and 10 years with the Potjans-Diesmann network model - with Hans Ekkehard Plesser - #37
31 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Reproducibility is key for scientific progress. If research results cannot be reproduced and trusted, other researchers cannot build on them. Reproduc...
On low-dimensional manifolds in motor cortex - with Sara Solla - #36
03 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Historically, the analysis of neural recordings focused on responses of single neurons recorded by single-contact electrodes. Modern electrodes with m...
On modeling metabolic networks in the brain – with Polina Shichkova - #35
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neurons need particular sodium and potassium concentration gradients across their membranes to function. These gradients are set up by so-called ion p...
On balanced neural networks - with Nicolas Brunel - #34
08 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An important discovery that has come out of computational neuroscience, is that cortical neurons in vivo appear to receive so-called balanced inputs. ...
On computational neurotechnology for the clinic - with Anthony Burkitt, Nada Yousif & Esra Neufeld - #33
11 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can computational neuroscience contribute to developing neurotechnology to help people with brain disorders and disabilities? This was the topic o...
On IIT and adversarial testing of consciousness theories - with Christof Koch - #32
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In an adversarial collaboration researchers with opposing theories jointly investigate a disputed topic by designing and implementing a study in a m...
On how to cure brain diseases - with Nicole Rust - #31
16 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A promise of basic neuroscience research is that the new insights will lead to new cures for brain diseases. But has that happened so far? Today's gue...
On co-dependent excitatory and inhibitory plasticity - with Tim Vogels - #30
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Synaptic plasticity underlies several key brain functions including learning, information filtering and homeostatic regulation of overall neural activ...
On the philosophy of simplification in computational neuroscience - with Mazviita Chirimuuta and Terrence Sejnowski - #29
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Computational neuroscientists rely on simplification when they make their models. But what is the right level of simplification? When should we, for e...
On whole-cell modeling of bacteria - with Markus Covert - #28
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A future computational neuroscience project could be to model not only the signal processing properties of neurons, but also all processes that keep a...
On construction and clinical use of multipurpose neuron models - with Etay Hay - #27
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Numerous neuron models have been made, but most of them are "single-purpose" in that they are made to address a single scientific question. In contras...
On the population code in visual cortex - with Kenneth Harris - #26
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With modern electrical and optical measurement techniques, we can now measure neural activity in hundreds or thousands of neurons simultaneously. This...
On growing synthetic dendrites – with Hermann Cuntz - #25
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The observed variety of dendritic structures in the brains is striking. Why are they so different, and what determine the branching patterns? Followin...
On neuroscience foundation models - with Andreas Tolias - #24
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The term "foundation model" refers to machine learning models that are trained on vast datasets and can be applied to a wide range of situations. The ...
On human whole-brain models - with Viktor Jirsa - #23
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A holy grail of the multiscale approach for physical brain modelling is to link the different scales from molecules, via cells and local neural networ...
On 40 years with the Hopfield network model - with Wulfram Gerstner - #22
07 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1982 John Hopfield published the paper "Neural networks and physical systems with emergent collective computational abilities" describing a simple ...
On models for short-term memory - with Pawel Herman - #21
09 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The leading theory for learning and memorization in the brain is that learning is provided by synaptic learning rules and memories stored in synaptic ...
On neuro-AI on the boat - part 2 of 2 - with Cristina Savin, Tim Vogels, Mikkel Lepperød, Paul Middlebrooks - #20
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In September Paul Middlebrooks, the producer of the podcast BrainInspired, and I were both on a neuro-AI workshop on a coast liner cruising the Norweg...
On neuro-AI on the boat - part 1 of 2 - with Ken Harris, Andreas Tolias, Mikkel Lepperød, Paul Middlebrooks - #19
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In September Paul Middlebrooks, the producer of the podcast BrainInspired, and I were both on a neuro-AI workshop on a coast liner cruising the Norweg...
On electric brain signals - solo episode - #18
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most of what we have learned about the functioning of the living brain has come from extracellular electrical recordings, like the measurement of spik...
On dendritic function - with Yiota Poirazi - #17
17 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The most prominent visual characteristic of neurons is their dendrites. Even more than 100 years after their first observation by Cajal, their functio...
On consciousness - with Christof Koch - #16
03 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The greatest mystery of all is why a group of atoms, like the ones constituting me, can feel anything. The mind-brain problem has puzzled philosophe...
On the simulation tool NEURON - with Michael Hines - #15
20 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Computational neuroscientists use many software tools, and NEURON has become the leading tool for biophysical modeling of neurons and neural network. ...
On the molecular memory code - with Sam Gershman - #14
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The idea that memories are stored in molecules was popular in the middle of the 20th century. However, since the discovery of long-term potentiation ...
On quantum biology - with Johnjoe McFadden - #13
08 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is quantum physics important in determining how living systems, including brains, work? Today's guest is a professor of molecular genetics at the Uni...
On modeling of signaling pathways inside the neuron - with Avrama Blackwell - #12
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most computational neuroscientists investigate electric dynamics in neurons or neural networks, but there is also computations going on inside neurons...
On synaptic learning rules for spiking neurons - with Friedemann Zenke - #11
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today's AI is largely based on supervised learning of neural networks using the backpropagation-of-error synaptic learning rule. This learning rule re...
On large-scale modeling of mouse primary visual cortex - with Anton Arkhipov - #10
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last ten years or so, the MindScope project at the Allen Institute in Seattle has pursued an industrylab-like approach to study the mouse vis...
On origins of computational neuroscience and AI as scientific fields - with Terrence Sejnowski (vintage) - #9
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is a pioneer both in the fields of computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) and has had a front seat during their dev...
On reverse engineering of the roundworm C.elegans - with Konrad Kording - #8
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest has argued that the present dominant way of doing systems neuroscience in mammals (large-scale electric or optical recordings of neural ...
On topological data analysis and Hopfield-like network models - with Carina Curto - #7
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last decade topological analysis has been established as a new tool for analysis of spiking data. Today's guest has been a pioneer in adaptin...
On central pattern generators in the spinal cord - with Henrik Lindén - #6
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Not all interesting network activity occurs in cortex. Networks in the spinal cord, the long thin tubular structure extending downwards from the neck,...
On how vision works - with Li Zhaoping - #5
09 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We know a lot about of how neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mammals respond to visual stimuli. But how does the vast information contained...
On multi-area cortex models - with Sacha van Albada - #4
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A key goal of computational neuroscience is to build mathematical models linking single-neuron activity to systems-level activity. The guest has taken...
On the neural code - with Arvind Kumar - #3
04 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is widely thought that spikes (action potentials) are the main carrier of information in the brain. But what is the neural code, that is, what aspe...
On biophysics of computation – with Christof Koch - #2
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Starting from the pioneering work of Hodgkin, Huxley and Rall in the 1950s and 60s, we have a well-founded biophysics-based mathematical understanding...
On models of the mind - with Grace Lindsay - #1
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The book "Models of the Mind" published in 2021 gives an excellent popular account of the history and questions of interest in theoretical neuroscienc...