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1. Act
2. Motor Skills

Networks of Movement: Control Strategy, Tactics, Execution

Every arbitrary movement is planned, organized, and sent for execution in the brain.

01.12.2025

1. News from the Institutes

Controlling prostheses with the power of thought

How research into movement planning in the brain is helping to advance the development of neuroprostheses

20.10.2025

1. News
2. Question to the brain

How do Placebo Drugs work?

What actually happens in the brain during the placebo effect?

02.02.2025

1. Think
2. Consciousness

The Night Side of Consciousness

Our brain goes through different stages of consciousness during the night.

03.09.2025

1. Glossary

Primary gustatory cortex

Term for the areas of the insular cortex where information from the taste receptors is processed. Further processing takes place in the secondary gustatory cortex in the orbitofrontal cortex.

1. Glossary

Cingulate cortex

A component of the prefrontal cortex located at the front of the brain. Like half a doughnut, the cingulate cortex wraps around the corpus callosum. Functionally, it belongs to the limbic system and is involved in emotion, memory, and motor function.

1. Glossary

Anterior cingulate cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex (cingulate gyrus) plays a role not only in autonomic functions such as blood pressure and heart rate regulation, but also in rational processes such as decision-making. This area of the brain is also involved in emotional processes, such as impulse control. Anatomically, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is characterized by a large number of spindle neurons (Von Economo neurons). These special nerve cells have a long, spindle-shaped structure and have so far only been found in mammals such as primates, elephants, and some whale and dolphin species. Spindle neurons contribute to higher social and emotional processes such as self-awareness, empathy, and quick emotional decisions. In pain perception, it is particularly associated with the affective component of pain – including social pain, such as that experienced through exclusion.

1. Glossary

Primary visual cortex

The part of the occipital lobe whose primary inputs originate from the visual system. According to Brodmann, who originally divided the cerebral cortex into 52 areas in 1909, the primary visual cortex is area 17.

1. Glossary

Prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) forms the front part of the frontal lobe and is one of the brain's most important integration and control centers. It receives highly processed information from many other areas of the cortex and is responsible for planning, controlling, and flexibly adapting one's own behavior. Its central tasks include executive functions, working memory, emotion regulation, and decision-making. In addition, the PFC plays an important role in the cognitive evaluation and modulation of pain.

1. Glossary

Visual cortex

The visual cortex refers to the areas of the occipital lobe that are involved in processing visual information. These include the primary visual cortex and the associative visual cortices V1 to V5. According to Brodmann, the visual cortex comprises areas 17, 18, and 19.