| Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology | |
| Native Name: | Max-Planck-Institut für Neurobiologie |
| Native Name Lang: | de |
| Abbreviation: | MPIN |
| Founders: | --> |
| Type: | Research institute |
| Purpose: | Basic research |
| Location City: | Planegg-Martinsried, Bavaria |
| Location Country: | Germany |
| Coordinates: | 48.1053°N 11.4592°W |
| Fields: | Immunology, infection biology, medicine, neuroscience |
| Leader Title: | Executive Director |
| Parent Organization: | Max Planck Society |
| Staff: | about 300 |
| Staff Year: | 2018 |
The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Neurobiologie, abbreviated MPIN) was a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich in Germany. It existed between 1984 and 2022 and merged with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology to the new, joint Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in 2023.
Research at the former MPI of Neurobiology centered on the basic mechanisms and functions of the developing and adult nervous system. Main focus areas include the mechanisms of information processing and storage. It is one of more than 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society.
It was created as "Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie" (DFA) in 1917, and incorporated into the Kaiser Wilhelm Society 1925 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Psychiatry. In 1954, the institute became affiliated with the Max Planck Society and became the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. A few years later, the institute was divided into a Clinical and a Theoretical Institute. In 1984, the Theoretical Institute moved to Martinsried (Planegg), southwest of Munich. In 1998, the Theoretical and the Clinical parts of this institute segregated and the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology became an independent institute.[1] In January 2023, the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology merged to form the new Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (MPI-BI).[2]
Scientific research at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology was grouped into five departments and several independent research groups. Numerous thematic connections between the groups result in a multitude of interactions and joint projects. About one third of the approximately 300 members of the institute come from abroad.
The institute’s scientific reputation is also based on six well-known professors, who work regularly or permanently at the institute. The institute’s webpage provides more information about the Emeritus Scientific Members (Prof. Bert Sakmann and Prof. Hartmut Wekerle) and the External Scientific Members (Prof. Yves-Alain Barde, Prof. Reinhard Hohlfeld and Prof. Edvard Moser).
In addition to the manifold internal cooperation is the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology linked through numerous projects to its neighboring institutes. The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry is situated directly next door on the Martinsried campus. Other institutes such as the University Hospital Großhadern, the Gene- und Biological-Centers of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Innovation and Startup Center for Biotechnology (IZB) are only a few minutes walk away.
Close cooperation also exists between the institute and the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), the University of California, San Diego (USA), and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (Munich, Germany). Together with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Max Planck - Hebrew University Center "Sensory Processing of the Brain in Action" was founded in 2013.
A lively international exchange is, among others, realized via several student-exchange programs with cooperating institutes. The participation in graduate school programs and the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) assure the efficient and comprehensive education of PhD students.
The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology attempts to render its research as transparent to the public as possible. The institute’s website informs in short news texts about ongoing work and events. Once every two years, the institute opens its doors to the general public on open day.
Visitor groups, school classes and individual pupils can gain insight into the work at the institute and see what it's like to be a scientist in the hands-on-laboratory MaxLab.[8]