The brain is the most fascinating organ of our body. It controls all of our complex bodily functions, keeps us alive and is the basis of our existence. Without this sophisticated control center in our head, we would not be able to move, speak or feel and neither would we have any memory. 

But how does our brain actually work? Can one see, how and what we are thinking? How can brain diseases affect our personality and can they be healed? These and other questions have challenged us for centuries. Whilst researchers from the Middle Ages tried to elicit its secrets of the gray mass by simply measuring, weighing and cutting, nowadays high-tech examination and visualization methods are used to make the invisible visible.

The meticulous detailed drawings of the past have now given way to sophisticated images that allow us insight into the structure and function of the brain. At the level of individual cells and the smallest molecules, fantastic images that appear in its abstractness as wonder worlds of faraway galaxies are created.

From 5 February until 31 March 2016 the DPZ will present an exhibition „Portraits of the Mind – Einblicke in unser Gehirn“ in large-format. The exhibition is based on the illustrated book "Portraits of the Mind – Visualizing the Brain from Antiquity to the 21st Century" by the US Neuroscientist Carl Schoonover and was first shown in 2011 at the House of Science in Brunswick. In addition to his images, we will also present recordings, cinematic presentations and interactive exponents from current neuroscience research at the German Primate Center in Göttingen.

The exhibition is open for visitors from 8 February until 31 May 2016.

Monday to Thursday 9:00-16:00
Friday from 9:00-15:00

Watch a video about the exhibition

We thank the House of Science for their support.

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Image: Hypocampus, Thomas Deernick und Mark Ellisman, 2004