Igor Kagan; the macaque image modified from: Monkey in a Persimmon Tree, 1935 by Ohara Koson Collaborative workshop with neuroscientists from Japan and Germany to discuss decision making, cognition, and neurobiology across primate species.
December 10–11, 2025, German Primate Center (DPZ), Göttingen
How do primates – including humans – make decisions in everyday life? Understanding this fundamental process is key to explaining how animals navigate their environment, cooperate, compete, and ultimately survive.
On December 10–11, researchers from the Kyoto University’s Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior (EHUB), Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg, and DPZ will meet in Göttingen for the EHUB–DPZ 2025 Joint Workshop. The workshop brings together scientists working on decision-making, cognition, and neurobiology across primate species.
The workshop will feature presentations, a poster session, discussions, and planning of joint research activities between DPZ and EHUB, strengthening the growing collaboration between the two institutions.
The collaboration aims to uncover the evolutionary origins of sophisticated decision-making. Using a comparative framework, the project examines marmosets and macaques – two species with distinct evolutionary histories, social structures, and behavioral repertoires – and relates the findings to human behavior and cognition. By analyzing how neural circuits evolved to support flexible cognition and adaptive choices, the project seeks to identify shared mechanisms across species, as well as the foundations of uniquely human capabilities.
DPZ organizer: Igor Kagan
Katharina Diederich CNL's Abhilash Dwarakanath wins the William James award
Abhi has been awarded the William James Prize by the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness! This honor is given annually to recognize outstanding contributions by an early career researcher to the scientific study of consciousness. Abhi’s work has made a significant impact in the field, and this award is a testament to both the quality and originality of his research. We’re incredibly proud to see his efforts recognized at this level, and we look forward to seeing where his work continues to lead. - C. Schwiedrzik
Dwarakanath A, Kapoor V, Werner J, Safavi S, Fedorov LA, Logothetis NK, Panagiotaropoulos TI (2023) Bistability of prefrontal states gates access to consciousness. Neuron, 111(10), 1666-1683
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.02.027
B. Smith CNL's Max Arwed Crayen wins award for his doctoral thesis
The 2024 winner is neuroscientist Max Arwed Crayen. He completed his doctorate in the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the DPZ and, as part of his work, investigated how our brain combines visual information such as color and movement into a coherent overall impression - and why errors sometimes occur in the process. He has also developed new techniques to carry out more precise measurements in the brain and thus better investigate the fundamentals of such perceptual processes.
The DPZ Support Association awards the PhD prize for outstanding doctoral theses in which studies on primates play a central role. The prize is endowed with 1000 Euro and supported by the MacLean Erkelenz Foundation. - C. Roos
Crayen MA, Treue S, Esghaei M (2024) Interactions between the fovea and the periphery shape misbinding of visual features in a continuous report paradigm Scientific Reports 14, 28381
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-78867-5
Crayen MA, Kagan I, Esghaei M, Hoehl D, Thomas U, Prückl R, Schaffelhofer S, Treue S (2024) Using camera-guided electrode microdrive navigation for precise 3D targeting of macaque brain sites. PLoS ONE 19(5):e0301849
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301849
In this podcast, you will learn how scientists from the German Primate Center have developed a new technology that enables the automation of training protocols, ensuring a higher degree of control and standardization than ever before. This represents a paradigm shift in animal-assisted research. © American Physiological Society, permission to embed the podcast kindly granted by Kara Hansell Keehan.