SPACEBRAIN at the University of Zürich

The Brain Research Institute of the University of Zürich houses some of the most prominent research groups in Switzerland. Fritjof Helmchen is Professor for Neurophysiology and Co-Director at the Brain Research Institute. He is an experimental neuroscientist with physics background. His research is focused on revealing principles of neural computation on the single-cell and circuit level using both electrophysiological and optical methods. In particular, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of multiphoton microscopy techniques to study neuronal and glial function in vivo.

Fritjof Helmchen is Head of the Department of Neurophysiology, which comprises 2 postdocs, 4 PhD students, and 1 technician (plus two additional independent groups). The laboratory is equipped with 5 multi-photon microscope stands comprising ultrafast Ti:Sa lasers as well as electrophysiology tools for combined optical and electrical recordings. One PhD student, Christoph Engelbrecht, is currently working on the further development of the technical design of the fiberoptic microscope.

Fritjof Helmchen’s main contribution to the project will be to realize the breakthrough of imaging neuronal ensemble activity in behaving animals. A novel ultracompact two-photon microscope will be designed. The goal is to mount this microscope on the head of behaving rats and for the first time reveal the fine-scale organization of population activity in hippocampal and entorhinal cell assemblies. Functional measurements will be performed using fluorescent calcium indicators.

Bilde av Fritjof Helmchen

The Brain Research Institute of the University of Zürich