ERC Synergy Grant: Cognitive Maps for Intelligent Behavior

10 million euros awarded to zebrafish researchers for six-year project

Jennifer Li and Drew Robson are among a team of four researchers to receive an ERC Synergy Grant for the project “Neuronal implementation of cognitive maps for navigation”. Over a period of six years, the funding of 10 million euros will allow them to investigate how zebrafish internally represent their environment, potentially with far-reaching implications for our understanding of intelligence.
 

Intelligent behavior requires internal representations of the world. Without them, it would be impossible to perform mental simulations or to plan strategically. Humans and other mammals have specialized neurons called spatial cells that create a cognitive map of their environment. In recent years, these spatial cells have also been discovered in birds and fish. However, how they work together to create cognitive maps remains a central mystery in neuroscience. “We lack a mechanistic understanding of the underlying computations and their biological implementation,” explains Jennifer Li.
The small size and the transparency of the zebrafish brain present a unique opportunity to gain insight into cognitive function. For the first time, researchers will both record brain-wide activity during spatial navigation and create a detailed map of neuron connections in the same fish. Their interdisciplinary effort will uncover how interactions between spatial cells give rise to cognitive maps. “Our project could fundamentally advance our understanding of biological intelligence – and possibly even of artificial intelligence,” remarks Drew Robson.

Li and Robson, who co-lead the Systems Neuroscience & Neuroengineering research group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, were granted the funding jointly with Herwig Baier of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Martinsried/Seewiesen, Germany) and Rainer Friedrich of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (Basel, Switzerland).
ERC Synergy Grants are awarded by the European Research Council. The highly coveted funding support teams of up to four Principal Investigators to carry out ambitious collaborative projects.