Press communication Research group from Heidelberg wins the doIT Software-Award:
Digital Milestone in Brain Science Stuttgart, June 9th, 2005: What happens exactly in our brain, when we are learning? Still brain scientists do not know all the details of how the information is processed by the neurons in the brain and how learning is accomplished. Due to the Heidelberg research groups around Prof. Bert Sakmann, Max-Planck-Institut for Medical Research, and Prof. Gabriel Wittum, Institute for Computer Science, it is now possible to reconstruct neurons using a computer automatically. NeuRA is the name of the new software which is aimed to help the brain sciencetists in their work. The reconstruction of nerve cells and of their connectivities in a computer model is a prerequisite to formulate a detailed simulation model to get more insight into the processes in our brain. Gabriel Wittum explains: “This is not an easy task, considering that each nerve cell may be connected with thousand others via so-called synapses”. Up to now, no model exists simulating the signal processing in the brain on a detailed level. It is certain, however, that the complicated geometric structure of neurons has a great influence on the processing of the electric signals and its speed. The newly developed software NeuRA is the first tool for the automatic reconstruction of nerve cells in the mammalian brain. NeuRA is substantially faster and much more ojective than the manual reconstruction. Furthermore, NeuRa can process much larger datasets and makes in vivo investigations possible. For these investiagations, neuroscientists use cells from the brains of mammals, in particular rats and mice. By virtue of two-photon laser microscopy, neurons are scanned layer by layer in the living animal. This kind of microscopy has the problem that only very low energy lasers cn be used in order not to damage the tissue, resulting in images with poor signal to noise ratio. Wittum explains: “This means that distinguishing between relevant and not relevant data is very cumbersome.” In the usual manual reconstruction, researchers decided ad hoc, what information to rely on and what to be neglected. The software NeuRA offers a new algorithm for preprocessing the image data. First the raw data are processed by a special diffusion filter. Wittum comments: “This filter can identify the structure fo the cell, close gaps in the structure and focus it.” The following segmentation step assigns each voxel either to the structure or to the external space. The final reconstrction step outputs the cell geometry in common file formats. The software is used by groups of neuroscientists for the reconstruction of cell geometries. It allows an automatic preprocessing of the data nad supplies geometry data for detailed simulations. Computer simulations are essential for brain research, since measurements in the living brain are quite restricted. Visualization and simulation contribute substantially to understanding of signal processing in neurons. By fostering the insight into these processes visualization and simulation can also help in therapy for diseases like epilepsy. The research group is happy about their success: By the new software they were not just able to set a benchmark in brain science, but also they managed to convince the jury for the doIT software award. Wittum says: “We will use the awarded money for further polishing of the software and, if possible, to get some more staff to work on it.” The doIT Software-Award The doIT Software-Award awards outstanding scientific results in software research in Baden-Württemberg and is announced every year in spring. The aim of the award which is endowed with a total sum of 41.000 Euro is to create new incentives for a successful software research in Baden-Württemberg. The contributions are reviewed by a top-class jury from science, research and business and rated according to criteria like functionality, level of innovation, creativity, scientific quality, and feasability. More can be found on http://www.doit-forschungstag.de/cms/index.php?id=4. Translated from the German original, see http://www.doIT-online.de/presse 
 Über die MFG und die MFG Stiftung Die MFG mit Sitz in Stuttgart entwickelt und fördert den Standort Baden-Württemberg in den Bereichen Medien, IT und Film. In drei Geschäftsbereichen wird mit einem Team von über 50 Mitarbeitern ein Jahresumsatz von rund 15 Mio. Euro erzielt. Der Geschäftsbereich MFG Medienentwicklung ist das Kompetenzzentrum des Landes für IT und Medien mit einem breiten Spektrum an Dienstleistungsangeboten in den Geschäftsfeldern Beratung/Förderung, Projektmanagement, Veranstaltungen/Weiterbildung und Kommunikation/Marketing. Der Geschäftsbereich MFG Filmförderung fördert Filme für Kino und Fernsehen und versteht sich als Kompetenz- und Beratungszentrum für die Film- und Kinolandschaft des Landes. Der Geschäftsbereich MFG Stiftung realisiert gemeinnützige Projekte in den beschriebenen Aufgabenfeldern. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Aus- und Weiterbildung, Kunst, Kreativität, Kultur sowie Forschung und Entwicklung. Gesellschafter der MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg mbH sind das Land Baden-Württemberg (51 Prozent) und der SWR (49 Prozent). Pressekontakt: MFG Stiftung Baden-Württemberg Jennifer Bader Tel.: 0711-90 715 316, E-Mail: bader@mfg.de Diese Presseinformation finden Sie auch unter http://www.doIT-online.de/presse - dem Pressecenter des IT- und Medienstandorts Baden-Württemberg mit zahlreichen Presseinfos, Standortdaten, Bildarchiv, Präsentationen und Reden. http://www.doit-forschungstag.de/cms/index.php?id=4http://www.doIT-online.de/pressemailto:bader@mfg.dehttp://www.doIT-online.de/presseshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3
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