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Cognitive Biology, Haus 91

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Otto-von-Guericke Universität                                             
Leipziger Str 44                                                                  
39120 Magdeburg                                                 
0391 67 55051                                                     
 
Private:
 
                  Born 7 Oktober 1957 in Heilbronn, Germany
                  Married, three children (age 28, 25, and 16)
                  German nationality
 
Education:
 
1980-1985    Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of California at Berkeley, USA
1977-1979    Vordiplom in Biochemistry, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
1976-1979    Vordiplom in Chemistry, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
 
Employment:
 
2004-           Professor of Cognitive Biology, Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg, Germany
2000-2004  Professor of Theoretical and Cognitive Neurobiology, Univ of Plymouth, UK
1999-2000  Visiting Lecturer, Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
1993-1998  Senior Research Fellow with Christof Koch, Computation and Neural Systems, California    
                     Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
1990-1993  Research Fellow with David van Essen, Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute 
                     of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
1986-1989  Visiting Scientist with Dov Sagi, Dept Applied Mathematics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 
                     Rehovot, Israel
 
Selected academic activities:
 
2009-16       Associate Editor, Vision Research
2007-11       Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience 
                     (BCCN) Göttingen
2011-16       Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology (BFNT) Göttingen
2004-16       Co-organizer, European Summer School “Visual Neuroscience: from spikes to awareness”
2015            Organizer workshop “Emergent cognition in brain-like systems: compounding heterogeneity                    
                     at multiple scales”, Magdeburg, Germany.
2004            Organizer workshop “New perspectives on visual cortex”, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland.
1999            Organizer workshop “Visual attention and cortical circuits”, Catalina Island, California.
 
Reviewer for Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, Current Biology, Journal of Neuroscience, European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Vision, Perception and Psychophysics, and many others.   
Referee for Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, European Community, National Science Foundation, Agence National de Recherche, FWF (Wissenschaftsfonds), Wellcome Trust, German Israeli Foundation, and others.
 
Selected grants:
 
2018-2022     Analysis, Imaging and Modelling of Neuronal Processes, European Social Funds
 
2013-2016     Partner in Marie Curie International Training Network INDIREA.
 
2011-2014    Coordinator of EU FP7 project CORONET “Choreographing neural networks: coupling 
                       activity dynamics across biomimetic brain interfaces with neuromorphic VLSI”.
 
2007-2010    Coordinator Bernstein Group Magdeburg “Components of cognition: from small networks 
                       to flexible rules”.
 
2004-2008    European Summer School "Visual Neuroscience: from spikes to awareness", Volkswagen    
                       Foundation, with Prof. K. Gegenfurtner (Giessen) and Prof. F. Bremmer (Marburg).
 
2002-2006    Coordinator of EU FP5 project ALAVLSI “Attend-to-learn and learn-to-attend with 
                       neuromorphic, analogue VLSI”.

Publications (H-factor 39, ~7000 citations)

Ph.D. Thesis
Cells that guide the growth of neural processes in the embryo of the leech. Advisor Gunther S. Stent, University of California at Berkeley, Fall 1985.

Refereed Journal Papers
1) J Braun, J R Abney and J C Owicki (1984) How a gap junction maintains its structure.
Nature 310, 316-318.
2) R L Gimlich and J Braun (1985) Improved fluorescent compounds for tracing cell
lineage. Developmental Biology 109, 509-514.
3) J Braun, J R Abney and J C Owicki (1987) Lateral interactions among membrane
proteins. I. Valid estimates based in freeze fracture electron micrography.
Biophysical Journal 52, 427-439.
4) J R Abney, J Braun and J C Owicki (1987) Lateral interactions among membrane
proteins. II. Implications for organization of gap junctions. Biophysical Journal 52, 441-454.
5) J Braun and G S Stent (1989) Axon outgrowth along segmental nerves in the leech:
I. Identification of candidate guidance cells. Developmental Biology 132, 471-485.
6) J Braun and G S Stent (1989) Axon outgrowth along segmental nerves in the leech:
II. Identification of actual guidance cells. Developmental Biology 132, 486-501.
7) J Braun and D Sagi (1990) Vision outside the focus of attention. Perception &
Psychophysics 48, 45-58.
8) J Braun and D Sagi (1991) Texture-based tasks are little affected by a second task
which requires peripheral or central attentive fixation. Perception 20, 483-500.
9) M B Ben-Av, D Sagi, and J Braun (1992) Visual attention and perceptual grouping.
Perception & Psychophysics 52, 277-294.
10) J L Gallant, J Braun and D C VanEssen (1993) Selectivity for polar, hyperbolic, and
cartesian gratings in macaque extrastriate cortex. Science 259, 100-103.
11) J Braun (1994) Visual search among items of different salience: removal of visual
attention mimics a lesion in extrastriate area V4. J Neurosci 14, 554-567.
12) J Braun (1994) Shape-from-shading is independent of visual attention and may be a
"texton". Spatial Vision 7, 311-322.
13) C Kolb and J Braun (1995) Blindsight in normal observers. Nature 377, 336-338.
14) C Koch and J Braun (1996) Towards the neural correlate of visual awareness. Curr
Op Neurobiol 6, 158-164.
15) D K Lee, C Koch and J Braun (1997) Spatial vision thresholds in the absence of
attention. Vision Research 37, 2409-2418.
16) L Itti, J Braun, D K Lee and C Koch (1997) A model of early visual processing. Adv
Neur Inf Proc Sys 10, 173-179.
17) J Braun and B Julesz (1998) Dividing attention at little cost: detection and
discrimination tasks. Percep & Psychophys 60, 1-23.
18) J Braun (1998) Vision and attention: the role of training. Nature 393, 424-5.
19) J Braun (1999) On the detection of salient contours. Spatial Vision 12, 211-25.
20) L Itti, J Braun, D K Lee and C Koch (1998) Attentional modulation of uman pattern
psychophysics reproduced by a quantitative model. Adv Neur Inf Proc Sys 11, 789-795.
21) D K Lee, C Koch, J Braun (1999) Attentional capacity is undifferentiated: concurrent
discrimination of form, color, and motion. Perception & Psychophysics 61, 1241-55.
22) D K Lee, L Itti, C Koch, J Braun (1999) Attention activates winner-take-all
competition among visual filters. Nature Neuroscience 2, 375-381.
23) L Itti, C Koch, J Braun (1999) A quantitative model relating visual neuronal activity
to psychophysical thresholds. Neurocomputing 26, 743-8.
24) B Zenger, J Braun, C Koch (2000) Attentional effect on contrast detection in the
presence of salient distractors. Vision Res 40, 3717-24.
25) L Itti, C Koch, J Braun (2000) Revisiting spatial vision: toward a unifying model. J
Opt Soc Am A 17, 1899-917.
26) A Polonsky, R Blake, J Braun, D Heeger (2000) Neuronal activity in human primary
visual cortex correlates with perception during binocular rivalry. Nature Neuroscience 3, 1153-9.
27) O Speck, T Ernst, J Braun, C Koch, E N Miller, L Chang (2000) Gender differences in
the functional organization of the brain for working memory. Neuroreport 11, 2581-5.
28) J Jovicich, R J Peters, C Koch, J Braun, L Chang, T Ernst (2001) Brain areas specific
for attentional load in a motion tracking task. J Cog Neurosci 13, 1048-58.
29) L Chang, O Speck, EN Miller, J Braun, J Jovicich, C Koch, L Itti, T Ernst (2001)
Neural correlates of attention and working memory deficits in HIV patients.
Neurology 57, 1001-7.
30) L Itti, J Braun, C Koch (2001) Modeling the modulatory effect of attention on human
spatial vision. Adv Neur Inf Proc Sys 14, in press.
31) JM Hopf, T Noesselt, C Tempelmann, J Braun, MA Schoenfeld, HJ Heinze (2004)
Popout modulates focal attention in primary visual cortex. Neuroimage 22: 574-82.
32) N Tsuchiya, J Braun (2007) Contrast thresholds of component motion with full and
poor attention. Journal of Vision, 7 (3): 1.1-15.
33) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2007) Visual rivalry needs no prompting by attention.
Journal of Vision, 7 (10): 5.1-17.
34) P Camilleri, M Giulioni, V Dante, D Badoni, G Indiveri, B Michaelis, J Braun, P del
Giudice (2007) A neuromorphic aVLSI network chip with configurable plastic synapses. IEEE Conference Hybrid Intelligent
Systems 2007: 296—301. DOI: 10.1109/HIS.2007.60.
35) A Pastukhov, L Fisher, J Braun (2009) Visual attention is a single, integrated
resource. Vision Research (Special Issue on Attention), 49 (10): 1166-1173.
36) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2008) A short-term memory of multi-stable perception.
Journal of Vision, 8 (13): 7.1-14.
37) M Giulioni, P Camilleri, V Dante, D Badoni, G Indiveri, J Braun, P del Giudice, A
network chip of spiking neurons with plastic fully configurable stop-learning
synapses. IEEE Conference Electronics Circuits and Systems 2008: 678—681. DOI: 10.1109/ICECS.2008.4674944.
38) R Houtkamp, J Braun (2009) Cortical response to task-relevant stimuli presented
outside the focus of attention. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22 (9): 1980- 92.
39) G Gigante, M Mattia, J Braun, P Del Giudice (2009) Bistable perception modeled as
competing stochastic integrations at two levels. PLOS Computational Biology, 5 (7), e1000430: 1-9.
40) Y Festman, J Braun (2010) Does feature similarity contribute to attentional
selection. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 72 (8): 2128-43.
41) O Hamid, A Wendemuth, J Braun (2010) Temporal context and conditional
associative learning. BMC Neuroscience, 11: 45.
42) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2010) Rare but precious: what microsaccades tell us about
visual attention. Vision Research, 50 (12): 1173-84.
43) J Braun, M Mattia (2010) Attractors and noise: twin drivers of decisions and
multistability. (Review submitted by invitation). Neuroimage, 52 (3): 740-51.
44) P Camilleri, M Giulioni, M Mattia, J Braun, P Del Giudice (2010) Self-sustained  
activity in attractor networks using neuromorphic VLSI. IEEE Proceedings Int
Joint Conf Neural Netw: 1-6. DOI: 10.1109/IJCNN.2010.5596342.
45) A Pastukhov, V Vonau, J Braun (2010) No stopping and no slowing: removing
visual attention with no effect on visual performance. Int Conf Artif Neur Netw  
(ICANN), 6354: 510–515. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-15825-4_70.
46) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2011) Cumulative history quantifies the role of neural adaptation in multi-stable perception. Journal of Vision, 11 (10): pii 12.
47) M Hudak, P Gervan, B Friedrich, A Pastukhov, J Braun, I Kovacs

(2011) Increased readiness for adaptation and faster alternation rates under binocular rivalry in children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5: 128.
48) A Pastukhov, V Vonau, J Braun (2011) Believable change: bistable reversals are goverened by physical plausibility. Journal of Vision, 12 (1): pii 17.
49) M Giulioni, P Camilleri, M Mattia, V Dante, J Braun, P Del Giudice (2011) Robust working memory in an asynchronously spiking neural network realized with neuromorphic VLSI. Frontiers of Neuroscience, 5: 149.
50) Y Festman, J Braun (2012) Feature-based attention spreads in an object-specific manner. Vision Research, 54: 31-8.
51) S Stonkute, J Braun, A Pastukhov (2012) The role of attention in ambiguous reversals of structure-from-motion. PloS One, 7 (5): e37734.
52) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2012) Disparate time-courses of adaptation and facilitation in multi-stable perception. Learning & Memory, 5(2): 101–118.
53) A Pastukhov, V Vonau, S Stonkute, J Braun (2013) Spatial and temporal attention revealed by microsaccades. Vision Research, 85(0), 45–57.
54) A Pastukhov, J Braun (2013) Structure-from-motion: dissociating perception, neural persistence, and sensory memory of illusory depth and illusory rotation. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 75(2): 322-40.
55) A Pastukhov, P Garcia-Rodriguez, J Haenicke, T Guillamon, G Deco, J Braun (2013) Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity. Front. Comput. Neurosci, 7: 17.
56) A Pastukhov, A Lissner, J Füllekrug, & J Braun (2013). Sensory memory of illusory depth in structure-from-motion. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 76(1), 123-32.
57) A Pastukhov, J Füllekrug, J Braun (2014) Sensory memory of structure-from-motion is shape-specific. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 75(6), 1215–1229.
58) A Pastukhov, A Lissner & J Braun (2014). Perceptual adaptation to structure-from-motion depends on the size of adaptor and probe objects, but not on the similarity of their shapes. Attention, perception & psychophysics, 76(2), 473-88.
60) R Cao, J Braun & M Mattia (2014) Stochastic accumulation by cortical columns may explain the scalar property of multi-stable perception. Physics Review Letters, 113, 098103.
61) A Pastukhov, S Vivian-Griffiths & J Braun (2015) Transformation priming helps to disambiguate sudden changes of sensory inputs. Vision Research, 116, 36—44.
62) R Cao, A Pastukhov, M Mattia, J Braun (2016) Collective activity of many bistable assemblies reproduces characteristic dynamics of multistable perception. J. Neurosci., 36(26): 6957–72.
63) J V Dornas, J Braun (2018) Finer parcellation reveals intricate correlational structure of resting-state fMRI signals. J. Neurosci.
Meth., 294, 15—33.
64) A Pastukhov, C R Zaus, S Aleshin, J Braun, C-C Carbon (2018) Perceptual coupling induces co-rotation and speeds up alternations in adjacent bi-stable structure-from-motion objects. Journal of Vision, 18(4): 21.
65) S Aleshin, G Ziman, I Kovacs, J Braun (2018) Perceptual reversals in binocular rivalry: improved detection from OKN. Journal of Vision, 19 (3): 5, 1-18.
66) C Bauermeister, H Keren, J Braun (2020) Broadly heterogeneous network
topology begets order-based representation by privileged neurons. Biological
Cybernetics, 114(1), 1134-135.
67) R Cao, A Pastukhov, S Aleshin, M Mattia, J Braun (2021) Binocular rivalry
reveals and out-of-equilibrium neural dynamics suited for decision-making. eLife
10: e61581.
68) E Kakaei, S Aleshin, J Braun (2021) Visual object recognition is facilitated by
temporal community structure. Learning & Memory, 28: 148-152.
69) G Ziman, S Aleshin, Z Unoka, J Braun, I Kovacs (2022) Alternative female
and male developmental strategies in the dynamical balance of human visual
perception. Scientific Reports, 12 (1): 1-17.
70) S Baral, H Hosseini, K More, T M C Fabrin, J Braun, M Prigge (2022)
Spike-dependent dynamic partitioning of the Locus coeruleus network through
noradrenergic volume release in a simulation of nucleus core. Brain Sciences, 12
(1): 1-17.

Book chapters
1) J Braun (1997) Divided attention: narrowing the gap between brain and behavior.
In: The Attentive Brain, Parasuraman, R., ed., MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
2) C Koch & J Braun(1996) On the functional anatomy of visual awareness. In: Cold Spring Harbor Symp Quant Biol Vol. LXI, 49-57.
3) J Braun, C Koch, D K Lee, L Itti (2001) Perceptual consequences of visual attention. In: Visual attention and cortical circuits. J Braun, C Koch, and J Davis, eds, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
4) H-U Bauer and J Braun (2000) Is there parallel binding of distributed objects? In: Preparational Intelligence: Adaptive Behavior and Intelligent Systems Without Symbols and Logic. H Cruse et al, eds, Kluwer.
5) J Braun (2009) Attention and consciousness. In: The Oxford Companion to
Consciousness. T Bayne, A Cleeremans, and P Wilken, eds, Oxford University Press.
6) S Glüge, O Hamid, J Braun, A Wendemuth (2011) A Markov model of conditional associative learning in a cognitive behavioral scenario. In: Foundations of Natural and Artificial Computation. J M Ferrandez, J R A Sanchez, F de la Paz, J Toledo, eds, Springer Press.

Books
Visual attention and cortical circuits. J Braun, C Koch, and J Davis, eds, MIT Press, 2001.

Commentary
1) J Braun (2000) Targeting visual motion (News&Views). Nature Neuroscience 3, 9-11.
2) J Braun (2000) The emperor has some clothes (Book review). Nature Neuroscience 3, 975
3) J Braun (2000) Intimate attention. (News & Views). Nature 408, 154-5.
4) J Braun (2001) It's great but not necessarily about attention. (Commentary). Psyche 7(06).
5) J Braun (2002) Visual attention: light enters the jungle. (Dispatch). Current Biology 12, R599.
6) J Braun (2003) Natural scenes upset the visual applecart. (Research News). Trends Cogn Sci, 7: 7-9.
7) J Braun (2007) Attending the invisible. (Dispatch) Current Biology, 17: R202-3. 
8) J Braun (2007) Attention and awareness. In: Oxford Companion to Consciousness, P. Wilken, T. Bayne, A. Cleeremens, eds., OUP, in press.
9) J Braun, A Schönfeld (2008) Vision: attention makes the cup flow over. (Dispatch) Current Biology, 18: R713-5.
10) R Blake, J Braun (2009) Footprints of perception: now you see them, now you don’t. (Dispatch) Current Biology, 13: R30-2.

Invited research seminars (last decade)
 
2022
Universitätsklinikum Eppendorf, Universität Hamburg, Germany
Neurocenter, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland
Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, New York University, New York, USA
Dept Psychology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, USA
Dept. Neuroscience, Albert Einstein Medical College, Bronx, New York, USA
Dept Neurobiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
(virtual) Dept Physics, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
 
2021
(virtual) National Center for Computational Physics, Istituto Superiore Di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy
(virtual) Dept. Neurobiology, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
 
2020
MPI Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany
(virtual)  Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies & MPI for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt, Germany
Bernstein Center of Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
(virtual) Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany
(virtual) Dept Neurology, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

2019
Center of Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Bernstein Center of Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
MPI Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany
 
2018
Dept Psychology, Catholic University Budapest, Hungary
Dept Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Dept Psychology, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
Network Biology Research, Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), Haifa, Israel
Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Workhsop “The many flavors of Effective Connectivity: from neuronal cultures to fMRI”,
European Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience, Paris, France
 
2017
Universitätsklinikum Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Workshop “Criticality and Brain Dynamics”, Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg, Delmenhorst, Germany
Computational Neuroscience, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Hertie Institute of Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Germany
Gatsby Computational Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
Neurotheory Group, Dept Physiology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
 
2016
Cognitive Neuroinformatics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Network Biology Research Labs, Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), Haifa, Israel
Workshop “Brain Manifesto 2.0”, Beuggen, University of Freiburg, Germany
Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, USA
Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Cognitive Neurophysiology, National Institutes of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA
HWK Hanse Lecture, Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst, Germany
 
2015
École des Neurosciences, École Normale Superieure, Paris, France
Dept Psychology, University of Giessen, Germany
OCCAM 2015, Dept Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Germany
Theoretical Physics Unit, Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, Rome, Italy
Computational Neuroscience, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Dept Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
Dept Neurology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
 
2014
Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Dept Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA
Systems Neurobiology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
Dept Psychology, University of California at Santa Barbara, California, USA
MPI Dynamics and Self-Organization & BCCN Göttingen, Germany
Center for Integrative Neuroscience & BCCN Tübingen, Germany
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Experimental Psychology, University of Utrecht, Netherlands
Craik Club, Experimental Psychology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London, UK
National Center for Computational Physics, Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, Rome, Italy

• Selektion visueller Bewusstseinsinhalte (multistability, attention)
• Ausbildung visueller Gestaltobjekte (grouping, spatial attention, feature attention)
• Anforderungsspezifische Anpassung der visuellen Verarbeitung (attention, set)
• Begrenzte Kapazitäten der visuellen Verarbeitung (attention, saliency, working memory)
• Situationsabhängigkeit des assoziativen Lernens (temporal-context-dependent learning, optimal decision models)
• Verwirklichung spikender Neuronennetze zum assoziativen Lernen auf der Grundlage von analogen VLSI Schaltkreisen ("silicon cortex")

Beratung, Gutachten, Projekte zu Themenfeldern:

• Selektion visueller Bewusstseinsinhalte (multistability, attention)
• Ausbildung visueller Gestaltobjekte (grouping, spatial attention, feature attention)
• Anforderungsspezifische Anpassung der visuellen Verarbeitung (attention, set)
• Begrenzte Kapazitäten der visuellen Verarbeitung (attention, saliency, working memory)
• Situationsabhängigkeit des assoziativen Lernens (temporal-context-dependent learning, optimal decision models)
• Verwirklichung spikender Neuronennetze zum assoziativen Lernen auf der Grundlage von analogen VLSI Schaltkreisen ("silicon cortex")