Home

The Team

Publications

Collaborations

Media

Video & Pictures

Courses

News

Positions

People



Idan Segev
PI, Head of Lab
Neurons – these aesthetic elementary microchips of the brain and their synapses change as they receive and transmit information. This enables us to learn and adapt to the complicated environment around us, have new ideas and create new “brain inspired” learning machines, Art and Science. A deep understanding of a computing and learning system such as our own brain requires understanding the computational and plastic functions of its basic components – the nerve cells, their synapses and the specific neuronal networks that they form. Our laboratory utilizes detailed computer simulations of detailed cortical circuits (as part of the Blue Brain Project), big data and machine learning approaches, and analytic methods to study the relationships between neurons’ geometry, network connectivity/plasticity and network dynamics. A recent challenge at the lab. is to understand the unique properties of Human cortical neurons and cortical circuits, measured in fresh human tissue obtained following brain operations, and in close collaboration with several international groups (under the “Cell Census” NIH BRAIN Initiative).
Email: idan@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
David Beniaguev
Postdoc
Single biological neurons as temporally-precise spatio-temporal pattern recognizers. Trying to understand how single neurons perform computations, in particular, how dendrites allow neurons to perform complex spatial computations and whether they also allow the neuron to utilize the temporal dimension as an additional axis for packing even more useful computations inside a single neuron.
Email: david.beniaguev@mail.huji.ac.il
Netanel Ofer
Postdoc
Netanel is a computational neuroanatomist focused on deciphering the functional principles of neurons. He currently utilizes advanced high-resolution EM-based models of dendrites in the lab of Prof. Idan Segev. Previously, as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Rafael Yuste at Columbia University, Netanel explored the morphology and activity of dendritic spines and axons. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Faculty of Engineering at Bar Ilan University, specializing in computational models of axonal structures.
Email: netanel.ofer@mail.huji.ac.il
Toviah Moldwin
Postdoc
My research has focused on understanding plasticity and learning in models of the single neuron. I am interested in the relationship between real biological neurons and the simple mathematical nodes found in artificial neural networks. I have also worked on understanding how calcium mediates plasticity and learning. I am currently working on understanding the basis of stimulus selectivity in the brain using spiking neural network models.
Email: tmoldwin@gmail.com
Ido Izenbud
Ph.D student
Exploring the computational and learning capabilities of biological neurons and networks through deep learning, aiming to reveal key aspects of neural computation at both individual and network levels.
Email: ido.aizenbud@mail.huji.ac.il
Sapir Shapira
Ph.D student
Study the theoretical aspects of neural computation through time, at the single neuron and the network level.  This theoretical work is done via collaborations creating high spatio-temporal resolution datasets, allowing us to ask questions at much finer details.
Email: sapir.shapira@mail.huji.ac.il
Michal Leci
Administrative Assistant and Budgets Coordinator
Tel: +972-2-6586989
Email: michal.leci@mail.huji.ac.il

ALUMNI

Ph.D. students and thesis subjects

2002 - Irit Nowik, iritn@alice.nc.huji.ac.il
"The game neurons play" (co-supervised with S. Zamir)
2001 - Ron Jortner, ronijort@alice.nc.huji.ac.il (co-supervised with G. Laurent)
"The role of the mushroom body and lateral protocerebrum in insect learning, memory and perception"
2003 - Anat Yaron-Jakoubovitch, anatyar@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il (co-director Prof. Y. Yarom)
"Stochastic Fluctuations in Voltage of Pyramidal Neurons"
2006 - Leora Manheim, leora@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il (co-supervised Prof. bert Sakmmann)
"Understanding information processing in the barrel cortex via merging in vitro and in vivo data in a detailed modeling study"
2002 - Yoav Banitt, ybanitt@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Realistic models of cortical spiny stellate cells"
2003 - Lital Bar Ilan, lital@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il (co-director Prof. Y. Yarom)
"The Involvement of Dendritic Calcium Spikes in Synaptic Plasticity of Cortical Pyramidal Neurons"
2002 - 2006Ithai Rabinowitch, ithai@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"The Coupling of the State of a Neuron to its Environment Via Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity at Large Time Scales"
1999 - 2002 Galit Fuhrman, galit.fuhrmann@weizmann.ac.il (co-supervised with M. Tsodyks).
"The information content of depressing synapses"
1994 - 2001 Puah Mann-Metzer, puah@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Characterization of the inhibitory system in the cerebellar cortex"
1994 - 2001 Elad Schniedman, elads@princeton.edu (co-supervised with N. Tishbi).
"The effect of neuronal noise on information capacity of neurons"
1993 - 2001 Michael London, mikilon@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Defining synaptic efficacy using theoretic information tools"
1993 - 1999 Yoram Gutfreund, yoram@leland.stanford.edu (co-supervised with Y. Yarom and B. Hochner).
"Motor control of the octopus arm"
1993 - 1999 Dana Cohen (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Exploring cerebellar circuitry using optical imaging"
1992 - 1998 Moshe Rav-Acha (co-supervised with H. Bergman and Y. Yarom).
"Characterization of neurons in the globus palidus in vitro"
1992 - 1996 Hagai Agmon-Snir
"A new method for analyzing dendritic transients"
1992 - 1998 Itzchak Aharon (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Systematic characterization of dendritic morphology"
1992 - 1996 Yair Manor (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"On the subthreshold membrane voltage oscillations in olivary neurons"
1994 - 1998 Moshe Rapp (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Experimental and theoretical study of cerebellar Purkinje cells"
1990 - 1995 Ron Nitzan (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Physiology and cable models of vagal motoneurons"

M.Sc. students

2006 - Shaul Druckmann, drucks@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Dynamics of neural networks - interaction of network architecture and single neuron behavior"
2006 - Albert Gideon, agidon20@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Spike-timing-dependent plasticity in dendritic neurons"
2006 - Etay Hay, etay.hay@mail.huji.ac.il
"Signal processing in cortical microcircuits"
2000 - 2002Yoav Banitt, ybanitt@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Realistic models of cortical spiny stellate cells"
1999 - 2002Nitzan Kol, nkol@lobster.ls.huji.ac.il
"Synchrony in electrically-coupled neural nets"
1997 - 2000 Gal Eliraz
"Reduced models of neurons"
1997 - 2000 Oz Kahana, ozkahana@hotmail.com
"Motion computation with dendrites"
1990 - 1992 Yoram Gutfreund (co-supervised with Y. Yarom).
"Subthreshold oscillations in cortical pyramidal neurons"
1988 - 1990 Michael Nevo
"Analytical model for the effect of dendritic spines on the integrative properties of neurons"