The Brain Prize 2024 Awarded to Three Long-Standing SfN Members
Professor Larry Abbott at Columbia University, Professor Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute, and Professor Haim Sompolinsky at Harvard University and the Hebrew University were awarded the Brain Prize 2024 for their foundational work in computational and theoretical neuroscience. Each awardee has been a member of SfN for over 30 years.
Larry Abbott is a physicist-turned-neuroscientist who uses mathematical modeling to study neural circuits responsible for sensation, action, and behavior. In addition to theoretical work on neural network and synaptic dynamics, Abbott has collaborated with numerous experimental colleagues on a variety of topics and systems, including vision, olfaction, electrosensing, motor control, memory, and navigation.
Terrence Sejnowski’s research aims to understand the computational resources of brains and build linking principles from brains to behavior using computational models. The central issues he has explored are how synaptic strength is regulated, how dendrites integrate synaptic signals in neurons, how networks of neurons generate dynamical patterns of activity, how sensory information is represented in the cerebral cortex, how memory representations are formed and consolidated during sleep, and how distributed sensorimotor systems are coordinated.
Haim Sompolinsky’s research employs statistical physics methods to investigate the emergent dynamics and collective behavior of complex neuronal circuits and their relationship to critical brain functions, including learning, memory, perception, and cognition. His work has elucidated how the dynamic balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition leads to chaotic yet stable patterns of brain activity.
The Brain Prize recognises highly original and influential advances in any area of brain research, from basic neuroscience to applied clinical research. The Brain Prize is awarded each year by the Lundbeck Foundation, one of Denmark’s largest foundations. The award comes with a DKK 10 million ($1.45 million) prize. Brain Prize recipients are presented with their medals by His Royal Highness, King Frederik of Denmark, at a ceremony in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 35,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.
