Connectionists: REMINDER: World wide VVTNS series (6th season): June 3, 2026 | Emergent associative plasticity in neuronal networks with limited synaptic resources | Stefan Rotter, University of Freiburg

[David Hansel]

[image: VVTNS.png]
https://www.wwtns.online
<https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.online>
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on twitter: wwtns at TheoreticalWide

You are cordially invited to the lecture

Stefan Rotter

Bernstein Center Freiburg & Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg,
Germany

 on the topic of
Emergent associative plasticity in neuronal networks with limited synaptic
resources


The lecture will be held on Zoom on June 3, 2026 at *11:00 am ET *

> To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page
>

>
*Abstract: *Structural plasticity and other forms of network remodeling are
important and well-documented processes during brain development,
maturation, learning, and aging. Remarkably high turnover rates in neural
connectivity have been observed under baseline conditions, and these rates
increase even more significantly in response to stimulation or
perturbation. However, little is known about the underlying molecular
mechanisms and biological function of this drastic form of brain
plasticity. Since direct experiments on connectivity at the synaptic level
are notoriously difficult to conduct and analyze, formal models are crucial
for predicting and understanding the emergent properties of networks (or
graphs) with highly dynamic structures. Building on our previous work on
homeostatic structural plasticity, we have developed a new model of
self-organizing networks based on the “directed configuration model.” It
exhibits Hebbian plasticity (“neurons that fire together wire together”)
and engram formation without specific molecular mechanisms. I will also
discuss possible connections with psychological phenomena such as classical
conditioning, extinction, and blocking, and describe new machine learning
strategies based on self-organizing networks that can be derived from our
biologically motivated theory.

*About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide  Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar
(WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in
Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about
theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting
where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The
seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,**  are 45-50 min long followed
by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker
and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*


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