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