Dr. Shein-Idelson holds a MA in Physics (Technion), a BA in Physics (Tel-Aviv University) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Tel Aviv University). He completed a post-doctoral study in at the Max-Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt. He joined the Department of Neurobiology at Tel Aviv University on 2018.

About

Inspiration. Brains and the neuronal coding schemes therein are products of billions of years of evolution. As such, they carry their evolutionary history as conserved building blocks that constrain and shape their structure and function. By taking evolutionary and comparative perspectives we aim to expose these building blocks and unravel the principles underlying brain computations.

​​Current interests. A major event considerably shaping vertebrate evolution is the transition of vertebrates from aquatic to terrestrial environments. This transition was first completed by stem amniotes who underwent substantial adaptations to support the new ecological opportunities on land and specifically the increase in visual range. These adaptations include a dramatic increase in visual acquisition and processing capacity and are supported by the expansion of the dorsal telencephalon, its innervation by extensive visual inputs as well as the emergence of new areas including the claustrum and the layered dorsal cortex (the homolog of the neocortex). 

​​​Methodology. Stem amniotes evolved from stem tetrapods and marked the beginning of the evolutionary trajectory leading to mammals, reptiles and birds. Therefore, to the unravel the principles of pallial computations and their evolution we focus on reptile and amphibian species. ​We employ a wide set of techniques: We perform large-scale extra-cellular and intra-cellular electrophysiological recordings to study circuits in freely moving animals, head fixed animals and ex-vivo preparations. We couple our electrophysiology with quantitative behavioral analysis and gaze estimation to place brain dynamics in context. We develop data analysis approaches to deal with the overgrowing richness of our data sets. We build computational models to test ideas and develop theories.

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Shein-Idelson M, Pammer L, Hemberger M and Laurent G (2017). Large-scale mapping of cortical synaptic projections with extracellular electrode arrays. Nature Methods 14(9):882-890. Link

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Shein-Idelson M*,Ondracek J M*, Liaw H, Reiter S, Laurent G (2016). Slow Waves, Sharp-waves, Ripples and REM in Sleeping Dragons. Science. 352 (6285), 590-595. Link

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Fournier J,  Mueller C M,  Shein-Idelson M, Hemberger M, Laurent G (2016). Consensus-Based Sorting of Neuronal Spike Waveforms. PLoS ONE 11(8): e0160494. Link

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Shein-Idelson M, Cohen G, Ben-Jacob E, Hanein Y (2016). Modularity induced gating and delays in neuronal networks. PLoS Computational Biolology 12(4): e1004883. Link

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Naumann R K, Ondracek J M, Reiter S, Shein-Idelson M, Tosches M A, Yamawaki T M, Laurent G (2015). The reptilian brain. Current Biology 25 (8), 317–321.  Link

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Shein-Idelson M, Ben-Jacob E, Hanein Y (2011). Engineered neuronal circuits: A new platform for studying the role of modular topology. Frontiers in Neuroengineering 4:10. Link

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Herzog N, Shein-Idelson M, Hanein Y (2011). Optical validation of in vitro extra-cellular neuronal recordings. Journal of Neural Engineering 8(6),056008. Link

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Shein-Idelson M, Ben-Jacob E, Hanein Y (2010). Innate synchronous oscillations in freely-organized small neuronal circuits. PLoS One5(12), e14443. Link

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Greenbaum A, Anava S, Ayali A, Shein M, David-Pur M, Ben-Jacob E, Hanein Y (2009). One-to-one neuron-electrode interfacing. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 182(2), 219-224. Link

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Shoval A, Adams C, David-Pur M, Shein M, Hanein Y, Sernagor E, (2009). Carbon nanotube electrodes for effective interfacing with retinal tissue. Frontiers in Neuroengineering 2, 4. Link

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Shein M, Greenbaum A, Gabay T, Sorkin R, David-Pur M, Ben-Jacob E, Hanein Y (2009). Engineered neuronal circuits shaped and interfaced with carbon nanotube microelectrode arrays. Biomedical Microdevices 11(2), 495-501. Link

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Shein M, Volman V, Raichman N, Hanein Y, Ben-Jacob E (2008). Management of synchronized network activity by highly active neurons. Physical Biology 5(3), 036008. Link

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Baruchi I, Volman V, Raichman N, Shein M, Ben-Jacob E (2008). The emergence and properties of mutual synchronization in in vitro coupled cortical networks. European Journal of Neuroscience 28(9), 1825-1835. Link

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Rubinsky L, Raichman N, Baruchi I, Shein M, Lavee J, Frenk H, Ben-Jacob E (2007). Study of hypothermia on cultured neuronal networks using multi-electrode arrays. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 160(2), 288-293. Link

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Baruchi I, Grossman D, Volman V, Shein M, Hunter J, Towle VL, Ben-Jacob E (2006). Functional holography analysis: simplifying the complexity of dynamical networks. Chaos 16(1), 015112. Link