Main aim of ENI-G is to provide optimal conditions and support for the very best young investigators at the associate professor level to perform both independent research and teaching. The embedding of these individuals in the rich neuroscientific environment of Göttingen with the Georg-August-University and the University Medical School, several Max-Planck-Institutes, two Helmholtz Institutes, as well as the DFG Cluster of Excellence CNMPB (Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain), several Specialist Research Areas or SFB groups as well as associated spin-off companies represents a solid basis for highly professional support. Training in teaching and the recruitment of students is facilitated by the International Study Programmes in Neuroscience and Molecular Biology to name the thematically closest ones. Surrounded and nurtured by this stimulating environment, group leaders are expected to compete for and gain an associate or full professorship appointment elsewhere.

Basic research at ENI-G relates to the investigation of nervous system function and dysfunction. Changes in the nervous system during development, behavioral adjustments, learning and memory loss, network plasticity and stabilization, degeneration, compensation, regeneration and rehabilitation are themes for investigation. A multidisciplinary combination of Genetics, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Electrophysiology, high resolution and advanced quantitative Microscopy, in vivo Imaging and Computational Neurosciences as well as Neurology, Psychology and Psychiatry is envisioned. ENI-G groups cover a wide spectrum of these fields and use multiple techniques to elucidate new aspects of cellular and network nervous system functions.