University of Zagreb School of Medicine

Croatian Institute for Brain Research

The Croatian Institute for Brain Research is a scientific and educational branch of the ZSM established for the purpose of multidisciplinary scientific research and structuring, execution and promotion of faculty, inter‐faculty and inter‐university teaching in the field of basic and clinical neuroscience. The CIBR was founded in 1991, and the building itself was completed in December 1998, so that today’s laboratories of the CIBR are active since 1999. Over the past decade, the CIBR has been the holder of the largest research programs in Croatia (Neurobiology of Cognitive Development and Cognitive Impairment – a total of 28 pro‐ jects) and the organizer of the only doctoral studies in the field of neuroscience. The scientists of the CIBR participate in many international studies.   Today the CIBR represents a stimulating academic environment for bridging the gap between re‐ search and teaching in order to improve the knowledge on the central nervous system and facilitate the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of patients suffering from the diseases of the central nervous sys‐ tem. Researchers with different fields of expertise cooperate on joint projects. The faculty of the CIBR is employed at different institutes such as neuroscience, anatomy, histology and embryology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, biology, chemistry and biochemistry, neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. Additionally, extramural collaborators are being employed at different institutes of the University of Za‐ greb, such as: Institute of Physics and Biophysics, Psychology, Linguistics and Phonetics, and Special Educa‐ tion and Rehabilitation, as well as the Ruđer Bošković Institute. The research at the clinical level is being carried out in coordination with the Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, the largest university hospital in Croa‐ tia, as well as with other allied university hospitals. Together with students at the graduate and postdoctor‐ al level, the researchers of the CIBR are active in the following research areas: normal development of the human cortex, developmental brain disorders, signaling mechanisms and molecules in the fetal and adult brain, pathophysiology of the liquor and hydrocephalus, neurodegenerative diseases, schizophrenia, and the role of the stem cells in the brain plasticity and recovery. The research on human cortex development and the Zagreb Neuroembryological Fetal Brain Collection are among the most prominent internationally recognized research areas of the CIBR.   The leading Croatian center for research in the field of Neuroimaging (in collaboration with the Uni‐ versity Hospital Center Zagreb) is also located in the CIBR, and researchers of the CIBR have a well‐ developed and diversified international cooperation. The CIBR is the seat of the Croatian Society for Neuro‐ science (since 2001), and therefore, CIBR has been the main organizer of the Brain Awareness Week in Cro‐ atia and other forms of publicity of neuroscience last years.