Mariya Toneva is a faculty member at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, where she leads the Bridging AI and Neuroscience (BrAIN) group. Her research bridges natural language processing, machine learning and cognitive neuroscience to develop computational models that deepen our understanding of how the brain processes language and guide the creation of more human-aligned AI systems. Her pioneering work at this intersection has been recognized and supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the German Research Foundation and the European Research Council through an ERC Starting Grant.
Mariya Toneva
Faculty member
Max Planck Institute for Software Systems
From this contributor
Transforming AI models into useful model organisms
By
Mariya Toneva
22 June 2026 | 6 min read
Selected articles
- “Improving semantic understanding in speech language models via brain-tuning” | arXiv
- “Interpreting and improving natural-language processing (in machines) with natural language-processing (in the brain)” | NeurIPS
- “Combining computational controls with natural text reveals aspects of meaning composition” | Nature Computational Science
- “Joint processing of linguistic properties in brains and language models” | NeurIPS
Explore more from The Transmitter
This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies
In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.
This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies
In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.
By
Noelia Weisstaub
14 August 2026 | 5 min read
Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior
The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.
Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior
The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.
By
Siddhant Pusdekar
13 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Loss of interneuron plasticity may be shared hallmark of neurodevelopmental conditions
Restoring an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene in adulthood improves memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.
Loss of interneuron plasticity may be shared hallmark of neurodevelopmental conditions
Restoring an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene in adulthood improves memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
12 August 2026 | 5 min read