The Language of Neurons15th & 16th September 2023, Barcelona

the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute will be hosting the first Nat Conference entitled The Language of Neurons.

The aim of the conference is to take a fresh look at the issue of «neural representation». The notion of representation is a basic conceptual building block in neuroscience. Representations are used as “the thing to be explained” when talking about brain function, such as identifying environmental markers associated with a specific neuronal activity. Nevertheless, regardless of the centrality of the notion, we still lack a clear, universal and widely accepted view of what it means for a nervous system to represent something, what makes a neural activity a representation, and what is re-presented.

This conference will bring together some of neuroscience’s top researchers who have addressed the concept of neural representation in their studies and writings. Their different views on the subject will surely provide valuable insights and spark interesting discussions with the other speakers.

Oscar Vilarroya

Research Director at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Coordinator of the Research Group in Neuroimaging of mental disorders IMIM, Spain.

The notion of neural representation is a basic conceptual building block in neuroscience. Representations are used as “the thing to be explained” when talking about brain function, such as identifying environmental markers associated with a specific neuronal activity.

However, regardless of the centrality of the notion, we still lack a clear, universal and widely accepted view on what it means for a nervous system to represent something, on what makes a neural activity a representation, and on what is re-presented.

To talk about these issues, the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona will host a conference next 15th and 16th of September. The conference will gather some of the top researchers in neuroscience whose studies and writings have addressed the notion of neural representation. Their different views on the topic will surely provide valuable insights and spark interesting discussions with the rest of the speakers. See you there!