The Brain Mapping Initiatives: Foundational Issues

On December 6-7, New York University will host a conference devoted to
foundational issues raised by recent brain mapping initiatives, such
as the BRAIN initiative, the Human Brain project, and the Human
Connectome Project.  What can mapping the brain tell us about the
human mind?  What are the ethical implications?  These issues will be
discussed by leading cognitive neuroscientists and philosophers.

The conference is co-sponsored by the NYU Center for Mind, Brain, and
Consciousness and the NYU Center for Bioethics.  It will be held in
the Jurow Lecture Hall on the ground floor of the Silver Center (east
side of Washington Square, entrance at 31 Washington Place) from 1pm
Friday December 6 through 6pm Saturday December 7.

Organizing Committee: Ned Block, David Chalmers, S. Matthew Liao, Gary
Marcus.

Speakers: Cori Bargmann (Rockefeller), Patricia Churchland (UC San
Diego), Nita Farahany (Duke), Sean Hill (Lausanne), Gary Marcus (NYU),
Anthony Movshon (NYU), Anders Sandberg (Oxford), Walter
Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke), Rafael Yuste (Columbia), Anthony Zador (Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratories).

Background: Earlier this year, President Obama announced funding for
the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies
(BRAIN) Initiative, which aims to develop new technologies to map
neural activity throughout the brain in non-human animals and
ultimately in humans.  The initiative complements other major brain
mapping projects, including the Human Brain Project (funded by the
European Union), whose aims include developing technology to simulate
a human brain, the Human Connectome Project (funded by the National
Institute for Health), which aims to map the connectivity of the human
brain, and the Allan Brain Atlas, which aims to map gene expression in
the mouse and human brains.

These brain mapping initiatives raise numerous foundational questions.
Some questions are epistemological: what can brain mapping tell us
about states of the mind?  Some questions are theoretical: how can
brain mapping data be integrated with psychological theories?  There
also profound ethical questions: for example, what are the
implications of brain mapping for privacy and for the control of
behavior?  The conference will discuss all these questions in depth.

Registration is free but required.  You can register at
http://goo.gl/1yVLp9

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

FRIDAY DECEMBER 6

12:30pm Coffee and Registration

1pm     Conference Opening

1:15pm  The Science behind the Initiatives
        Rafael Yuste, Sean Hill, Anthony Zador

3:45pm  Coffee

4:15pm  Philosophers on the Initiatives
        Patricia Churchland, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong

6pm     Reception

SATURDAY DECEMBER 7

9:30am  Theoretical Issues
        Cori Bargmann, Gary Marcus, Anthony Movshon

12 noon Lunch

1:30pm  Ethical Issuies
        Nita Farahany, Anders Sandberg

3:10pm  Coffee

3:40pm  Panel Discussion
        Panelists TBA

6pm     Close

Conference website: