NeuroTech: An Interdisciplinary Early Career Workshop on Tools and Technology in Neuroscience

Topics:
Technological innovation has always played a central role in neuroscientific experimentation and theorizing. Historically, Nissl and Golgi staining methods were crucial to allowing researchers to produce data bearing on the neuron doctrine. More recently, NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative has directed resources into the development of new technologies in the hope that it will improve, or even revolutionize, our understanding of the brain. Additionally, new computational technologies potentially give insight into understanding how to link behaviour to neuroscience in ways that many hope will impact clinical practice.
 
The aim of this workshop is to explore how tools and technology have advanced neuroscience and cognitive science and consider their epistemological and broader philosophical implications. We are inviting abstract submissions linked to the workshop’s main questions:
1)    How are new technologies in neuroscience assessed and revised?
2)    How have new technologies in neuroscience advanced debates in (philosophy of) cognitive science?

We welcome any abstracts related to the overall theme of the workshop on tools and technology in neuroscience though preference may be given to those that directly address the main questions. In delimiting what counts as technology, we include both instruments and devices that can be portable to different experimental contexts, but also techniques, protocols and modelling tools. Examples could include (but are not limited to): CLARITY, Scale, SeeDB, fMRI, Deep Brain Stimulation, text/data mining methods, connectomics, MVPA, machine learning, Brain-computer interfaces, DREADDs, optogenetics and TMS. We hope this workshop encourages a substantive dialogue between researchers in neuroscience/cognitive science and philosophy. To facilitate this, each contributed talk will be paired with a commentator who is a senior faculty member in philosophy/neuroscience as appropriate.