CFP: 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.

Submission guidelines for presenters:
We invite the submission of extended abstracts (up to 1,000 words) by early career scholars (graduate students, post-docs and untenured faculty) for individual paper presentations. Each accepted contributing speaker will be given 25 minutes to present their paper, followed by 10 minutes for commentary, a 5 minute author response, and 15 minutes for general discussion. If your abstract is accepted, full papers (~4,000-5,000 words) will be due by mid-December in order to give commentators time to send feedback before the conference.
 
Contributing speakers will be responsible for their own travel costs. We will provide accommodation at a hotel nearby to the conference venue, dinner on the first night of the conference and coffee and refreshments throughout the conference.
 
Submissions should be made through Easychair and prepared for anonymous review: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=neurotech2

 
Submission guidelines for posters:
We invite the submission of abstracts by graduate students for our poster session. Abstract submissions for posters should include a standard abstract (up to 250 words) and an accessible abstract (up to 250 words) that aims to describe your work without technical jargon to researchers in different fields. There will be two poster prizes of $150 awarded to the best posters as judged by the Organizing Committee.

Accepted poster presenters will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Coffee and refreshments throughout the duration of the conference will be provided.
 
Submissions should be made through Easychair and be prepared for anonymous review: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=neurotech2