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Maarja Kruusma (Tallin University of Technology) studies the building of fish, focusing especially on swimming. With Paul Verschure she discusses the importance of morphological details and body control, as well as biomimetical approaches in general.

Tony Prescott interviews Paul Verschure on his theory of the brain and how it has given rise to new hypotheses on the function and mechanisms of conscicousness

We start with the question how evolution can be optimized in the sense that certain sensors would appear favored over others given the niche and phenotype of an organism. The discussion focusses on Daniel’s notion of empowerment which reflects the idea that organisms use their actions to optimize “relevant” information. Daniel describes how this approach is investigated and has given rise to novel algorithms for control. From here Daniel and Paul look at the generalization of these concepts.

Bechir and Uhrig Discuss their work on the mechanisms of consciousness as revealed through anaesthesia.

Neil Burgess discusses his latest insights in the memory systems of the brain, the hippocampus, including its experimental and theoretical exploration.

Ton Coolen describes the complex network of the immune system and how theoretical models can help us to understand their function in health and disease.

The discussion kicks off with an analysis of the realities of multi-disciplinary research and its challenges. From there the many aspects of the visual system are analyzed and their specific contribution to the experience of vision inspected. Building on this analysis, Semir and Paul turn to the arts and look at its scientific underpinning and the intuitive understanding of artists of beauty. The dialog ends with broader reflections on podcasts and current affairs.

Giacomo Rizzolatti takes us on a tour through his long study of the mirror neuron system of the brain and how it revolutionized the study of mind

In particular, we look at the theoretical approach that Jose follows to understand behavior of ants and fish. Starting with these models, Jose has now developed a new approach that introduces biomimetic robots in animal collectives creating hybrid populations. The opportunities and challenges of this paradigm are analyzed and we speculate about its broader implications and applications. In particular, we analyze the broader challenges of building models that define life, that can drive...

Matthew E. Diamond (SISSA, Trieste) discusses the neural correlates of decision making, and his studies of that in both humans and rats.

Francesca Cacucci takes us on a tour of the organization of the memory systems of the brain from cells to circuits and behavior.