Brain Day 2026

09:15

Tirin Moore: Lessons from Large-Scale Neurophysiology in the Primate Brain (Neuroscience)

Recent advances in neuronal recording technology have facilitated the development of large-scale, high-density microelectrode arrays resulting in a substantial increase in the number of neurons that can be studied simultaneously within a localized area of neural tissue. This technology has transformed neurophysiological studies, first in rodent models and now in both nonhuman primates and human participants. I will first talk about these recent developments, both their quantitative and qualitative benefits. Next, I will describe some recent work utilizing large-scale electrophysiology to address the short-term coding of remembered stimuli. Lastly, I will discuss newer approaches that leverage the benefits of large-scale neurophysiological recordings. 

10:45 

Bratislav Misic: Integrating and interpreting brain maps (Computation)

Tangled molecular, cellular and dynamic undercurrents shape brain organization. An emerging paradigm across neuroscience domains is to comprehensively measure the spatial patterning of multiple biological features, yielding precise brain maps. How can these features be conceptually integrated into a coherent understanding of brain structure and function? I will present the emerging methodology and practice of interpreting relationships between maps of biological features. I will demonstrate how neuroscience can increasingly be approached as a data science, complete with detailed multi-omic datasets, tools for representing diverse data types, and an extensive repertoire of analytics. Finally, I will outline methodological and conceptual challenges for disentangling relationships among brain maps. Ultimately, studying the brain from an integrative perspective changes the nature of scientific questions that can be asked, as well as the culture and conduct of scientific inquiry.

Matthew Lieberman: Coherence, Connection, Collaboration & Conflict: Seeing and the Social World (Psychology)

Across visual, semantic, and psychological domains, humans effortlessly collapse complex inputs into coherent, meaningful interpretations—a process I call CEEing (Coherent Effortless Experiencing). I propose that the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and surrounding "Gestalt cortex" serve as the brain's neural coherence engine, functioning analogously to a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) that integrates diverse inputs through experience-weighted constraint satisfaction. Evidence from electrocorticography, fMRI, and lesion studies demonstrates that TPJ responds rapidly, effortlessly, and highly integrative. Using inter-subject neural synchrony as a real-time index of shared subjective construals, I then show how portable fNIRS hyperscanning can track this process in ecologically valid settings. Studies of romantic couples, strangers, teams, and cross-ideological dyads reveal that Gestalt cortex synchrony predicts social connection, cooperative performance, cognitive diversity benefits, and the reduction of partisan conflict through interpersonal bonding. These findings open new pathways for understanding—and intervening in—how people see eye to eye.

Keya Maitra: From Mindfulness to Brain Health and Well-Being: A Philosophical Blueprint (Philosophy)

I will argue that philosophy can offer us a way out of the current impasse between the mindfulness industry and its many academic critics. An individualist conception of well-being seems evident in the popular wellness industry adoption of practices typically associated with the Buddhist concepts of mindfulness and meditation. Since these practices are touted as sure-fire ways of honing a person’s mental and brain acuity thereby positively affecting her effectiveness, productivity and sense of happiness, the individual and her material success become their sole target. Critics argue that such emphasis on material success completely misses the point that the Buddha had in mind in proposing mindfulness for the goal of awakening (nirvāṇa). I will articulate how making the philosophical insights and potentials of the Buddhist understanding of mindfulness and meditation explicit helps us by 1) alerting us to the individualism assumed in our popular understanding of well-being; 2) reminding us of the resources available for a more viable sense of well-being where its social dimension becomes central. This also allows us to draw upon neuroscientific research studying how sustained practices of mindfulness and meditation impact the brains, minds and personalities of the practitioners. The goal of my presentation is to illustrate how philosophical engagement can truly enhance our everyday wellbeing by offering diagnosis, clarity, and resource.