About the Mind/Brain Lecture Series

In our approach to brain research, the Swartz Foundation operates from the philosophical and scientific perspective that properties of the mind—from sensory perception to learning to thinking to consciousness—are a direct product of the intrinsic physical properties of the brain. The mind is the brain at work.

Results from neuroscience research are converging to show that much of what the brain does can be modeled computationally. Understanding the relationship between neural computation and mental function is now the work at hand. We believe that this goal is achievable. Getting there will require the collaboration of investigators from many disciplines and may involve principles and technology not yet conceived. Understanding the mind/brain relationship is an Everest of science, as well as one of the enduring conundrums of philosophy. The Swartz Foundation and Stony Brook University present this ongoing lecture series to acquaint the University community and the public with current research and thought on this topic.

Prior speakers in this series:

2009
Larry Abbott, PhD
Professor and Co-director, Center for Theoretical Neuroscience
Columbia University

2008
Patricia Smith Churchland, B. Phil.
Professor of Philosophy
University of California, San Diego

2007
Michael N. Shadlen, MD, PhD
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Department of Physiology and Biophysics
University of Washington

2006
Helen Fisher, PhD
Research Professor and member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies
Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University
Author of Why We Love

2005
Daniel Wolpert, PhD
Professor of Motor Neuroscience and Co-Director, Institute of Movement Neuroscience
University College, London

2004
Charles F. Stevens, PhD
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Molecular Neurobiology
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

2003
Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD
Professor of Neural Science and Psychology
Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety
New York University

2002
V.S. Ramachandran, MD, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology
University of California at San Diego

2001
Michael M. Merzenich, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
University of California at San Francisco

2000
Paul Churchland, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
University of California at San Diego

1999
Michael Gazzaniga, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience
Dartmouth College

1998
Terence Sejnowski, MD, PhD
Professor of Computational Biology
The Salk Institute

1997
Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology
University of Iowa