Brain Inspired

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This podcast, hosted by Paul Middlebrooks, features in-depth conversations with neuroscientists studying natural and artificial intelligence, philosophy, consciousness and other related areas.

What if Hegel were a neuroscientist?

Andrea Gambarotto shares what Hegel and enactivism have in common: an agency-first approach to understanding minds and brains.

By Paul Middlebrooks
16 September 2026 | 1 min read

When we sleep, our brain is filled with spontaneous neural activity. What is it doing?

Daniel Levenstein explains how internally generated brain activity during sleep shapes our cognition, and why NeuroAI is such a powerful approach to understanding the brain.

By Paul Middlebrooks
2 September 2026 | 96 min listen

Alison Barth discovers how different neuron types contribute to cortical function

Barth uses learning tasks in mice as a tool to drive synaptic plasticity in the sensory cortex, hoping to unlock more general principles of how the cortex works.

By Paul Middlebrooks
5 August 2026 | 1 min read

Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?

Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.

By Paul Middlebrooks
15 July 2026 | 1 min read

Johannes Jaeger explains why we should care that brains and AI are not the same

From single cells to whole organisms, living beings must continuously regenerate themselves and judge what's important to continue living. Artificial intelligence does not and cannot.

By Paul Middlebrooks
1 July 2026 | 1 min read

Are computational complexity principles relevant for explaining brain activity?

Cristopher Moore discusses the nature of computation and whether we should think of neural activity as computing.

By Paul Middlebrooks
17 June 2026 | 1 min read

What counts as a ‘naturalistic’ behavior?

Nedah Nemati explains how neuroscience methods and the lived experience of the scientists themselves shape how we define the behaviors we seek to explain.

By Paul Middlebrooks
3 June 2026 | 1 min read

Ehud Ahissar offers a new kind of dualism for neuroscience

He explains how “perceptual dualism” can account for the way we communicate via digital symbols and perceive the world via analog brain processes.

By Paul Middlebrooks
6 May 2026 | 102 min listen

Liset de la Prida explains how neuron subtypes may control the activity of large neural populations, from manifolds to ripples

De la Prida's work analyzing the varieties of sharp wave ripples in the hippocampus led to her discovery that specific types of neurons control the properties of neural manifolds.

By Paul Middlebrooks
22 April 2026 | 104 min listen

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Illustration of genetic associations.

This paper changed my life: Transformative work in addiction neuroscience

A 2011 Nature study found that loss of a nicotinic receptor subunit leads to increased nicotine intake in mice. The work set the standard for how to functionally validate genetic association study findings in neuroscience.

By Jibran Khokhar
16 September 2026 | 6 min read
MRI images of malformations of cortical development.

Additional data suggest changes in diagnostics underlie increases in autism diagnoses, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 14 September.

By Jill Adams
15 September 2026 | 2 min read
Spencer Kellis photo illustration.

Building brain-computer interfaces at a neurotech company

At Blackrock Neurotech, Spencer Kellis develops implantable devices that help people with brain and spinal cord conditions communicate, move and more.

By Katie Moisse
15 September 2026 | 8 min read