CPT Colloquia

Will there ever be a standard model of the brain?

by Prof. Karlheinz Meier (KIP, Universität Heidelberg)

Europe/London
CLC 202 (Calman Learning Centre)

CLC 202

Calman Learning Centre

Description
Particle physics and cosmology have succeeded in creating standard models for the structure of matter and the universe. Such models integrate known data and provide a consistent theoretical description of the field. Standard models are then used as benchmarks to design future experiments or observations that expose them to stringent tests which may in turn lead to extensions or possibly even failures of the models. Understanding the brain is a problem of equal importance but research has so far not succeeded in producing a comparable condensation of knowledge into a consistent theoretical framework. Will this be possible at all ? In the lecture I will discuss state of the art of brain theories, propose novel computer based methods for their test and express my personal opinion on the possibility of a future standard model of the brain.