The Idea Organ

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Venue: Online Only

Summary:
Humans live in a world of ideas—born in the brain, shared through language, accumulated in culture across generations, and made reality. From the first flaked stone tools to the building of shelters, from figurative and symbolic art to abstract thought, our brains are engines of imagination—an “idea organ” that has transformed both our species and the planet itself. 

The distinct biology of the human brain, scaffolded by language and culture, allows ideas to be formed, named, shared, and accumulated across generations. This process of cumulative culture, knowledge built upon knowledge, has propelled humans far beyond the cognitive landscapes of other large-brained animals, including our closest living and extinct relatives. 

This symposium will explore how the human brain develops, functions, and maintains its role as the seat of ideas. We will trace its story from molecules, cells, neuronal migration and circuitry, to the maternal, parental, and social influences that shape its growth, including the countless ways that brain function can be compromised at any stage of life. We will examine how the uniquely human interplay of biology and culture gave rise to a brain capable of perceiving and remaking the world around us. By examining the evolutionary roots of our “idea organ,” we aim to illuminate how this singular capacity emerged—and how it continues to drive human innovation.

Stayed tuned for event speaker and session information.

Event Sessions:

Speakers	Session
Katerina Semendeferi	Welcome and Opening Remarks
Genevieve Konopka	Human-specific alterations in brain cellular proportions How do genes drive the development of cell types that build the human brain and give rise to cognition? More specifically, how does human cognitive behavior emerge from a set of evolutionarily adapted genomic programs? The human brain is comprised of heterogenous cell types and understanding the gene expression patterns and chromatin states within each of these cell types can provide important insights into both brain evolution as well as the development of cognitive disorders. We have used... read more
Alysson Muotri	Neanderthalizing brain organoids
Miles Wilkinson	The evolution of the human brain through shifts in gene regulation
Dean Falk	Paleoneurology
Joseph Paradiso	Computer-assisted brains
James Rilling	Human brain specializations related to language and theory of mind
Genevieve Konopka Alysson Muotri Pascal Gagneux	Wrap-Up, Question & Answer Session, and Closing Remarks