08: Who is in control? How the brain controls our thoughts and actions
The question of how we voluntarily control our behaviour has fascinated researchers at all times. It touches on important philosophical issues, most notably the problem of free will. In recent years several advances in cognitive neuroscience have vastly increased our understanding of voluntary behaviour. The aim of our seminar is to give an overview of the state-of-the-art in neuroscientific research on cognitive and motor control. We will discuss how these findings help us understand how the brain controls our thoughts and actions. Importantly, we will also critically discuss which implication brain science has for the old problem of free will.
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Dr. phil. habil. Marcel BRASS
Research Professor, Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University
1988-1991 | Study of Philosophy and History, Free University, Berlin |
1991-1997 | Study of Psychology, Free University, Berlin |
1994-1997 | Diploma student at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Department of Lifespan Psychology (Professor Dr. Paul Baltes), Berlin |
1997 | Diploma in Psychology, Free University, Berlin |
1997-1999 | Doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, Department of Cognition and Action (Professor Dr. Wolfgang Prinz), Munich |
2000 | Ph.D. in Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich |
2000-2006 | Research scientist, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig |
2006 | Heisenberg fellow of the German Research Foundation at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig |
since 2006 | Faculty position at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University |
2007 | Habilitation in Psychology (Dr. phil. habil.), Leipzig University |
Dr. John-Dylan HAYNES
Professor for Theory and Analysis of Large-Scale Brain Signals and Research Group Leader, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin
2001-2003 | Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London |
2003-2005 | Postdoc at the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London |
since 2005 | Research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig |
since 2006 | Professor for "Theory and Analysis of large Scale Brain Signals" at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Charite - Universitätsmedizin, Berlin |
since 2010 | Director of Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin |