SPP 2205
Evolutionary optimization of neuronal processing

July 11, 2026

09:00-09:15 opening remarks


session I: Neural Circuit and Brain Evolution through Encephalization Bursts

  • 09:15-10:00 lecture I: Daniel Sol (CSIC-UPF, Barcelona / CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain), "Bigger Brains, Smarter Minds? Connecting Neuron Numbers to Behavioural Flexibility in Birds"
  • 10:00-10:30 Roberto Toro (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France), "How the Interaction between Phylogenesis and Non-linear Developmental Events Could Shape Brain Organisation"
  • 10:30-11:00 coffee break
  • 11:00:11:30 Kristina Kverková (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic), "How Brain Cellular Composition Varies across Vertebrates and Why Should We Care?"
  • 11:30-12:00 Chris Vendetti (University of Reading, UK), "Microevolutionary Dynamics of Macroevolutionary Brain Scaling"


12:00-13:00 lunch break


session II: Palaeoneurology of Mosaic and Correlated Brain Evolution (part 1)

  • 13:15-14:00 lecture II: Amy M. Balanoff (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA), "Mosaic Patterns of Brain Evolution and the Origins of Archosaur Flight"
  • 14:00-14:30 Katja Heuer (Paris Brain Institute, France), "Patterns of Folding and Neuroanatomical Variation in Primates and Relation to Behaviour"


14:30-15:30 poster session and coffee break


list of posters

  • Rémi Allemand (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France), "Trust the Endocast? Volumetric Brain-Endocast Correspondences in Extant Squamates"
  • Ahmed Ibrahim (The American University in Cairo, Egypt), "Identifying Neuro-Immune Signatures of Stress Resilience: A Multi-Omics Approach"
  • Thomas Kirkwood (University of Manchester, UK), "Pinniped Brain Shape Lagged Locomotor Adaptations during the Land-to-water Transition"
  • Paulina Moctezuma Duclaud (Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Germany), "Ontogenetic Trajectories of Turtle Brain Endocasts: A Geometric Morphometric Study of Trachemys scripta"
  • Narcís Pérez Hernández (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain), "Virtual Endocasts of Hyrachyus modestus and the Neurosensory Evolution of Early Rhinocerotoidea"
  • Cornelia Schöne (Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Göttingen, Germany), Orexin/Hypocretin Knockout Impairs Adult Mouse Visual Perception and Processing, and Disrupts Development of the Cortical Subplate"
  • Kelly Vega Pagán (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain), Neuroanatomy and Palaeobiology of Titanochelon: Brain Endocast, Nasal Cavity and Inner Ear Reconstructions of European Neogene Giant Tortoises"
  • Flavien Vincent (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - CNRS, Université de Tours, France), "The Impact of Captivity on the Ontogeny of Brain Endocasts in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
  • Julian Vogel (Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Göttingen, Germany), "Interfacing Living Neural Circuits to Study the Emergence of Orientation Selectivity"





session II: Palaeoneurology of Mosaic and Correlated Brain Evolution (part 2)

  • 15:30-16:00 Alexandra A. de Sousa (Allen Institute, Seattle, USA | University of Bath, UK), "Energetic Constraints on Brain Organization in Human Paleoneurology"
  • 16:00-16:30 Gabriel S. Ferreira (Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil | Senckenberg HEP, Tübingen, Germany), "Ontogeny and Evolution of Neuroanatomy in Turtles"
  • 16:30-17:00 Ryan Felice (University College London, UK), "3D Morphometric Analysis Reveals Mosaic Macroevolution of Brain Shape in Mammalia"


    • closing remarks day 1


    17:30 guided city tour through Sabadell on history and architecture (approx. 90 min)


    July 12, 2026

    09:00-09:15 opening remarks, day 2


    session III: Evolution of Body, Brain and Lifestyle in Ecological Context

    • 09:15-09:45 Margot Michaud (Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle, Université d’Artois, France | Université de Liège, Belgium), "Multiscale Brain Evolution in Carnivora: An Ecological Perspective"
    • 09:45-10:15 Fernando Blanco (Doñana Biological Station, Sevilla, Spain), "Global Ecological Shifts and the Reorganization of Large Herbivore Functional Systems over 60 Million Years"
    • 10:15-10:45 Jasmine Hardie (University of Sheffield, UK), "The Role of Ecology, Sociality, and Development in Predicting Bird Brain Size"
    • 10:45-11:15 coffee break
    • 11:15-11:45 Camilo López Aguirre (Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, Colombia), "Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Sensory Trade-offs during Bat Brain Evolution"
    • 11:45-12:15 Simone Macrì (University of Helsinki, Finland), "Reconstructing the Early Evolution of the Snake Brain: From Neuroanatomy and Ancestral Models to Fossil Endocasts"


    12:15-13:15 lunch break


    session IV: Brain Evolution in Relation to Behaviour and Senses (part 1)

    • 13:15-14:00 lecture III: Sue Healy (University of St Andrews, UK), "Using Brain Size as a Proxy for Cognitive Abilities: Pros and Cons"
    • 14:00-14:30 Kei Yamamoto (Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, France), "Problem-solving Ability in Cichlid Fish"


    14:30-15:00 coffee break


    session IV: Brain Evolution in Relation to Behaviour and Senses (part 2)

    • 15:00-15:30 Magdalena Boch (University of Oxford, UK | University of Vienna & Messerli Research Institute, Austria), "Carnivoran Sulcal Space: A Framework to Study Carnivoran Neuroecology"
    • 15:30-16:00 Robyn Grant (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), "Ecology and Evolution of Vibrissal Touch"


        • closing remarks and good bye