FENS satellite symposium:
Trajectories and drivers of brain evolution through deep time
(Jul 10-12, 2026)
description and purpose
Brains are among the most complex systems constructed by biological evolution. Understanding the principles of their design as versatile and efficient computational devices, reconstructing the paths through which the enormous diversity of animal nervous systems has emerged and uncovering how the evolution of brains and behavior impacts animal speciation itself are ultimate goals of biological intelligence research. Recent years have witnessed spectacular advances in our ability to uncover these fundamental evolutionary processes and principles.
The FENS satellite symposium "Trajectories and drivers of brain evolution through deep time" will present exciting lines of research into neural circuit evolution. Organized by the German Research Foundation Priority Program "Evolutionary optimization of neuronal processing", the symposium is designed to highlight recent fundamental advances in our ability to reconstruct and understand the emergence of large and complex brains over evolutionary time. Presentations will cover both comparative and paleoneurological approaches to elucidate modes and patterns of brain evolution in mammals, fish and insects. The symposium will provide a platform to discuss computational challenges in big-data paleoneurology and establish connections to study core problems in brain evolution from ecological and computational perspectives. Addressing a wide neuroscience audience, we aim to foster the emergence of a comprehensive conceptual framework for studies of neural circuit evolution.
Please register here for this event by June 10 latest.
planned sessions
- session I: Neural circuit and brain evolution through encephalization bursts
- session II: Brain evolution in relation to behaviour and senses
- session III: Evolution of body, brain and lifestyle in ecological context
- session IV: Palaeoneurology of mosaic and correlated brain evolution
- furthermore: poster session
Here you can find the preliminary program.
program committee
- Prof. Dr. Jan Benda, University of Tübingen, Germany
- Dr. Ornella Bertrand, Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
- Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schmidt, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
- Prof. Dr. Marion Silies, iDN - Neural Circuits Lab, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany
- Prof. Dr. Fred Wolf, University of Göttingen & MPI-DS, Germany
venue 
FUNDACIO ESPECIAL ANTIGA CAIXA SABADELL 1859
C/ d'en Font, 25, 08201 Sabadell (BARCELONA), Spain