The brain is an endless case study of a complex system characterized by multiple levels of integration, multiple time scales of activity, and multiple coding and decoding properties. The contribution of several disciplines, mathematics, physics, computer science, neurobiology, pharmacology, physiology, behavioral and clinical sciences, is necessary in order to cope with such seemingly hopeless case study.
The correspondence between the hypotheses and their predictions through experimental research that builds the empirical success of Science. But, how to check this agreement when the observed system evolves fast in time and space and when noise perturbs the system? Dynamics is observed throughout the scales, from the sensory transduction level to the whole brain activity. The research task faces complexity that transforms the experimental information into a tricky puzzle which hides the correspondence with model predictions. How robust are current neural codes when one considers the space-time evolution of brain waves? What is the role of noise in the nervous system: is it a perturbation or has it a precise role in the signal transmission and integration? This and other open problems leave us the main doubt: are our methods appropriate to deal with the outcome of cognitive sciences or should we develop alternative approaches?
The scope of International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN) is to gather active participants, from PhD students to senior scholars, to discuss ideas and pose new questions from different viewpoints, ranging from single neurons and neural networks to animal/human behavior in theoretical and experimental studies. The conference is organized with plenary lectures, mini-symposia, interdisciplinary round tables, oral and poster sessions.
ICCN is a conference held biennially, i.e. every other year, with the aim to attract a worldwide audience and establish a bridge across cultural and scientific communities who share their interest in cognitive neurodynamics. The conference was initiated in 2007 by East China University of Science & Technology (ECUST), Fudan University, Shanghai Society for Biophysics, and Cognitive Neurodynamics published by Springer Science + Business Media B.V., Germany, chaired by Prof. Rubin Wang (ECUST) and Prof. Fanji Gu (Fudan). Further promotion by the Japanese Tamagawa-Riken Dynamic Brain Forum contributed to establish ICCN as a worldwide prime site for Cognitive Neurodynamics. Special thanks to Professor Minoru Tsukada (Tamagawa University, Japan), renowned scientist and artist, who created and donated the logo of ICCN 2019.
Past ICCN events took place in:
2007 – Shanghai (China), November 17-21
2009 – Hangzhou (China), November 15-19
2011 – Niseko Village, Hokkaido (Japan), June 9-13
2013 – Sigtuna (Sweden), June 23-27
2015 – Sanya, Hainan, (China), June 3-7
2017 – Carmona, Sevilla (Spain), August 1-5
We hope that the forthcoming (September 29 – October 2, 2019) Meeting in Alghero (Italy) will further increase the strength and scientific interactions of our community. We heartily welcome all participants with the sincere wish that Sardinia, heartland of the ancient Nuragic civilization, will become the ideal place to present challenging results and to determine new transdisciplinary exciting goals while its landscape and historical treasures will enjoy your sojourn. Sincerely thanks to all the devoted scientists and scholars as well as every whole-hearted organizing committee, the coming ICCN will go well and forge ahead.