Fondazione Prada Presents "Human Brains," A Multidisciplinary Project Dedicated To Brain Studies

"Human Brains" is a multidisciplinary project dedicated to brain studies taking place from November 2020 to November 2022. It is the result of a research initiated in 2018 by Fondazione Prada, in collaboration with a scientific board chaired by Giancarlo Comi and composed of Jubin Abutalebi, Massimo Cacciari, Viviana Kasam, Udo Kittelmann, Andrea Moro, and Daniela Perani.

The first part of "Human Brains" will feature the online conference "Culture and Consciousness" (9 - 13 November 2020) on an interactive platform linked to Fondazione Prada's website. The event will be structured in five daily discussions between two scholars focused on the study of consciousness in neurosciences.

The first two discussions will see neuroscientist Mavi Sanchez-Vives and neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux, moderated by neurologist Giancarlo Comi, and neurobiologist Eve Marder with neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, moderated by neurologist and neuroscientist Daniela Perani. They will explore the biological fundaments of conscience, from the neurofunctional mechanisms to neurochemical and molecular basis, and they will carry on in-depth analysis of connectivity as a cerebral substrate of conscience state and the revolutionary techniques that allow investigating the brain in vivo.

Two discussions between neurolinguist Andrea Moro and cognitive psychologist Stanislas Dehaene will be moderated by cognitive neurologist Jubin Abutalebi, while the anthropologist Ian Tattersall and neuroscientist Idan Segev will be moderated by neuroscientist Katrin Amunts. They will examine the concept of consciousness in relation to anthropology, the key role of language and its connection to the emotional and affective sphere to then reflect on the future evolution of research and on the attempts to create thinking machines.

Philosopher Michele Di Francesco and psychiatrist and neuroscientist Giulio Tonoli will hold the final discussion, moderated by scientific journalist Vivian Kasam; it will be a crucial moment to confront different perspectives and approaches to the complex question of consciousness. Giancarlo Comi and Massimo Cacciari will reflect on the contributions of all the previous discussions.

The second chapter of "Human Brains," scheduled for 2021 at Fondazione Prada's venue in Milan, consists of an international conference accompanied by an exhibition project. It aims at comparing some of the most prestigious neuroscience international institutions on progress of research in terms of normal and pathological aging of our brain. In 2022 Fondazione Prada's Venice venue will host an exhibition, curated by Udo Kittelmann in dialogue with the scientific board, dedicated to brain studies that will mark the third phase of "Human Brains."