Predictive brain waves

Hi Folks,

Please join us for a Webinar and Q&A by Stefano Andreoni, bridging ideas from EEG for reading brains, to free will, Spinoza, Lacan, Autism and Schizophrenia. Stefano and I met to discuss his work and he graciously agreed to present to our community and do a Q&A.

From Stefano:

The topics of this talk are originated by the interaction between different departments at University of Bologna, particularly Psychology — my major — together with Semiotics and Philosophy and will explore a novel account for the notion of perception.

The presentation will begin by outlining the general principles of EEG measurement and the type of information that can be extracted from it, with a particular focus on visual processing and the predictive mechanisms through which the Primary Visual Cortex (V1) interacts with the prefrontal cortex, in line with predictive processing and active inference.

The talk will then introduce a behavioral model proposed by professor Vincenzo Romei, grounded in EEG measurements, according to which perception is fundamentally predictive and shaped by prior models formed through experience.

The final part will connect altered neural oscillations in conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia with a Lacanian perspective, before turning to Spinoza’s account of free will and its implications for agency, subjectivity, and human freedom.

Kind regards,
Ryan & Stefano