Donders Neuro-AI Focus Group

Bridging neuroscience and AI research at the Donders Institute

About

Both neuroscience and AI study how intelligent systems perceive, make decisions, communicate, and act in the world. Despite rapid developments in both fields, critical questions remain at their intersection: How can AI enhance neuroscientific inquiry, and how can neuroscience insights advance AI development? Our proposed focus group aims to bridge this gap by bringing together researchers to address these interdisciplinary challenges. We invite all Donderians—across disciplines such as neuroscience, cognitive science, machine learning, and research areas like vision, language, learning and decision-making —to participate in the focus group through regular meetings. Together, we aim to cultivate a vibrant neuro-AI local community at Donders, one that transcends institutional boundaries and fosters new research collaborations.

News
Jan 2026 — Research Stimulation Funds awarded again for 2026! 🎉
Nov 2025 — Our Neuro-AI Focus Group was featured in the Donders News!
Feb 2025 — Research Stimulation Funds awarded for 2025! 🎉
Schedule

12:30–13:30 — Location: MM 02.650

12:30–13:30 — Location: MM 02.650

Location: MM 02.650

We kick off the 2026 Donders Neuro-AI Focus Group with five short pitches from early-career researchers across Donders. Each speaker will showcase how they use AI to address questions in cognitive science, neuroscience and related fields.

🥪🇮🇹 Vegetarian sandwiches will be provided (courtesy of the beloved DCCN Italian canteen, Betty & Mora)!

12:30–13:15 — Five ECR pitches

Wouter Kroot (DCN)
“Learning top-down processing in a recurrent neural microcircuit of early visual areas”
Eleftherios Papadopoulos (DCC)
“Instrumental use of AI for semantically informed control in visual neuroprosthetics”
Wieger Scheurer (DCCN)
“Probing physics prediction during natural video perception using generative AI”
Roman Miletitch (MPI)
“From Swarm Robotics to Swarm Linguistics”
Dota Tianai Dong (MPI & DCCN)
“When LLMs Are Superhuman Here, Subhuman There”

13:15–13:30 — Networking

14:00–14:45 — Talk by Steven Scholte (UvA): “Fantastic DNimals and Where to Find Them”

Artificial models as model organisms for studying the brain, and what alignment between AI and biology can teach us about neural computation.

14:45–15:00 — Coffee break

15:00–16:00 — Group discussion & networking

14:00–14:45 — Two research pitches

Micha Heilbron
Generative AI for studying the predictive brain using mouse electrophysiology and human 7T fMRI.
Thirza Dado
Neural coding with AI-synthesized reality using GAN-based latent representations.

14:45–15:00 — Coffee break

15:00–16:00 — CCN roundtable

14:00–14:05 — Welcome and introduction

14:05–14:50 — PI pitches

14:50–15:00 — Coffee & cookies

15:00–16:00 — Mini-poster session

Bring an A4 page to introduce your work — all career stages welcome.

Organizers
Stefan Frank — PI
Thirza Dado — Postdoc
Dota Tianai Dong — PhD Student
Sign up for the Focus Group