Aim and Scope

Cognitive feelings encompass subjective and metacognitive experiences related to perception and action. They involve sensations such as knowing, confidence, reality, fluency, and more, which are associated with a wide range of cognitive processes. Of great interest are the neural and bodily mechanisms underlying these subjective experiences. Does predictive processing in the brain contribute to these experiences? How do physiological states correspond to subjective feelings? Elucidating the origins and dynamics of cognitive feelings is an exciting challenge in unraveling the mysteries of human intelligence.

This symposium aims to share the latest findings, exchange ideas, and foster collaborations in the relevant fields. We invite experts who study cognitive feelings and/or predictive processing in the brain. The symposium will cover various topics, including consciousness, self-awareness, emotion, interoception, developmental and psychiatric disorders, and more. Interdisciplinary approaches integrating neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, computer science, and robotics have been demonstrating great potential in uncovering and replicating cognitive feelings and predictive processing in both natural and artificial systems. We hope that this symposium will contribute to the development of innovative approaches for understanding the mysteries of human intelligence.

Keynote Speakers & Panelists

Anil Seth

Professor, University of Sussex

Ryan Smith

Research Associate Professor, Laureate Institute for Brain Research & University of Tulsa

Invited Speakers

Tom Froese

Assistant Professor, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University

Tomoko Isomura

Associate Professor, Nagoya University

Kenji Ogawa

Associate Professor, Hokkaido University

Erhan Oztop

Professor, Ozyegin University & Specially Appointed Professor, Osaka University

Takuya Sasaki

Professor, Tohoku University

Alessandra Sciutti

Tenure Track Researcher, Italian Institute of Technology

Sotaro Shimada

Professor, Meiji University

Emre Ugur

Associate Professor, Bogazici University

Satoshi Umeda

Professor, Keio University

Panelists

Hugo Critchley

Professor, Brighton and Sussex Medical School & University of Sussex

Hideki Ohira

Professor, Nagoya University

Speakers from CREST Project

Yukie Nagai

Project Professor, The University of Tokyo

Shinichiro Kumagaya

Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo

Yuichi Yamashita

Section Chief, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry

Keisuke Suzuki

Specially Appointed Lecturer, Hokkaido University

[Day 1] Wednesday, July 19
13:00 Reception opens
13:30-13:50 Opening Yukie Nagai (The University of Tokyo)
13:50-14:50 Keynote 1 “From beast machines to dreamachines” Anil Seth (University of Sussex)
14:50-15:10 Break
15:10-17:10 Session 1 “Interoceptive feelings of emotion, memory and pain in clinical populations” Satoshi Umeda (Keio University)
“Developmental origins of interoceptive processing” Tomoko Isomura (Nagoya University)
“Decoding of neural representations involved in subjective bodily awareness” Kenji Ogawa (Hokkaido University)
“Enhancing Wellbeing through the Promotion of a Stable Sense of Self: A Qualitative Study on the Impact of the Tojisha-Kenkyu Program” Shinichiro Kumagaya (The University of Tokyo)
[Day 2] Thursday, July 20
09:00-10:00 Keynote 2 “Novel approaches for understanding the neurocomputational basis of interoception and emotion-cognition interactions” Ryan Smith (Laureate Institute for Brain Research & University of Tulsa)
10:00-10:30 Session 2 “Prediction and back-projection in self-body representation” Sotaro Shimada (Meiji University)
10:30-10:50 Break
10:50-12:20 Session 2 “Why does cognition feel effortful?” Tom Froese (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University)
“Physiological mechanisms to process interoceptive information from peripheral organs in rodents” Takuya Sasaki (Tohoku University)
“Using extended reality to study the experience of presence” Keisuke Suzuki (Hokkaido University)
12:20-13:10 Lunch break
13:10-14:00 Poster session Poster presentations
14:00-16:00 Session 3 “Towards Cognitive Robots: Designing Considerate Agents for Effective Human Interaction” Alessandra Sciutti (Italian Institute of Technology)
“From Explicit Mirror Neuron Modeling to Emergent Mechanisms” Erhan Oztop (Ozyegin University & Osaka University)
“Learning predictive models for intention estimation and high-level reasoning in robots” Emre Ugur (Bogazici University)
“Altered hierarchical predictive processing: Exploring psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders through a neurorobotics approach” Yuichi Yamashita (National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry)
16:00-16:20 Break
16:20-17:10 Panel discussion [Panelists]
Anil Seth (University of Sussex)
Ryan Smith (Laureate Institute for Brain Research & University of Tulsa)
Hugo Critchley (Brighton and Sussex Medical School & University of Sussex)
Hideki Ohira (Nagoya University)
[Moderator]
Yukie Nagai (The University of Tokyo)
17:10-17:20 Closing

Call for Posters

Submission instructions

We cordially invite you to submit your poster presentations on topics related to predictive brain and cognitive feelings. This is a valuable opportunity to showcase your research findings and engage in enriching discussions with renowned researchers in the field. To participate, please provide the following information during the registration process. The deadline for poster presentation submissions is JST 23:59 on July 10th. The size of poster boards will be 900 mm (width) x 2400 mm (height).

  • Title of your poster presentation
  • Author(s)
  • Affiliation(s) of the author(s)
  • Abstract summarizing your research (200 words or less)
Important dates
  • July 10, 2023: Deadline for poster submissions
  • July 11, 2023: Notification of acceptance

Venue

Ito International Research Center, The University of Tokyo

7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyou-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Ito Hall & Event Space on B2F
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/adm/iirc/en/index.html

Access (Google map)

  • 8 minutes’ walk from Hongo-sanchome Station (Marunouchi Line)
  • 6 minutes’ walk from Hongo-sanchome Station (Oedo Line)
  • 10 minutes’ walk from Kasuga Station (Mita Line)

Organizer

CREST “Cognitive Feelings that Mediate Between Perception and Emotion

Nagai Lab, International Research Center for Neurointelligence, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Email: office [AT] cognitive-feeling.jp

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