The University Institute of Neuroscience (IUNE) is organizing a day on Friday, October 30th with Dr. Tristan Bekinschtein, a researcher from the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, who will give a workshop and a lecture throughout the morning.

• 9:30 a.m. – Workshop: «Leaving the laboratory: science, society and impact beyond publications»
  What impact can our research have beyond scientific articles, patents, and academic books? How can we ensure that our ideas, methods, and discoveries reach other areas of society?
  In this workshop, we will discuss various ways to generate impact outside of academia, from creating startups and collaborating with artists to participating in public policy. I will begin by sharing personal experiences and examples of how different universities around the world promote, support, and value these activities, as well as the opportunities and challenges that arise when trying to take research into other contexts.
  Next, participants will divide into groups and design a concrete, impactful proposal based on scientific research. Each group will explore one of three paths: creating a startup, collaborating with the arts, or intervening in public policy. They will need to consider their target audience, the changes they want to make, their potential partners, and how they can measure the impact of their proposal.
  Each group will present their idea, and the other participants will discuss it, ask questions, and propose improvements.
  The aim is to reflect on what it really means for research to have an impact and to explore, in a practical and collective way, how we can make science a part of society beyond traditional academic channels.
• 12:00 pm – Conference: «When does the dream really begin and why does it matter?»
  Falling asleep is often considered a single event, as if there were a switch that takes us from wakefulness to sleep. However, evidence from cognitive neuroscience, sleep research, and neurophenomenology shows that it is a dynamic and heterogeneous transition, characterized by profound changes in brain activity, perception, and subjective experience.
  In this talk, I will explore brain dynamics and experience during the transition between wakefulness and sleep, drawing on research conducted both in the laboratory and in everyday settings, using EEG, behavioral paradigms, and first-person narratives. I will analyze how sensory processing, prediction error signals, spontaneous thought, and body awareness are reorganized as we fall asleep, and how these processes relate to dreaming, mind-wandering, and altered states of consciousness.
  Finally, I will discuss why understanding how we fall asleep is important, from identifying biomarkers for sleep and mental health disorders to their implications for well-being, cognition, and clinical interventions. Understanding the onset of sleep as a gradual reorganization of conscious processes allows us to gain new insights into the architecture and functioning of the human mind.