What do neuroscientists mean when they use the term ‘representation’?

The way neuroscientists use the term “representation” shapes their explanations of neural activity related to behavior and cognition. In this “Brain Inspired” episode, a group of philosophers and neuroscientists share their views on what, if anything, should be done about the unclear and confusing way “representation” is used across brain and mind studies. Paul Middlebrooks is joined by Luis Favela, associate professor at Indiana University Bloomington; Edouard Machery, director of the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh; Frances Egan, professor emerita at Rutgers University; Rosa Cao, assistant professor at Stanford University; and John Krakauer, professor at Johns Hopkins University.

For more on these ideas, see “What are we talking about? Clarifying the fuzzy concept of representation in neuroscience and beyond.”

Read the transcript.