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Special Notice DARPA-SN-11-25 Narrative Networks (N2): The
Neurobiology of
Narratives
WORKSHOP DATE: April 25-26, 2011
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 15, 2011, 4:00 PM ETTECHNICAL POC:
LtCol William Casebeer, DARPA/DSO
Email: [email protected]:
http://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DSO_Solicitations.aspx
.
The impact of narratives on human psychology ranges widely from
what events we
remember most easily to our choices about important foundational
behaviors to include
our degree of trust in others. Since the brain is the proximate
cause of our actions,narratives have a direct impact on the
neurobiological processes of both the senders and
receivers of them. Understanding how narratives inform
neurobiological processes is
critical if we are to ascertain what effect narratives have on
the psychology andneurobiology of human choices and behaviors, and
can assist in everything ranging from
exploring how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is influenced by
event repetition to better
understanding the thoughts and feelings of others.
To stimulate discussion and research on these issues, the
Defense Sciences Office (DSO)
of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is
hosting a workshop,
Narrative Networks (N2): The Neurobiology of Narratives. The
workshop is intended asa sequel to one held February 28, 2011,
which explored the nature of narratives, their role
in security contexts, and methods for analyzing them
quantitatively. This workshop will
establish fertile ground for connecting our understanding of the
neurobiology ofnarratives with models, simulations and sensors
salient to security concerns.
Accordingly, it focuses on surveying the neurobiological
processes related to narratives,bridging the cognitive
neurosciences and the story stimulus.
This workshop has five mutually reinforcing and overlapping
goals:
1. To assay narrative effects on our basic neurochemistry. Do
narrativesuniquely modulate human hormone or neurotransmitter
production? Is theproduction and uptake of behaviorally important
neurotransmitters such as
oxytocin or serotonin influenced by narratives, and if so, in
what way? How are
volume transmission systems in the brain in general affected by
narratives?
2. To understand narrative impact on the neurobiology of memory,
learningand identity. Why do narratives modulate recall? Is
activity in brain regions
important for memorysuch as the hippocampusespecially influenced
by
narratives? What role do reward processing mechanisms associated
with learningplay in narrative processing? Is the dopaminergic
system influenced differentially
by narratives as compared to other environmental stimuli? How do
narratives
impact the neurobiology of important identity-related judgments,
such as whomyou consider to be a member of your in-group? Are there
cross-cultural
differences in the neurobiology of narratives?
3. To assess narrative influence on the neurobiology of
emotions. Why, in neuralterms, are narratives especially effective
at generating emotional reactions? Do
mailto:[email protected]://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DSO_Solicitations.aspxhttp://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DSO_Solicitations.aspxmailto:[email protected]
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narratives uniquely influence the neural mechanisms of empathy
and sympathy?Are narratives well-suited in neurobiological terms to
stir emotions such as
disgust or outrage?
4. To examine how narratives influence moral neurobiology. Do
narrativesinfluence the neurobiology of moral judgment and
development? In what way?
Via what mechanism do narratives affect judgments about guilt
and innocence, orthe permissibility or impermissibility of certain
actions?
5. To survey how narratives modulate other brain mechanisms
related to socialcognition. Do narratives differentially affect the
neurobiological basis of theory
of mind and judgments of the mental states of others? How do
narratives
influence neural mechanisms responsible for the generation and
sustainment ofcollective action or group behavior? Do narratives
uniquely synchronize or
sustain the neural mechanisms of shared attention, collaboration
and trust?
The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Fishermans Wharf
Hotel, 2500 Mason Street,
San Francisco, CA. The workshop will include brief presentations
by representatives in
the domains of concentration, but these are intended mainly to
facilitate communication,interaction and collaborative discussion;
please indicate if you desire to present your
findings as a plenary presentation. Workshop details including
registration, meeting
location and lodging are given on the registration website at
http://www.sa-
meetings.com/NarrativeNetworks.
Website Login Information - Username: DARPA, Password (case
sensitive):
NarrativeNetworks.
There is no fee for the workshop. Registration is limited
(maximum 120 people) by thevenue capacity. The registration cutoff
date is 4:00PM ET, Friday April 15, 2011, and
early registration is strongly recommended.
A final workshop focusing on influence-related
modeling/simulation/sensor tools, will
take place at a later date. We invite psychologists,
neurobiologists, cognitive
neuroscientists, neuroendocrinologists, neuroeconomists,
neuroethicists, experts in non-invasive methods for assessing
neural activity (such as functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging and Electro-Encephalogram analysis), representatives
from academia and
industry, and other interested parties to join us for this
second narrative workshop.
Further administrative questions should be addressed to
[email protected].
Please refer to theN2Workshop (DARPA-SN-11-25) in all
correspondence. This
announcement is not a request for proposals; any so sent will be
returned.
Point of Contact
LtCol William Casebeer, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO;
Email: [email protected].
http://www.sa-meetings.com/NarrativeNetworkshttp://www.sa-meetings.com/NarrativeNetworksmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.sa-meetings.com/NarrativeNetworkshttp://www.sa-meetings.com/NarrativeNetworks
