STEMcast Episode 36 | “Specialization is for Insects”: Building Neuroscience Foundation Models with Prof. Adrien Peyrache and Prof. Blake Richards

Welcome to the Beyond the Lab series of STEMcast! Today, AI is helping us understand what allowed us to create it in the first place: our brains. Although the intersection of neuroscience and AI is nothing new, tools that leverage this combination are now making their way from the lab and into consumer markets. What are these tools? Why are they better equipped to analyze neural data, and why are researchers launching entrepreneurial ventures to bring them to life?In this episode, Adrien Peyrache and Blake Richards, professors at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute and pioneers in the NeuroAI space, join us to discuss their research careers and what led them to co-found Lamarck Labs, a neurotech company building foundation models for neuroscience.Note: After this episode, this series will be taking a short break. We’re excited to come back in the Fall, refreshed and ready to share more stories beyond the lab.In this episode we cover:(01:27) A rave that lead to Blake’s research origins(04:03) Adrien’s scientific beginnings(09:05) Scientific collaboration: How did they meet and start working together?(14:53) Why are AI systems better at “decoding the brain”?(19:59) Entrepreneurial collaboration: Founding Lamarck Labs(25:58) Why now? Using foundations models in neuroscience(31:35) Applications of foundation models in Lamarck Labs(37:00) What excites and worries both professors about the future of this technology.Further reading/listeningRead more about Prof. Adrien Peyrache hereRead more about the Peyrache LabRead more about Prof. Blake Richards hereRead more about LiNC LabRead more about Lamarck Labs herePapers, essays and other media that we mentioned:Paper: Sequential Predictive Learning is a unifying theory for hippocampal representations and replaySuperDataScience Podcast with John KrohnAdrien Peyrache’s Amazing Brain Science TalkBlake Richards’ Amazing Brain Science TalkHost and producer : Sabrina DuContact: [email protected]