The goal of this seminar is two-fold. First, it aims to provide basic knowledge about the “Bayesian brain hypothesis”, the idea that Bayesian inference is useful to describe the functioning of the mind (psychology) and the brain (neuroscience). The course will illustrate several domains of cognition in which the Bayesian brain hypothesis has been successful. The course will also be critical, emphasizing what are the caveats and limitations of this hypothesis. At the end of the course, students should be more knowledgeable of this field, and have a nuanced perspective on the “Bayesian brain hypothesis” by distinguishing different components of this hypothesis (the use of priors, predictions, uncertainty, Bayes rule, conditional probabilities).
The first part of the course will provide elements of background knowledge. Then, the seminar will focus on more specialized, currently hotly debated aspects of the Bayesian brain, by presenting questions and studies at the front edge of current research. The goal of this second part is not to be exhaustive, but to present a sample of representative hot topics. 

Prerequisites : None
ECTS : 4