The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world

Dora E. Angelaki; Aaron Batista; Tesca Fitzgerald; Jonathan F. Kominsky; Máté Lengyel; Alexander Mathis; Mackenzie Weygandt Mathis; Cynthia F. Moss; Cristopher M. Niell; Jean Paul Noel; Xaq Pitkow; Constantin A. Rothkopf; Cristina Savin; Kimberley Stachenfeld; Nanthia Suthana; Andreas Tolias; Nachum Ulanovsky; Daniel M. Wolpert; Alex Wong; Jan Zimmermann

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world

Dora E. Angelaki
, Aaron Batista
, Tesca Fitzgerald
, Jonathan F. Kominsky
, Máté Lengyel^*
, Alexander Mathis
, Mackenzie Weygandt Mathis
, Cynthia F. Moss
, Cristopher M. Niell
, Jean Paul Noel^*
, Xaq Pitkow
, Constantin A. Rothkopf
, Cristina Savin
, Kimberley Stachenfeld
, Nanthia Suthana
, Andreas Tolias
, Nachum Ulanovsky
, Daniel M. Wolpert
, Alex Wong
, Jan Zimmermann

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Cognitive Science

New York University
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
University of Pittsburgh
Yale University
University of Cambridge
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
Johns Hopkins University
University of Oregon
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Carnegie Mellon University
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Google DeepMind
Duke University
Stanford University
Weizmann Institute of Science
Columbia University

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Abstract (may include machine translation)

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) seeks to uncover general principles of brain function through an ecological perspective: studying perception, cognition, and action in the context of the affordances available to different agents. Here, we introduce SCENE’s goals, hypotheses, and approaches outlining a collaborative vision for the next decade.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2500-2504
Number of pages	5
Journal	Neuron
Volume	114
Issue number	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036
State	Published - 9 Jun 2026

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10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

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Angelaki, D. E., Batista, A., Fitzgerald, T., Kominsky, J. F., Lengyel, M., Mathis, A., Mathis, M. W., Moss, C. F., Niell, C. M., Noel, J. P., Pitkow, X., Rothkopf, C. A., Savin, C., Stachenfeld, K., Suthana, N., Tolias, A., Ulanovsky, N., Wolpert, D. M., Wong, A., & Zimmermann, J. (2026). The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world. Neuron, 114(14), 2500-2504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

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title = "The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world",

abstract = "The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) seeks to uncover general principles of brain function through an ecological perspective: studying perception, cognition, and action in the context of the affordances available to different agents. Here, we introduce SCENE{\textquoteright}s goals, hypotheses, and approaches outlining a collaborative vision for the next decade.",

author = "Angelaki, \{Dora E.\} and Aaron Batista and Tesca Fitzgerald and Kominsky, \{Jonathan F.\} and M{\'a}t{\'e} Lengyel and Alexander Mathis and Mathis, \{Mackenzie Weygandt\} and Moss, \{Cynthia F.\} and Niell, \{Cristopher M.\} and Noel, \{Jean Paul\} and Xaq Pitkow and Rothkopf, \{Constantin A.\} and Cristina Savin and Kimberley Stachenfeld and Nanthia Suthana and Andreas Tolias and Nachum Ulanovsky and Wolpert, \{Daniel M.\} and Alex Wong and Jan Zimmermann",

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year = "2026",

month = jun,

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doi = "10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036",

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Angelaki, DE, Batista, A, Fitzgerald, T, Kominsky, JF , Lengyel, M, Mathis, A, Mathis, MW, Moss, CF, Niell, CM, Noel, JP, Pitkow, X, Rothkopf, CA, Savin, C, Stachenfeld, K, Suthana, N, Tolias, A, Ulanovsky, N, Wolpert, DM, Wong, A & Zimmermann, J 2026, 'The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world', Neuron, vol. 114, no. 14, pp. 2500-2504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience

T2 - Studying how the brain interacts with the world

AU - Angelaki, Dora E.

AU - Batista, Aaron

AU - Fitzgerald, Tesca

AU - Kominsky, Jonathan F.

AU - Lengyel, Máté

AU - Mathis, Alexander

AU - Mathis, Mackenzie Weygandt

AU - Moss, Cynthia F.

AU - Niell, Cristopher M.

AU - Noel, Jean Paul

AU - Pitkow, Xaq

AU - Rothkopf, Constantin A.

AU - Savin, Cristina

AU - Stachenfeld, Kimberley

AU - Suthana, Nanthia

AU - Tolias, Andreas

AU - Ulanovsky, Nachum

AU - Wolpert, Daniel M.

AU - Wong, Alex

AU - Zimmermann, Jan

PY - 2026/6/9

Y1 - 2026/6/9

N2 - The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) seeks to uncover general principles of brain function through an ecological perspective: studying perception, cognition, and action in the context of the affordances available to different agents. Here, we introduce SCENE’s goals, hypotheses, and approaches outlining a collaborative vision for the next decade.

AB - The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) seeks to uncover general principles of brain function through an ecological perspective: studying perception, cognition, and action in the context of the affordances available to different agents. Here, we introduce SCENE’s goals, hypotheses, and approaches outlining a collaborative vision for the next decade.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105041324050

U2 - 10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

DO - 10.1016/j.neuron.2026.04.036

M3 - Comment/debate

AN - SCOPUS:105041324050

SN - 0896-6273

VL - 114

SP - 2500

EP - 2504

JO - Neuron

JF - Neuron

IS - 14

ER -

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world

Abstract (may include machine translation)

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