FALAN 2026 and the Birth of a Latin American School of Neuroscience

A short embodied experiment before talking about science

Before continuing, try something simple.

Open a map of Latin America.

Now imagine thousands of researchers across that territory:

Brazil
Chile
Mexico
Peru
Argentina
Colombia
Uruguay

All studying the human brain.

But for decades, most of them were trained primarily through scientific models developed in Europe and North America.

Now ask a simple question:

Can a region truly understand the human mind if it never builds its own scientific ecosystem?

This question is becoming central to the future of neuroscience in Latin America.

And FALAN 2026 may represent an important step in that direction.

FALAN 2026 and the Birth of a Latin American School of Neuroscience

What FALAN is

The Federación Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Neurociencias (FALAN) connects neuroscience societies across Latin America and the Caribbean.

It brings together researchers from organizations such as:

• SBNeC (Brazil)

• SAN (Argentina)

• Sociedad Chilena de Neurociencia

• SNU (Uruguay)

• SMCF (Mexico)

• SONEP (Peru)

Beyond organizing congresses, the federation has a broader mission:

to strengthen neuroscience research and training across the region.

In 2026, that mission becomes especially visible.

Experiment 1 — A continent learning together

Imagine a group of young neuroscientists from:

Cusco
Valparaíso
São Paulo
Buenos Aires
Bogotá

Working together for several weeks.

Sharing data.

Discussing ideas.

Learning new methods.

This is the goal of the First FALAN Latin American Training Program in Neuroscience, which will take place from August 10 to September 5, 2026, across universities in Chile.

Participants will attend lectures, workshops, and collaborative activities.

The program will culminate with participation in the IV FALAN Congress in Santiago.

In practice, this creates something new:

training and scientific congress become one continuous learning ecosystem.

Experiment 2 — When scientific networks synchronize

Now imagine something similar to what happens between human brains.

When two people cooperate closely, their neural activity can become synchronized.

A similar process occurs in scientific networks.

When researchers from different institutions and countries collaborate:

• methods spread more quickly

• ideas circulate faster

• new projects emerge

Studies of scientific collaboration networks show that international research cooperation significantly accelerates scientific innovation (Wagner & Jonkers, 2017).

In a sense, science itself becomes a form of collective intelligence.

Experiment 3 — The emergence of a regional scientific ecosystem

For many years, Latin American researchers often needed to leave the region to gain access to strong scientific networks.

Programs like the FALAN training initiative point toward a different future.

When education, collaboration, and conferences connect regionally, something new emerges:

a regional scientific ecosystem.

Such ecosystems allow researchers to develop science grounded in their own contexts, including:

• cultural diversity

• social dynamics

• environmental realities

Why this matters for neuroscience

The human brain did not evolve in isolation.

It evolved within complex social and ecological environments.

Understanding the mind therefore requires studying:

• social relationships

• cultural systems

• environmental contexts

Scientific perspectives emerging from different regions of the world can contribute new insights into these dynamics.

Strengthening neuroscience in Latin America is therefore not only a regional goal.

It may help expand our global understanding of the human brain and consciousness.

A final experiment

Look again at the map of Latin America.

Now imagine hundreds of young neuroscientists connected through training programs, research collaborations, and scientific meetings.

Each working in different laboratories.

Yet sharing common questions about the brain, the mind, and consciousness.

Perhaps this is what FALAN 2026 is beginning to build:

a continental network of scientific intelligence.

And when networks connect, something interesting happens.

Just as between human brains, new knowledge can emerge from synchrony.

References

Damasio, A. (2021). The feeling of life itself and the construction of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Henrich, J. (2020). The WEIRDest People in the World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Khalsa, S. S., et al. (2022). Interoception and mental health: A roadmap. Biological Psychiatry.

Liu, D., et al. (2023). Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction. Nature Human Behaviour.

Pereira Jr., A., & Furlan, F. A. (2021). Triple-aspect monism and the science of consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology.

Wagner, C. S., & Jonkers, K. (2017). Open countries have strong science. Nature.

UNESCO. (2021). UNESCO Science Report: The Race Against Time for Smarter Development.