New Theoretical Neuroscience Podcast

I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts. However, when it comes to neuroscience, and especially theoretical neuroscience, there are not too many to chose from. So, I want to highlight a new podcast that was just announced on the neuroinformatics mailing list. It is organized by Gaute Einevoll and available from many of the usual sources, e.g. apple podcasts. Currently it is free to listen to, but that could change. There is a Patreon page if you want to support the effort. I have listened to a couple of the episodes and look forward to more.

But listening to this podcast has made me wonder about the term "theoretical neuroscience". Many people seem to use that as a fancier, and perhaps more flattering, synonym for "computational neuroscience." Since the second words in each of those phrases are the same such usage equates computation and theory. To my mind those are not the same thing at all. Simulation is not theory. Coding is not theory generation (usually). And "What would happen if …" is definitely not specifying a theory. How is theoretical neuroscience different from computational neuroscience? A discussion on that front by some of the leaders of our field is something I would definitely like to listen to.