Special Notice DARPA-SN-11-25 Narrative Networks (N2): The Neurobiology of Narratives WORKSHOP DATE: April 25-26, 2011 REGISTRATION

DEADLINE: April 15, 2011, 4:00 PM ET TECHNICAL POC: LtCol William Casebeer, DARPA/DSO Email: DARPA-SN-11-25@darpa.mil URL: http://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DSO_Solicitations.aspx. The impact of narratives on human psychology ranges widely from what events we remember most easily to our choices about important foundational behaviors to include our degree of trust in others. Since the brain is the proximate cause of our actions, narratives have a direct impact on the neurobiological processes of both the senders and receivers of them. Understanding how narratives inform neurobiological processes is critical if we are to ascertain what effect narratives have on the psychology and neurobiology of human choices and behaviors, and can assist in everything ranging from exploring how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is influenced by event repetition to better understanding the thoughts and feelings of others. To stimulate discussion and research on these issues, the Defense Sciences Office (DSO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a workshop, Narrative Networks (N2): The Neurobiology of Narratives. The workshop is intended as a sequel to one held February 28, 2011, which explored the nature of narratives, their role in security contexts, and methods for analyzing them quantitatively. This workshop will establish fertile ground for connecting our understanding of the neurobiology of narratives with models, simulations and sensors salient to security concerns. Accordingly, it focuses on surveying the neurobiological processes related to narratives, bridging the cognitive neurosciences and the story stimulus. This workshop has five mutually reinforcing and overlapping goals: 1. To assay narrative effects on our basic neurochemistry. Do narratives uniquely modulate human hormone or neurotransmitter production? Is the production and uptake of behaviorally important neurotransmitters such as oxytocin or serotonin influenced by narratives, and if so, in what way? How are volume transmission systems in the brain in general affected by narratives? 2. To understand narrative impact on the neurobiology of memory, learning and identity. Why do narratives modulate recall? Is activity in brain regions important for memorysuch as the hippocampusespecially influenced by narratives? What role do reward processing mechanisms associated with learning play in narrative processing? Is the dopaminergic system influenced differentially by narratives as compared to other environmental stimuli? How do narratives impact the neurobiology of important identity-related judgments, such as whom you consider to be a member of your in-group? Are there cross-cultural differences in the neurobiology of narratives? 3. To assess narrative influence on the neurobiology of emotions. Why, in neural terms, are narratives especially effective at generating emotional reactions? Do

narratives uniquely influence the neural mechanisms of empathy and sympathy? Are narratives well-suited in neurobiological terms to stir emotions such as disgust or outrage? 4. To examine how narratives influence moral neurobiology. Do narratives influence the neurobiology of moral judgment and development? In what way? Via what mechanism do narratives affect judgments about guilt and innocence, or the permissibility or impermissibility of certain actions? 5. To survey how narratives modulate other brain mechanisms related to social cognition. Do narratives differentially affect the neurobiological basis of theory of mind and judgments of the mental states of others? How do narratives influence neural mechanisms responsible for the generation and sustainment of collective action or group behavior? Do narratives uniquely synchronize or sustain the neural mechanisms of shared attention, collaboration and trust? The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Fishermans Wharf Hotel, 2500 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA. The workshop will include brief presentations by representatives in the domains of concentration, but these are intended mainly to facilitate communication, interaction and collaborative discussion; please indicate if you desire to present your findings as a plenary presentation. Workshop details including registration, meeting location and lodging are given on the registration website at http://www.sameetings.com/NarrativeNetworks. Website Login Information - Username: DARPA, Password (case sensitive): NarrativeNetworks. There is no fee for the workshop. Registration is limited (maximum 120 people) by the venue capacity. The registration cutoff date is 4:00PM ET, Friday April 15, 2011, and early registration is strongly recommended. A final workshop focusing on influence-related modeling/simulation/sensor tools, will take place at a later date. We invite psychologists, neurobiologists, cognitive neuroscientists, neuroendocrinologists, neuroeconomists, neuroethicists, experts in noninvasive methods for assessing neural activity (such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Electro-Encephalogram analysis), representatives from academia and industry, and other interested parties to join us for this second narrative workshop. Further administrative questions should be addressed to DARPA-SN-11-25@darpa.mil. Please refer to the N2 Workshop (DARPA-SN-11-25) in all correspondence. This announcement is not a request for proposals; any so sent will be returned. Point of Contact LtCol William Casebeer, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO; Email: DARPA-SN-11-25@darpa.mil.