Neural Basis of Natural Behaviors 2026 in Athens – our favorite scientific meeting of the year!

The Neural Basis of Natural Behaviors conference, held in Athens on June 8–10, 2026, was, subjectively, our favorite scientific meeting of the year!

The meeting brought together an exceptional interdisciplinary group of researchers studying the neural basis of natural behavior across species – from rodents, bats, birds, fish, insects and worms to monkeys and humans. The scientific program covered navigation, memory, social interactions, communication, collective decision-making and other naturalistic behaviors, combining cutting-edge neuroscience with an ethological perspective.

For Deep Brain Lab, this was a particularly inspiring meeting. The focus on freely moving animals and naturalistic behavior closely corresponds with the direction of our own research. The relatively focused format created an excellent environment for scientific discussions, exchanging ideas and discovering new approaches that can be directly relevant to our work.

Three intense days in Athens were filled with outstanding talks, poster sessions and discussions with researchers pushing the boundaries of naturalistic neuroscience. We returned with new ideas, inspiration and even more enthusiasm for studying how the brain supports complex behavior in freely moving animals!