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DTSTAMP:20260610T235551Z
DESCRIPTION:What is desire\, and why do drugs like Ozempic reduce It? Bridg
 ing computational biology and psychology\n\nBy Paul Thagard\n\nDistinguish
 ed Professor Emeritus of Philosophy\, University of Waterloo\n\nDate: Dece
 mber 3\, 2025\n	Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM\n	Location: Online\n\nAttend online
 \n\nView poster\n\n\nAbstract\n\nPeople have an abundance of wants\, wishe
 s\, and cravings\, concerning food\, drink\, sex\, sleep\, success\, power
 \, wealth\, freedom\, happiness\, love\, relationships\, security\, meanin
 g\, alcohol\, drugs\, and so on. People who start GLP-1 drugs such as Ozem
 pic commonly report a reduction in their desire for food\, and some also r
 eport lower desire for alcohol\, opiates\, and sex. Explaining these reduc
 tions requires a theory of desire. This talk proposes a novel theory of th
 e brain mechanisms that control desire\, filling in a crucial gap in under
 standing how GLP-1 drugs work. Integration of biological and psychological
  mechanisms is the key to explanation of why such treatments help people. 
 I build on my NBC theory of consciousness and Chris Eliasmith’s Semantic P
 ointer Architecture to propose a novel theory of desire\, based on the neu
 ral mechanisms of representation\, binding\, coherence\, and competition. 
 Desires combine representations of what is desired\, time\, and valuations
  based on embodied needs and activation in the brain’s hedonic hotspots su
 ch as the nucleus accumbens. GLP-1 drugs reduce desire for food by influen
 cing embodied needs and hedonic hotspots. Insights will be discussed for s
 cientific\, technological and societal development enabled by the proposed
  formal theoretical framework.\n
DTSTART:20251203T160000Z
DTEND:20251203T180000Z
SUMMARY:MCCHE Precision Convergence Webinar Series with Paul Thagard
URL:https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/channels/event/mcche-precision-convergen
 ce-webinar-series-paul-thagard-369353
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