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Behind the Stigma
Hosted and produced by Seiara Imanova, a PhD student from University of Birmingham, Behind the Stigma is a pioneering podcast that bridges the gap between the general public and the fields of Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health.
Each episode offers a deep dive into cutting-edge research, featuring conversations with leading experts and top researchers in the field. Take a listen, as we uncover the science, challenge misconceptions, and bridge the crucial gap between academia and the everyday.
Behind the Stigma
How the brain predicts reality with Professor Karl Friston
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In this week's episode, I'm joined by Professor Karl Friston, theoretical neuroscientist at UCL, and one of the most cited neuroscientists in the world. Friston is best known for the free energy principle, a framework that has reshaped how we understand the brain as a prediction machine.
We discuss what the free energy principle actually means, how precision-weighting might help explain conditions like schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, and why trauma may be better understood as a breakdown in the brain's capacity for metastability rather than something trapped in the body.
About: Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist at University College London and a leading figure in computational psychiatry, best known for developing the free energy principle and active inference. His work uses physics-inspired statistical methods to model brain function, and he is one of the most influential and widely cited neuroscientists working today.
Publications: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/2747-karl-friston/publications
Active Inference: The Free Energy Principle in Mind, Brain, and Behavior: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5299/Active-InferenceThe-Free-Energy-Principle-in-Mind
The Body Does Not Keep The Score: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957/full
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