Francesco Battaglia

Francesco Battaglia serves as Professor of Theoretical and Systems Neuroscience at Radboud University, holding a prestigious Distinguished NIAS Lorentz Fellowship for the 2025/26 academic year. His primary affiliation is with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, where he leads cutting-edge research bridging experimental and theoretical neuroscience.

Battaglia pioneers an embodied theory of brain function that fundamentally challenges computational paradigms by positioning the body as integral to all neural processes. His research investigates how brain-body interactions generate cognition, emotion, and interoception, with particular focus on hippocampal dynamics, neural oscillations during sleep, and memory system architecture. This work integrates neurotechnology to explore how bodily states shape neural representations and cognitive functions.

His publication record reveals consistent focus on sleep-related memory consolidation mechanisms, hippocampal-cortical communication, and neural replay phenomena. Recent work emphasizes the role of sharp wave ripples in bidirectional cortical interactions (2022) and develops theoretical frameworks linking the default mode network to cascaded memory systems (2022), demonstrating evolving integration of empirical data with theoretical modeling.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Distinguished NIAS Lorentz Fellowship for groundbreaking project "Towards an embodied theory of brain function"

Current research at the Donders Institute examines how bodily states fundamentally constrain and enable brain function, investigating the repurposing of brain-body interaction patterns across cognitive domains. His embodied cognition framework promises to reshape theoretical approaches in neuroscience by moving beyond the "brain as computer" metaphor.