Interview with Sidarta Ribeiro

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69881/khesrx41

Keywords:

neuroscience, free will, sleep, dream, drug law

Abstract

Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and one of the founders of the Brain Institute, Sidarta Ribeiro, originally from Brasília, is one of the most respected figures in Brazilian science. His academic background includes a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Brasília (UnB), a master's in Biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), a PhD in Animal Behavior from Rockefeller University, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurophysiology at Duke University. Known for combining academic rigor with the ability to engage with diverse audiences, Sidarta is a leading authority in Brazil and abroad on topics such as sleep, dreams, memory, and altered states of consciousness. In this exclusive interview with the CAAP Journal, the researcher discusses, among other topics, the question of free will, lucid dreaming, the cyborgization driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the challenges facing universities and academic research in today’s world.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Sidarta Ribeiro, Duke University

    Full Professor of Neuroscience at the Brain Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). He holds a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Brasília, a master's in Biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, a PhD in Animal Behavior from Rockefeller University, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurophysiology from Duke University. He is a senior associate researcher at the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (Neuromat/FAPESP), a founding member of the Brazilian Platform for Drug Policy, and a member of the scientific committee of the Latin American School of Education, Cognitive and Neural Sciences. He serves on editorial and advisory boards, was elected to the Latin American Academy of Sciences and to the board of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC). Since 2023, he has been a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies (CEE) at FIOCRUZ.

  • Otávio Morato de Andrade, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    PhD candidate in Law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), with a research exchange at the Université libre de Bruxelles – Belgium. Holds a Master’s degree in Law from UFMG. Postgraduate degree in Civil Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-MG). Bachelor’s degree in Law from UFMG, and Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and in Business Administration from PUC-MG. Editor-in-Chief of the CAAP Journal.

  • Laís Barreto Barbosa, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    Master’s student in Political Law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Holds a postgraduate (lato sensu) degree in Constitutional Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC/MG). Earned her Law degree from the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG/Diamantina). Chair of the Editorial Review Committee of the CAAP Journal.

References

CARDOSO, Renato César; ANDRADE, Otávio Morato de. Revisitando o experimento de Libet: contribuições atuais da neurociência para o problema do livre-arbítrio. Kriterion, v. 64, p. 437-457, 2023.

GATTAZ, Wagner; COSTA, Marianna; SALATINO-OLIVEIRA, Angélica; GONÇALVES, Daniel; TALIB, Leda; MOREIRA-ALMEIDA, Alexander. Candidate Genes Related to Spiritual Mediumship: A Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis of Highly Gifted Mediums. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, accepted 24/12/2024. https://www.bjp.org.br/details/3591/en-US

RIBEIRO, Sidarta. O Oráculo da Noite: A história e a ciência do sonho. Companhia das Letras, 2019.

RIBEIRO, Sidarta. As Flores do Bem: A ciência e a história da libertação da maconha. Editora Fósforo, 2024.

YAMASHITA, Marcelo; ORSI, Carlos. Genética da mediunidade é a nova Fada dos Dentes. Revista Questão de Ciência, 19/02/ 2025, https://www.questao-ciencia.com.br/artigo/2025/02/19/genetica-da-mediunidade-e-a-nova-fada-dos-dentes.html.

Créditos da capa: Denise Mintz, Marcelo Palhares e Otávio Morato de Andrade

Downloads

Published

2025-05-07

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Entrevista

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Otávio Morato de Andrade, Laís Barreto Barbosa, Sidarta Tollendal Gomes Ribeiro

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Interview with Sidarta Ribeiro. (2025). CAAP Journal, 29(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.69881/khesrx41