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About

Bernhard Mitterauer is a pioneering theoretical neuroscientist whose work boldly reimagines the biological basis of consciousness and intentionality. His primary research areas lie at the intersection of glial biology, brain theory, and the philosophy of mind, with a particular focus on the role of astrocytes—the brain’s dominant glial cells—in information processing. Mitterauer’s major contribution is the development of a glial–neuronal brain theory, which posits that astrocytes, organized into non-overlapping domains, are not merely support cells but active participants in structuring qualitative information and generating intentional programs. His most cited work, “Where and how could intentional programs be generated in the brain?” (30 citations), lays the groundwork for this paradigm. In “The self-composing brain” (22 citations), he formalizes a model where glial networks (syncytia) produce cyclic intentional programs, interpreted as auto-reflective mechanisms. This framework extends into robotics and consciousness studies, as seen in his work on “elementary auto-reflection mechanisms for conscious robots,” where he proposes that glial-neuronal synaptic units (proemial synapses) enable self-reflection. Mitterauer’s impact, while focused in niche theoretical circles, is profound for its challenge to neuron-centric models, offering a biomathematical foundation for understanding autonomous, self-reflexive agents.