2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Neuroscience (S4SN 2026) will take place in Montréal, Canada, August 23–26, 2026, at the Centre Mont-Royal, located in the heart of downtown Montréal!

S4SN brings together researchers working across human and non-human animal models to investigate the neural and biological foundations of social cognition and behavior. We look forward to welcoming you to Montreal for an unforgettable week of science, collaboration, and celebration!

Confirmed speakers

In recent years, the annual meeting has featured two keynote lectures: one focused on human research and one focused on animal research. In recognition of the lasting impact of John Cacioppo and Larry Young on the field of social neuroscience, we are proud to establish two named keynote lectures beginning in 2026. The human-focused keynote will be the John Cacioppo Memorial Lecture, and the animal-focused keynote will be the Larry Young Memorial Lecture. To view a list of past Keynote speakers, please click here.

Larry Young Memorial Lecture: Richard Mooney, Duke University, USA
John Cacioppo Memorial Lecutre: Abigail Marsh, Georgetown University, USA

Early Career Award (for animal research): Felix Leroy, Institute of Neuroscience, Spain
Early Career Award (for human research): Marco Wittman, University College London, UK

Accepted symposia and individual talks (selected from submitted proposals):

Siri Leknes
Carlee Toddes
Julie le Merrer
Guro Løseth

Benjamin Becker
Xiao Xiao
Christian Michael Wood
Yuan Chang Leong

Invited speakers (comfirmed):

Matt Lovitt-Barron
Dean Mobbs
Teruhiro Okuyama
Michael Platt
Kay Tye
Ziv Williams
Lusha Zhu

Important Dates

Meeting dates: 9 AM, August 23, 2026 — 5 PM, August 26, 2026
Symposium proposal submission: Extended deadline — March 31, 2026 (closed)
Poster (individual abstract) submission: deadline — July 10, 2026
Early Career Award application: deadline — April 17, 2026 (closed)
Registration:
Early bird registration: before July 1, 2026
Regular registration: after July 1, 2026

Symposium and poster submissions

Symposium proposal submissions have now closed. We continue to welcome poster submissions through July 31 and encourage researchers across all areas of social neuroscience to participate.

Poster Submissions:

Submit your poster abstract here!

Symposium proposal submissions (closed)

Each symposium should include four speakers. We encourage the submission of innovative proposals that balance animal and human research, though symposia focusing on issues unique to either animal or human work will also be considered. Our society uniquely emphasizes the integration of animal and human research, fostering collaboration among researchers from a wide range of backgrounds.

Symposia will be evaluated based on scientific innovation, timeliness of the topic, fit within the overall program, and the inclusion of a diverse group of speakers. To ensure broad participation, individuals who presented at the 2025 S4SN meeting will not be considered as symposium speakers.

Further details about symposium submission can be found here.

Please contact Raymundo Báez-Mendoza (rbaezmendoza (at) dpz.eu) and/or Weizhe Hong (whong (at) ucla.edu) if you have any questions

Questions & Answers for Symposium and Poster Submissions

Q: Can speakers who presented at the 2024 S4SN meeting or earlier still participate in a symposium proposal?
A: Yes. Speakers who presented at the 2024 meeting or earlier are fully eligible and are encouraged to submit a symposium proposal.

Q: Can someone who submitted an individual abstract also participate in a symposium proposal?
A: Yes. Individuals who have submitted an individual abstract may also participate in a symposium proposal. The two submissions are reviewed independently, and participating in both may increase your chances of being selected for the program.

Q: If my symposium proposal was not selected in past annual meetings, can I submit again?
A: Yes. We strongly encourage you to submit again. In the past two years, many high-quality proposals could not be accommodated due to limited program slots, rather than the quality of the proposals.

Q: If I want to present a poster only at the 2026 S4SN meeting, when should I submit an abstract?
A: If you wish to present a poster only, you may submit your individual abstract anytime before July 31, 2026. Please note that the early-bird registration rate ends on July 1, 2026.

2026 Society for Social Neuroscience Early Career Award

We are inviting applications for this distinguished award recognizing the formation of new approaches or paradigms within the field of social neuroscience, and or the development or advancement of research that cuts across multiple fields of neuroscience to understand social cognition and behaviour. Two awards will be given, one for human research and one for non-human animal research. We encourage applications representing the diversity of our membership in terms of geography, gender and protected characteristics. Please also include information on whether and how you have included open science practices in your research (e.g. date, code and resource sharing, pre-printing manuscripts).

Please apply here.