December 2023 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Neuro-AI Conference in Chile, April 2024
by Christopher Pack, Dr. 26 Dec '23

26 Dec '23

Abstract submission is now open for the Pucón Summit on Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, to be held in Pucón, Chile, from April 8-12, 2024. The Summit will aim to explore the intersection of neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on mechanisms of learning. This event will provide a platform for AI and experimental neuroscience researchers to delve into the mechanisms of learning at the cellular, systems, and behavioral levels. The meeting aims to address three fundamental questions that have been the subject of intense research and theoretical debate: 1) What cellular mechanisms enable learning on different timescales? 2) How do brain networks modify their connectivity to support adaptive behaviors? 3) How do popular AI learning algorithms relate to biological mechanisms of learning at the cellular and systems levels? The emphasis will be on exchanging information between theoretical and experimental scientists. How can AI generate testable predictions for neuroscientists? How can neuroscientific discoveries inform the next generation of AI models? More information is available at the website: https://plena.cenia.cl/<https://plena.cenia.cl/registration/> This five-day meeting will involve talks in the morning, free afternoons for speakers, workshops for students, and round table discussions in the evenings. There is also a possibility of satellite workshops and other activities involving trainees before and after the meeting. Important dates Abstract submission: January 24, 2024 Early registration: February 2, 2024 Regular registration: March 5, 2024 Keynote speakers Sara Solla (Northwestern University) Nelson Spruston (HHMI) Full list of invited talks: https://plena.cenia.cl/speakers/ Chile is renowned for its beautiful landscapes, rich culture, and vibrant research community. We have selected the city of Pucón, as an exceptional venue providing a secluded and conducive environment for stimulating conversations, fruitful collaborations, and unique outdoor activities (i.e., Volcano trekking, river rafting, lake activities, etc.). We hope to see you there. Regards, The Scientific Committee [cid:image003.jpg@01DA37E3.2F598230]Roberto Araya (U. Montreal, Canada) Christopher Pack (McGill University, Canada) Pedro Maldonado (Universidad de Chile, Chile) Markus Diesmann (Jülich Research Center, Germany) For any questions, please contact us by email: plena(a)cenia.cl<mailto:plena@cenia.cl>

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COSYNE 2024: Travel grants; Pre-Cosyne Brainhack
by Tomas Hromadka 24 Dec '23

24 Dec '23

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2024 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING 29 February - 03 March 2024 Lisbon, Portugal WORKSHOPS 04 March - 05 March 2024 Cascais, Portugal www.cosyne.org ==================================================== IMPORTANT DATES Registration is now open Travel grants applications are now open. Travel grant applications deadlines: *31 December 2023, 11.59PM PST (Undergraduate Travel Grant)* 24 January 2024, 11.59PM PST (Other travel grants) ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE MEETING & WORKSHOPS ---------------------------------------------------- The annual Cosyne meeting provides an inclusive forum for the exchange of empirical and theoretical approaches to problems in systems neuroscience, in order to understand how neural systems function. The MAIN MEETING is single-track. A set of invited talks is selected by the Executive Committee, and additional talks and posters are selected by the Program Committee, based on submitted abstracts. The WORKSHOPS feature in-depth discussion of current topics of interest, in a small group setting. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: neural basis of behavior, sensory and motor systems, circuitry, learning, neural coding, natural scene statistics, dendritic computation, neural basis of persistent activity, nonlinear receptive field mapping, representations of time and sequence, reward systems, decision-making, synaptic plasticity, map formation and plasticity, population coding, attention, neuromodulation, and computation with spiking networks. ----------------------------------------------- TRAVEL GRANTS ----------------------------------------------- Applications are now open for travel grants to attend the conference. Each awardee will receive at least $500 to help offset the costs of travel, registration, and accommodations. Larger grants may be available to those traveling from outside Europe. Special consideration is given to scientists who have not previously attended the meeting, under-represented minorities, students who are attending the meeting together with a mentor, undergraduate students, and authors of submitted Cosyne abstracts. We currently offer five travel grant programs for New Attendees, Presenters, Mentors, Undergraduates, and Childcare travel grants. For details on applying, see www.cosyne.org/travel-grants. ----------------------------------------------------- PRE-COSYNE BRAINHACK ----------------------------------------------------- Pre-COSYNE Brainhack is a satellite event and hackathon from 27-28 February 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, immediately preceding the COSYNE conference. This hackathon brings together people who are passionate about open science, open-source tools, and collaboration around computational and systems neuroscience. It provides an opportunity for people from different institutions to work together on projects of shared interest and learn from each other. Anyone is welcome to participate. Space is limited to 25 people. To learn more and apply, please visit the Pre-COSYNE Brainhack website: https://pre-cosyne-brainhack.github.io/hackathon2024 ----------------------------------------------------- COSYNE 2024 SPEAKERS ----------------------------------------------------- Blaise Aguera y Arcas (Google Research) Dora Angelaki (NYU) Silvia Arber (U Basel) Laura Busse (LMU Munich) Lars Chittka (Queen Mary U) Kafui Dzirasa (Duke U) Elizabeth Hong (Caltech) Alex Pouget (U Geneva) Rajesh Rao (U Washington) Mac Shine (U Sydney) David Sussillo (Meta Reality Labs & Stanford) Claire Wyart (ICM Brain & Spine Institute) ----------------------------------------------------- COSYNE 2024 COMMITTEES ----------------------------------------------------- COSYNE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Jessica Cardin (Yale) and Blake Richards (McGill) Program Chairs: Bing Brunton (U Washington) and Chandramouli Chandrasekaran (Boston U) Workshop Chairs: SueYeon Chung (NYU/Flatiron) and Andrew Saxe (Oxford) Tutorial Chair: Il Memming Park (Champalimaud) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Kimberly Stachenfeld (DeepMind) and Marcelo Mattar (NYU) DEIA Committee: Hysell Oviedo (Washington U) and Luke Sjulson (Albert Einstein) Fundraising Chair: Michael Long (NYU) Social Media Chair: Sabera Talukder (Caltech) Audio-Video Media Chair: Carlos Stein Brito (Champalimaud) Poster Design: Maja Bialon COSYNE PROGRAM COMMITTEE Bing Brunton (U Washington) Co-chair Chandramouli Chandrasekaran (Boston U) Co-chair Yashar Ahmadian (U Cambridge) Athena Akrami (UCL) Timothy Buschman (Princeton) Alex Cayco Gajic (Ecole Normale Superieure) Hannah Choi (Gatech) Brian DePasquale (Boston U) Sridhar Devarajan (Indian Inst Sci) Laura Driscoll (Stanford) Ann Duan (UCL) Lea Duncker (Stanford) Annegret Falkner (Princeton) Rainer Friedrich (Friedrich Miescher Institute) Juan Gallego (Imperial) Matthew Golub (U Washington) Bilal Haider (Georgia Tech) Kiah Hardcastle (Harvard) Kameron Harris (W Washington U) Santiago Jaramillo (U Oregon) Jonathan Kao (UCLA) Kohitij Kar (York U) Ann Kennedy (Northwestern) Guillaume Lajoie (MILA) Laura Lewis (MIT) Camilo Libedinsky (National U Singapore) Scott Linderman (Stanford) Ashok Litwin-Kumar (Columbia) Emily Mackevicius (Basis) Jorge Mejias (U Amsterdam) Leenoy Meshulam (U Washington) Jonathan Michaels (York U) James Murray (U Oregon) Hendrikje Nienborg (NIH) Gouki Okazawa (Chinese Acad Sci) Marino Pagan (UCL) Chethan Pandarinath (Emory) Il Memming Park (Champalimaud) Hannah Payne (Columbia) Talmo Pereira (Salk) Supratim Ray (Indian Inst Sci) Erin Rich (Mount Sinai) Ben Scott (Boston U) Alireza Soltani (Dartmouth) Nicholas Steinmetz (U Washington) Carsen Stringer (HHMI) Marie Suver (Vanderbilt) Aparna Suvrathan (McGill) John Tuthill (U Washington) Ali Weber (Bryn Mawr) Brady Weissbourd (MIT) Alex Williams (NYU) Klaus Wimmer (CRM) Brad Wyble (Penn State) Dan Yamins (Stanford) COSYNE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Anne-Marie Oswald (U Pittsburgh) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) COSYNE CONTACT meeting [at] cosyne.org ----------------------------------------------------- COSYNE MAILING LISTS ----------------------------------------------------- Please consider adding yourself to Cosyne mailing lists (groups) to receive email updates with various Cosyne-related information and join in helpful discussions. See www.cosyne.org/mailing-lists lists for details.

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Job offer: schizophrenia, pharmacology, modeling
by BREYTON Martin 23 Dec '23

23 Dec '23

Dear all, Please find below the description for an available position at INS in Marseille, France: Main contact : Dr Martin Breyton martin.breyton(a)univ-amu.fr<mailto:martin.breyton@univ-amu.fr> Additional contacts : romain.guilhaumou(a)ap-hm.fr<mailto:romain.guilhaumou@ap-hm.fr>, spase.petkoski(a)univ-amu.fr<mailto:spase.petkoski@univ-amu.fr> REPORTS (bRain modEling and PharmacOclinical Response To Schizophrenia) Description: Schizophrenia affects approximately 0.7 to 1% of the world's population. Although there is a large available therapeutic panel, the clinical effectiveness of the antipsychotics used remains limited with 30 to 50% of schizophrenic patients showing an insufficient response to treatment. At the pharmacological level, drug response results from the interaction of genetic (e.g. drug-metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters, drug targets), personal (e.g. age, sex, disease states, treatment adherence) and environmental factors (e.g. smoking, diet, alcohol habits, drug-drug interactions) that produce interindividual differences in terms of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (de Leon et al., 2009). Currently, only fluid biomarkers are available to optimize exposure to antipsychotics (Therapeutic drug monitoring, TDM and Pharmacogenetics, PGx), but no biomarker is available to optimize the next steps, i.e, the interaction with the receptors, the signal transduction and finally the translation to clinical effect. To fill this void, neuroimaging is a strong candidate and a number of plausible neuroimaging biomarkers have been identified (Kraguljac et al. 2021). Indeed, a modulation of brain connectivity related to response to antipsychotic medication has been described (Mehta et al. 2021). Understanding this modulation thanks to modeling will allow an early stratification of patients before treatment and then an optimization of the treatment for each individual patient (allowing more reliable as well as earlier optimized management). Available data: 100 schizophrenic patients, pharmaco-clinical data, neuroimaging (T1, T2, DTI, rs-fMRI) We are looking for a young researcher (engineer, PhD) from Neurosciences to contribute to this project by performing/participating in the following tasks: * Management, preprocessing and analysis of the clinical database to identify sub-groups of patients at high risk of inadequate antipsychotic drug exposure * Preprocessing and analysis of the neuroimaging data: extraction of biomarkers and comparison between groups * Personalized brain modeling using The Virtual Brain (Sanz-Leon et al. 2015) The ideal candidate should be: * Proficient in Python programming * Familiar with neuro-imaging data * Familiar with computational neurosciences concepts and/or machine learning * Curious about schizophrenia and pharmacology * Have some prior experience in research (internship, publication…) The candidate would work in the Theoretical Neuroscience Group at the Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (INS, UMR1106, Marseille) under a research engineer contract or similar for 20 months. They will be supervised by a team of pharmacologists and computational neuroscientists. Depending on the quality of the collaboration, and on the advancement of the project, there will be possibilities to extend the collaboration and work on other related projects at INS. References: Kraguljac, Nina V., William M. McDonald, Alik S. Widge, Carolyn I. Rodriguez, Mauricio Tohen, et Charles B. Nemeroff. 2021. « Neuroimaging Biomarkers in Schizophrenia ». The American Journal of Psychiatry 178 (6): 509‑21. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20030340. Leon, Jose de. 2009. « The Future (or Lack of Future) of Personalized Prescription in Psychiatry ». Pharmacological Research 59 (2): 81‑89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2008.10.002. Mehta, Urvakhsh Meherwan, Ferose Azeez Ibrahim, Manu S. Sharma, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian, Jagadisha Thirthalli, Rose Dawn Bharath, Nicolas R. Bolo, Bangalore N. Gangadhar, et Matcheri S. Keshavan. 2021. « Resting-State Functional Connectivity Predictors of Treatment Response in Schizophrenia – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis ». Schizophrenia Research 237 (novembre): 153‑65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2021.09.004. Sanz-Leon, Paula, Stuart A. Knock, Andreas Spiegler, et Viktor K. Jirsa. 2015. « Mathematical framework for large-scale brain network modeling in The Virtual Brain ». NeuroImage 111 (mai): 385‑430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.002.

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Postdoctoral positions in computational neuroscience
by Richard Naud 22 Dec '23

22 Dec '23

Centre for Neural Dynamics and Artificial Intelligence, University of Ottawa We are recruiting two postdoctoral fellows. One for a project on large scale spiking neural networks, another for a project involving analysis of high-throughput neural data. The successful candidate will become an integral part of the Neural Coding lab and participate in a collaborative research environment. Ottawa is a vibrant city, capital of Canada. For more information, see https://neurodynamic.uottawa.ca/ottawa.html. For past publications related to this research, see Richard Naud’s google scholar page: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=2HXsblgAAAAJ&hl=en And website: https://neurodynamic.uottawa.ca/neuralcoding/index.html Qualifications: Ph. D. in theoretical neuroscience, computer science, or engineering. Start date: As soon as a suitable candidate is found. Submit: CV, statement of research interest and contact for 3 references. Duration: 2 years. Deadline: We will start reviewing applications January 15, 2024. Contact: rnaud(a)uottawa.ca<mailto:rnaud@uottawa.ca> (Richard Naud)

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PhD position call in Barcelona
by Diego Vidaurre 22 Dec '23

22 Dec '23

Hello, There is an open call for a PhD in Barcelona working on machine learning using rich longitudinal neuroimaging, genetics and behavioural data, with the aim of predicting disease trajectories in dementia. The position would be in the Centre de Reserca Matemàtica and the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, with me as one of two primary supervisors. Deadline would be mid January. In there is anyone interested, please get in touch. (And please distribute if you can) Thanks d

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PhD project in recurrent neural network models of neural dynamics
by Mark Humphries 22 Dec '23

22 Dec '23

A 4-year fully-funded PhD studentship project with Professor Mark Humphries and Professor Stephen Coombes is available for October 2024 start, through the University of Nottingham's BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme. The striatum is central to an extraordinary range of disorders, from Parkinson's disease to OCD, but our best models for its function are outdated and contradicted by recent data. In this project, we will test the hypothesis that the striatum is a special class of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) that use purely inhibitory connections. We will build and analyse this class of networks, deriving predictions for the computations that striatum performs, and for the activity of neuron populations in the striatum. We will then test these predictions in two large-scale datasets of population recordings from striatum in freely-exploring mice from the studies of Klaus et al (Neuron, 2017) and Markowitz et al (Cell, 2018). The DTP offers 2 lab rotations and wide-ranging training modules. If successful, the PhD student will join the Humphries' lab ( https://www.humphries-lab.org/) and be part of the School of Psychology's extensive postgraduate support network. Closing date:12 noon (GMT) Friday 12th January 2024. For full studentship details and how to apply see here: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/bbdtp/apply/how-to-apply.aspx Professor Mark Humphries | Professor of Computational Neuroscience Lab: humphries-lab.org<https://www.humphries-lab.org/> Twitter: @markdhumphries Public blog: https://medium.com/the-spike Book: "The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds" (Princeton UP) out now in paperback: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691241487/the-spike This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored where permitted by law.

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Book: Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience
by Gaute Einevoll 21 Dec '23

21 Dec '23

We are very pleased to announce our new book: Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, October 2023 Hardback, paperback and ebook. URL: www.cambridge.org/highereducation/isbn/9781108716420 David Sterratt, University of Edinburgh U.K. Bruce Graham, University of Stirling U.K. Andrew Gillies, Psymetrix Limited Gaute Einevoll, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) David Willshaw, University of Edinburgh U.K. Taking a step-by-step approach to modelling neurons and neuralcircuitry, this textbook teaches students how to use computational techniques to understand the nervous system at all levels, using case studies throughout to illustrate fundamental principles. Starting with a simple model of a neuron, the authors gradually introduce neuronal morphology, synapses, ion channels and intracellular signalling. This fully updated new edition contains additional examples and case studies on specific modelling techniques, suggestions on different ways to use this book, and new chapters covering plasticity, modelling extracellular influences on brain circuits, modelling experimental measurement processes, and choosing appropriate model structures and their parameters. The online resources offer exercises and simulation code that recreate many of the book's figures, allowing students to practice as they learn. Requiring an elementary background in neuroscience and high-school mathematics, this is an ideal resource for a course on computational neuroscience. Key features: Presents all models within the context of biological scenarios to connect computational models with real neurobiology. Highlights and explains mathematical details in boxes alongside the main text, so readers can follow the discussion easily and clearly. Shows how to choose an appropriate model structure and to set its parameter values. Demonstrates how to translate a mathematical formulation of a model into a simulation. Prof. Bruce Graham, Emeritus Professor of Computing Science Division of Computing Science and Mathematics, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA Coauthor of "Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience", CUP, 2nd Edition 2023<https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/principles-of-computational…>.

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NEST Conference 2024 — Save the date 17/18 June 2024
by Hans Ekkehard Plesser 21 Dec '23

21 Dec '23

Dear Colleagues, The NEST Initiative is excited to invite everyone interested in Neural Simulation Technology and the NEST Simulator to the NEST Conference 2024. Save the date for the virtual conference taking place on June 17–18, 2024! The annual NEST Conference provides an opportunity for the NEST Community to meet, exchange success stories, swap advice, learn about current developments in and around NEST spiking network simulation and its application. We particularly encourage young scientists to participate in the conference! Registration and abstract submission will open early next year. For more information on the event please visit the conference website https://nest-simulator.org/conference. We are looking forward to seeing you in June and wish you happy holidays and a good start into the new year! Hans Ekkehard Plesser and colleagues [Image] -- Prof. Dr. Hans Ekkehard Plesser Department of Data Science Faculty of Science and Technology Norwegian University of Life Sciences PO Box 5003, 1432 Aas, Norway Phone +47 6723 1560 Email hans.ekkehard.plesser(a)nmbu.no<mailto:hans.ekkehard.plesser@nmbu.no> Home http://arken.nmbu.no/~plesser

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PhD position in computational psychiatry / computational neuroscience
by Klaus Obermayer 21 Dec '23

21 Dec '23

* * *Neural Information Processing Group @ Technische Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany))* Faculty IV - Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science *PhD Position in Computational **Psychology**(salary level TV-L E13 100%)* *Visual Information Sampling Using Eye-movements and Overt Attention in Dynamic Scenes*** *Reference number:*IV-790/23 (starting date: May 1st, 2024/ for up to threeyears / closing date for applications for full consideration: January 18th, 2024 / applications will be accepted until the position is filled). *Working field:*This position is part of an interdisciplinary project between psychology, computational neuroscience, and computervision. The successful candidate will conduct model-based data analyses of human behavioral and eye-tracking data andwill perform the computational modelling of eye-movement patterns with help of the ScanDy saccade predictionframework(cf. Roth N., Rolfs M., Hellwich O., and Obermayer K. (2023), Objects Guide Human Gaze Behavior in Dynamic Real-World Scenes, PLoS Comput. Biol. 19, e1011512). Investigations will address the relationship between task, gaze behavior, and scene memorization wheninspecting dynamic scenes andthemechanisms and functional consequences of inter-individual differences inhuman visual sampling strategies. The candidate is supposed to join the PhD program of the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (https://www.scienceofintelligence.de/, specifically projects PJ 01 and PJ 57) which this position is part of. Information about our research group can also be found at https://www.tu.berlin/en/ni. *Requirements:*Successfully completed university degree (Master, Diplom or equivalent) in Computational Neuroscience, ComputerScience, Physics, Mathematics, or related fields. Applicants should have very good programming skills, a very good command of the Englishlanguage, a solid mathematicalbackground, competence in machine learning, and a strong interest in visual perception. Working experience in the fieldof computational neuroscience and an additional background in psychology and / or neuroscience is an advantage. Please send your application with the usual documents only by e-mail to Prof. Dr. Obermayer at*klaus.obermayer(a)tu-berlin.de*, quoting the *reference number*.

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The Canadian Neuroanalytics Scholars (CNS) Program
by Joern Davidsen 20 Dec '23

20 Dec '23

The Canadian Neuroanalytics Scholars (CNS) Program The Canadian Neuroanalytics Scholars (CNS) Program is now accepting Notices of Intent for the 2024 recruitment cycle. Up to 10 scholars will be awarded $70,0000 per year for up to two years, plus access to training and mentorship from CNS Program partners. Who is eligible? The applicant must: * Be affiliated with a Canadian post-secondary institution * Have less than 5 years of full-time training after completion of a doctoral degree * Current PhD students can apply if their degree will be completed before the program start date The proposed supervisor must: * Hold a full-time faculty position at a degree-granting research institution in Canada, such as the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the University of Calgary which is one of the Partner Institutes of the CNS Program (potential supervisors in Computational Neuroscience at the HBI can be found here<https://hbi.ucalgary.ca/computational-neuroscience/graduate-specialization/…>) * Conduct research primarily in the field of neuroscience * Only supervise one scholar awarded from this competition; i.e., a supervisor can only be associated with a single applicant Info Sessions: December 21, 9 am MT | Registration<https://em.ucalgary.ca/MTYxLU9MTi05OTAAAAGQHSqYb0R5x2IpQ_ao-XT-9nQ9ZVBFSQ5I…> more in January (see link below) NOI Deadline: January 31, 2024 12 pm (noon) MT Details and Application<https://em.ucalgary.ca/MTYxLU9MTi05OTAAAAGQHSqYb8HOeVw0opHaxQ77YPFe2LoYmeRG…> --- Dr. Jörn Davidsen Professor of Physics & Humboldt Research Fellow University of Calgary www.ucalgary.ca/davidsen<http://www.ucalgary.ca/davidsen>

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