January 2025 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

The Algonauts Project 2025 challenge is now live: How the Human Brain Makes Sense of Multimodal Movies

by The Algonauts Project

Dear Colleagues, We announce the 2025 challenge sponsored by The Algonauts Project <https://algonautsproject.com/>: How the Human Brain Makes Sense of Multimodal Movies. We invite you to join us in this competition to develop the best brain encoding models that are multimodal and that well generalize beyond their training distribution. The challenge is based on data from CNeuroMod <https://www.cneuromod.ca/>, the largest dataset of human brain fMRI responses to multimodal movies. Participants whose models most closely match recorded brain data (top 3) will receive monetary prizes for a total of 17,000 € (1st 9,000 €; 2nd 5,000 €; 3rd 3,000 €), and will be invited to present their winning models at this year’s Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN) <https://2025.ccneuro.org/> conference, in Amsterdam, in August 2025. The challenge is open to all, and provides transparent, directly comparable results through a public leaderboard that is updated automatically after each submission to facilitate rapid model assessment and guide development. Submission deadline: July 13, 2025 Website: https://algonautsproject.com/ Email: algonauts.mit(a)gmail.com Bluesky: @algonautsproject.bsky.social <https://bsky.app/profile/algonautsproject.bsky.social> X: @AlgonautsProj <https://x.com/AlgonautsProj> We look forward to your participation in the challenge! The Algonauts Project Team Algonauts Project 2025 Challenge Team: Alessandro Gifford, Freie Universität Berlin Domenic Bersch, Goethe University Frankfurt Marie St-Laurent, CRIUGM Basile Pinsard, CRIUGM Julie Boyle, Université de Montréal Lune Bellec, Université de Montréal Aude Oliva, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gemma Roig, Goethe University Frankfurt Radoslaw Cichy, Freie Universität Berlin

Jan. 6, 2025

CFP - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Its Social Impacts (ARSO 2025)

by nagai.yukie＠mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Dear colleagues, The deadline for submitting organized session proposals for ARSO2025 is approaching on January 15th. We look forward to receiving your submissions. --- 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Its Social Impacts (ARSO 2025) July 17th-19th, 2025, Osaka, Japan https://ieee-arso.org Advanced robots are expected to enter in promising applications in our future society and bring substantial impacts. The increasing implementation of AI-based components even broaden their fields of application. To ensure that these impacts are positively reflected, today, we need to extend views not only on technical aspects but also on social challenges that we might face, including safety, regulation, ethics, human factors, and philosophy. The topics of ARSO 2025 include, but are not limited to the following: • Human-robot interaction in physical & psychological aspects • Safety standards for advanced robots & autonomous systems • Legal and ethical issues for advanced robots • Impact of robotics on society, e.g. robot business, marketing & economic impact • Robotics for sustainability, climate change or civil aid • Advanced industrial robots for future manufacturing • Healthcare & medical applications • Rehabilitation and transfer robotics • Service & assistance applications • Entertainment & education robotics • Robotics & autonomous driving • Bio-inspired robotics • Soft and wearable robotics Important Dates: Submission of Organized Session Proposal: Jan. 15, 2025 Initial Paper Submission: Feb. 28, 2025 Workshop Proposal Submission: Feb. 28, 2025 Notification of Paper Acceptance: Apr. 28, 2025 Final Paper Submission: May 30, 2025 General Chairs: Minoru Asada, Japan Silvia Rossi, Italy Program Chairs: Kensuke Harada, Japan Emel Demircan, USA Astrid Weiss, Austria Best regards, Yuji Kawai and Yukie Nagai, Publicity Chairs of ARSO2025 — Yukie Nagai, Ph.D. Project Professor, The University of Tokyo nagai.yukie(a)mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp | https://developmental-robotics.jp CREST Cognitive Feelings: https://cognitive-feeling.jp CREST Cognitive Mirroring: https://cognitive-mirroring.org

Jan. 6, 2025

World wide VVTNS series: Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Dmitry Krotov, IBM Research, Cambridge, USA

by David Hansel

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide VVTNS 2025 Opening Lecture & 2024 Nobel prize in Physics celebration You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Dmitry Krotov IBM Research, Cambridge USA on the topic of Dense associative memory and its potential role in brain computation The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the zoom link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * Dense Associative Memories (Dense AMs) are energy-based neural networks that share many desirable features of celebrated Hopfield Networks but have superior information storage capabilities. In contrast to conventional Hopfield Networks, which were popular in the 1980s, DenseAMs have a very large memory storage capacity - possibly exponential in the size of the network. This aspect makes them appealing tools for many problems in AI and neurobiology. In this talk I will describe two theories of how DenseAMs might be built in biological “hardware”. According to the first theory, DenseAMs arise as effective theories after integrating out a large number of neuronal degrees of freedom. According to the second theory, astrocytes, a particular type of glia cells, serve as core computational units enabling large memory storage capabilities. This second theory challenges a common point of view in the neuroscience community that astrocytes play the role of only passive house-keeping support structures in the brain. In contrast, it suggests that astrocytes might be actively involved in brain computation and memory storage and retrieval. This story is an illustration of how computational principles originating in physics may provide insights into novel AI architectures and brain computation. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.* ᐧ

Jan. 5, 2025

Join Us at Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2025 in Montreal!

by Ryan Ly

Dear Community, We are excited to announce the Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2025, a hackathon taking place on March 25-26 in Montreal, Canada, just before the COSYNE conference! This event brings together open science enthusiasts to collaborate on projects in computational and systems neuroscience. This year’s suggested theme is Data Pipelines & Reproducibility, but participants are welcome to explore any topic. Key Details: 📅 Dates: March 25-26, 2025 📍 Location: Mila, Montreal, Canada 👥 Participants: Limited to 50 📑 Application Deadline: January 10 Why Attend? - Collaborate with like-minded researchers. - Explore and create open-source tools. - Network across institutions and backgrounds. Learn more and apply here: https://pre-cosyne-brainhack.github.io/hackathon2025/posts/about/ Questions? Please reach out to us directly. We hope to see you in Montreal! Warm regards, The Pre-COSYNE Brainhack Organizers

Jan. 3, 2025

Applications open for Okinawa/OIST Computational Neuroscience Course 2025 (OCNC 2025)

by Erik De Schutter

The aim of the Okinawa/OIST Computational Neuroscience Course is to provide opportunities for young researchers with theoretical backgrounds to learn the latest advances in neuroscience, and for those with experimental backgrounds to have hands-on experience in computational modeling. We invite graduate students and postgraduate researchers to participate in the course, held from June 23th through July 10th, 2025 at an seafront seminar house of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Applications are through the course web page (https://www.oist.jp/conference/ocnc-2025) only; January 1 - January 31, 2025. Applicants will receive confirmation of acceptance end of March. Like in preceding years, the 2025 OCNC will be a comprehensive three-week course covering single neurons, networks, and behaviors with ample time for student projects. The first week will focus exclusively on methods with hands-on tutorials during the afternoons, while the second and third weeks will have lectures by international and local experts. The course has a strong hands-on component based on student proposed modeling or data analysis projects, which are further refined with the help of a dedicated tutor. Applicants are required to propose their project at the time of application. For the first time we charge a modest tuition fee of 60,000JPY. The sponsor will provide lodging and meals during the course. We hope that this course will be a good opportunity for theoretical and experimental neuroscientists to meet each other and to explore the attractive nature and culture of Okinawa, the southernmost island prefecture of Japan. Lecturers: Erik De Schutter (OIST) Kenji Doya (OIST) Tomoki Fukai (OIST) Bernd Kuhn (OIST) Alexander Mathis (EPFL, Switzerland) Mackenzie Mathis (EPFL, Switzerland) Lucy Palmer (University of Melbourne, Australia) Gerald Pao (OIST) Padmini Rangamani (University of California, San Diego, USA) Sam Reiter (OIST) Yu Takagi (National Institute of Informatics) Kazumasa Tanaka (OIST) Tim Vogels (IST Austria) Jeff Wickens (OIST)

Jan. 2, 2025

PhD and Postdoc positions [Neuro-AI lab @ Technion] - Stefano Recanatesi

by Stefano Recanatesi

*PhD and PostDoc Positions Available: Neuro-AI Lab at Technion* *About Us: *The Technion Neuro-AI Lab is at the forefront of research into the computational mechanisms of biological and artificial neural networks. Our diverse projects range from developing Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) for both rodents and humans to creating theoretical and computational models of neural activity, and training cutting-edge machine-learning models, including large language models (LLMs). *University Environment: *Join us at Technion, where we offer a world-class research environment equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and interdisciplinary training programs. The lab is part of the Technion AI community (ranked 1st <https://csrankings.org/#/fromyear/2020/toyear/2024/index?ai&vision&mlmining…> in Europe) and the (nobel prize winning <https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2024/10/nobel-prize-winners-mark-20th-anniver…>) Medical faculty. There is a vibrant international community and the Lab strongly encourages international mobility, supporting students in undertaking internships and research collaborations abroad (especially if the political situation requires it). *Lab Homepage:* Technion Neuro-AI Lab <https://sites.google.com/view/technionneuroailab/home> *Project Descriptions & Candidate Profiles:* We are seeking candidates with computational/theoretical or experimental expertise in the following areas: - *Computational Projects:* - Focus: Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and training of various network algorithms. - Relevant Backgrounds: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, etc. - *Theoretical Projects:* - Focus: Developing theoretical and computational predictions for neural experiments. - Relevant Backgrounds: Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, etc. - *Experimental Collaborations:* - Focus: Developing experimental setups with advanced computational tools for BCIs in collaboration with partner labs. - Relevant Backgrounds: Neuroscience, Biology, Medicine, etc., with strong computational skills. *What We Offer:* - A stimulating and supportive research environment. - Access to state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure. - Opportunities for interdisciplinary scientific development. - An international and collaborative team atmosphere. - Comprehensive training in a wide range of scientific skills. - Opportunities to present your research at international conferences and workshops. - Extensive support for career development beyond your Ph.D. *Application Deadline: *We encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible. Our goal is to fill positions by Spring 2025. *How to Apply:* Please send your CV and full academic transcript directly to Prof. Stefano Recanatesi (stefano(a)technion.ac.il)

Jan. 2, 2025