- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Subject: PhD Position – Computational Modeling of Dopamine Dynamics (Ruhr University Bochum)
by Robert Schmidt July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

Subject: PhD Position – Computational Modeling of Dopamine Dynamics (Ruhr University Bochum) The Neural Data Science Group (PI: Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt, https://www.ini.rub.de/the_institute/people/robert-schmidt/) located in the Faculty of Computer Science at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), invites applications for a 3-year PhD position (75%, TV-L E13) in computational neuroscience, starting as soon as possible. The position is part of a DFG-funded project and embedded in the new research building THINK (Center for Theoretical and Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Science). The project develops a biophysical computational model of striatal dopamine signaling, simulating release, diffusion, uptake, and receptor binding to uncover the structure of dopamine “landscapes” in health and disease (e.g. Parkinson’s disease). The aim is to bridge this mechanistic modeling with dopamine’s cognitive functions in action selection, behavioral flexibility, and reinforcement learning. ⸻ Your profile: • Master’s degree in computational neuroscience, computer science, (bio-)physics, or a related field • Strong programming skills (Python, C/C++) • Interest in biophysical models of neural systems and data-driven neuroscience • Team-minded, self-motivated, and fluent in English We offer: • A 3-year position (75%, TV-L E13) with the opportunity to pursue a PhD in Computer Science • An interdisciplinary and collaborative environment within the RUB’s thriving Faculty of Computer Science (https://informatik.rub.de/en/) • Research integration in the Institute for Neural Computation (https://www.ini.rub.de) and the research building THINK (https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/think/) • Access to high-performance computing resources, mentoring, and career development support ⸻ Application: Send a single PDF including your CV, transcript(s), short statement of interest, and contact info for 1–2 referees to: robert.schmidt(a)rub.de The application deadline is the 15th July, 2025. -- Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt Neural Data Science www.ini.rub.de/the_institute/people/robert-schmidt/ Institute for Neural Computation Faculty of Computer Science Ruhr-Universität Bochum Universitätsstr. 150 44801 Bochum, Germany

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Senior ML Research Engineer (NeuroAI) at Kempner Institute, Harvard University
by Shad, Max July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

Dear colleagues, We're hiring a Senior ML Research Engineer (NeuroAI) at the Kempner Institute<https://kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/> for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University. We're looking for someone at the intersection of machine learning and computational neuroscience to contribute to our NeuroAI research projects. This is a unique opportunity to collaborate closely with leading researchers in neuroscience, AI, and related fields and work on one of the largest academic AI clusters in the US. Position details and application link: Https://careers.harvard.edu/job/senior-ml-research-engineer-in-cambridge-ma…<https://careers.harvard.edu/job/senior-ml-research-engineer-in-cambridge-ma…> Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested in the role. Best, Max Max Shad, PhD Senior Director for AI/ML Research Engineering Kempner Institute | Harvard University

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What can you do with 1000 neurons?
by Nicolas P. Rougier (inria) July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

Dear all, There exists a lot of computational models of decision making that can give account on this or that experimental data. The question is whether we can adapt these models to solve an actual decision task? You'll find at https://github.com/rougier/braincraft the rules of a simple decision making challenge. Roughly, you have have 1000 neurons (leaky rate models), 100 seconds of training time and 10 runs for evaluation. The difficulty comes from the imposed constraints. The first challenge runs from now until August 31 and we'll see if it can be solved (one way or the other). Best, Nicolas Rougier -- Nicolas P. Rougier —— www.labri.fr/perso/nrougier Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bordeaux

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CNS*2025 workshop "NeuroXAI: Explainable AI for Understanding Biological Brains"
by Jie Mei June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming CNS*2025 workshop "NeuroXAI: Explainable AI for Understanding Biological Brains", to be held on July 8th, 2025 (9am to 12:30pm) in Florence, Italy. This workshop provides a unique platform to bring together neuroscience and AI researchers working on explainable AI (XAI) for neuroscience (NeuroXAI) and other relevant areas of research. Topics of interest include machine learning and data mining models for neuroscience, XAI methods to address challenges in neuroscience data analysis and modeling, neuro-inspired models, and topics of high societal relevance (e.g., open science practices and reproducibility). Confirmed speakers and talks: Parsimonious and Tractable RNNs for Dynamical Systems Reconstruction Daniel Durstewitz (Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim and Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing at Heidelberg University) Leveraging Latent Space Models for Biomarker Discovery in Deep Brain Stimulation Sankar Alagapan (Georgia Institute of Technology) Explainable AI for neuroimaging in psychiatry: evaluation and cellular-to-network investigation of E/I imbalance in autism Trang-Anh Nghiem (Stanford University/Hertie Institute for AI in Brain Health) Neural dynamics of reversal learning in the prefrontal cortex and recurrent neural networks Christopher Kim (Howard University) What can artificial neural networks learn from biological neuromodulatory systems? Srikanth Ramaswamy (Newcastle University/MIT) For more details, please visit https://cns2025florence.sched.com/event/1z9Mt/neuroxai-explainable-ai-for-u…. We look forward to having you join us in Florence! Yours, Jie Mei, Nina Hubig, Subham Dey and Claudia Plant Best regards Jie Mei Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience [Ein Bild, das Schwarz, Dunkelheit enthält. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung] Altenberger Straße 66c Science Park 4 | OG 2 4040 Linz | Austria ATU79114879 www.it-u.at<https://www.it-u.at/> +43 676 / 851307 254 jie.<mailto:vorname.nachname@it-u.at>mei(a)it-u.at<mailto:vorname.nachname@it-u.at> Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie unter https://it-u.at/en/privacy/. Der Inhalt dieser E-Mail ist vertraulich und kann rechtlich besonders geschützte Informationen beinhalten. Wenn Sie nicht der beabsichtigte Empfänger sind, dürfen Sie diese E-Mail oder die angeschlossenen Dateien weder bearbeiten, verwenden, weitergeben noch reproduzieren. Sollten Sie nicht der vorgesehene Empfänger sein, ersuchen wir Sie höflich, sich sofort mit uns ins Einvernehmen zu setzen und die E-Mail und sämtliche angeschlossene Dateien zu löschen. You can find our Privacy Policy here https://it-u.at/en/privacy/. The content of this email is confidential and may also contain legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you may not process, use, transmit or reproduce this email or any enclosed attachments. If you have received this email by mistake, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email and any enclosed attachments from your system.

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CNS*2025 Tutorial "Building Intuitive and Efficient Biophysical Models with Jaxley and DendroTweaks - Schedule
by Spiros Chavlis June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

Dear friends and colleagues, We are pleased to announce that this Saturday, July 5, in Florence, Italy, we will be hosting a full-day tutorial at CNS*2025 on "Building Intuitive and Efficient Biophysical Models with Jaxley and DendroTweaks". This tutorial will introduce two new software tools, Jaxley and DendroTweaks, which provide complementary approaches for developing detailed biophysical models. The tutorial will feature interactive, hands-on sessions using Jupyter notebooks, where participants will learn how to: - Build neuronal models with realistic dendritic morphology and ion channels - Understand the role of each model parameter through interactive visualizations - Refine data and standardize models - Speed up simulations using a GPU-based simulator - Optimize model parameters automatically using gradient-based approaches - Train networks of biologically realistic neurons to solve complex tasks, bridging the gap between neuroscience and AI This tutorial is open to researchers and students of all levels interested in computational neuroscience. No prior experience with biophysical modeling is required. A basic familiarity with Python is helpful but not necessary. Software tools: Jaxley: https://jaxley.readthedocs.io/ DendroTweaks: https://dendrotweaks.dendrites.gr/ Speakers and organizers: Spyridon Chavlis, Michael Deistler, Kyra L Kadhim, Roman Makarov Schedule: 09:00 – 09:15 Welcome and general introduction 09:15 – 10:10 Building single-neuron models with DendroTweaks 10:10 – 10:40 Coffee break 10:40 – 12:00 Exploring models in DendroTweaks GUI 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch break 13:00 – 14:30 Building single-cell and network models in Jaxley 14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break 15:00 – 16:00 Optimizing biophysical models with Jaxley See more here: https://cns2025florence.sched.com/event/25kVa/building-intuitive-and-effici… We are looking forward to seeing you in Florence. On behalf of the organizers, Spiros Chavlis

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Workshop online streaming - "Collective dynamics and information processing in neural systems" | Venice 30/06 - 02/07
by Fabrizio Lombardi June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

Dear All, We invite you to join us online for the coming workshop "Collective Dynamics and Information Processing in Neural Systems <https://liphlab.github.io/NeuroStatPhys_Satellite/>". The workshop will take place* in Venice, Italy, on 30 June - 02 July 2025* at the European Center for Living Technology (ECLT). Here the zoom link https://unipd.zoom.us/j/89751980137 *No registration is required.* *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* *About the workshop* A longstanding question is how populations of neurons cooperate and coordinate to perform function and maintain an “optimal” state for information processing and computation. While electrophysiological recordings in behaving animals have provided considerable information about what the firing patterns of single neurons encode in isolation, it remains largely a mystery how populations of neurons interact to perform brain functions. How do emergent collective behaviors, such as neuronal oscillations, waves, or avalanches, support function? And what is the nature of the brain’s internal state and how that affects function? With the aim of further strengthening the connection between neuroscience and statistical physics, this satellite workshop is intended to gather neuroscientists, physicists, and mathematicians who work on collective dynamics, cognition and behavior, and provide an interdisciplinary stage to discuss recent theoretical/computational and experimental advances on the role of neural ensembles for brain function. The workshop will be carefully planned to foster discussion and interaction between attendees, and to encourage the establishment of professional relationships. Particular emphasis will be given to participation of young PI’s and scholars and to the diversity in the pool of participants, with a good balance between physicists, mathematicians, theoretical and experimental neuroscientists. *Topics that will be covered in this workshop include (but are not limited to):* - Dynamics of neuronal ensembles: theory and models - Encoding and decoding of neural ensembles - Learning and memory - Control theory and behavior - Statistical inference - Modeling of brain dynamics in health and disease - Criticality in neural systems *Invited speakers:* - Stefano Fusi (Columbia University) - Gašper Tkačik (IST Austria) - Dietmar Plenz (NIH) - Gianluigi Mongillo (Institut de la Vision) - Raffaella Burioni (University of Parma) - Henrik J. Jensen (Imperial College) - Francesca Mastrogiuseppe (Champalimaud Foundation) - Gaia Tavoni (Washington University in St Louis) - Luca Mazzucato (University of Oregon) - Carlotta Martelli (University Mainz) - Athena Akrami (University College London) - Federico Stella (Donders Institute) - Johannes Felsenberg (FMI Basel) - Ana Paula Millán Vidal (University of Granada) - Michele Allegra (University of Padova) - Nima Dehghani (MIT) - Olivier Marre (Institut de la Vision) - Brice Bathellier (Institut de l'Audition) For further information please check the workshop website https://liphlab.github.io/NeuroStatPhys_Satellite/ The organizing committee, Fabrizio Lombardi, Lucilla de Arcangelis, Serena Di Santo, Samir Suweis, Ulisse Ferrari, Elisa Tentori, Achille Giacometti, Guido Caldarelli

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Two Postdoctoral Research Positions at Ghent University
by Clay Holroyd June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

The Learning and Cognitive Control Laboratory at Ghent University (Belgium) is recruiting two highly motivated postdoctoral fellows to apply a control-theoretic approach to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms of cognitive effort ( https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000467 ). The positions are funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant ( https://www.ugent.be/en/news-events/six-erc-advanced-grants.htm ), are for 3 years with an opportunity to renew, and are available to start January 2026. Position 1: The successful candidate will apply linear control theory to investigate the energy demands of existing artificial neural network models of working memory, task switching, and brain computer interface tasks. A Ph.D. and background in computational modeling, engineering or a related discipline is required; expertise with linear control theory and dynamical systems theory are preferred but not necessary. Position 2: The successful candidate will train recurrent neural networks to learn the generative structure of existing behavioral, EEG and MEG data sets (dynamical system reconstruction), and apply linear control theory to investigate the energy demands of the resulting network architectures. A Ph.D. and background in computational modeling, engineering or a related discipline is required; expertise with linear control theory and dynamical systems theory are preferred but not necessary. Interested candidates should email their CV, a statement of research interests, and have three letters of reference forwarded to Clay Holroyd at clay.holroyd(a)ugent.be. Inquiries may be directed to him at this email address. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

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Call for papers - Special Issue: Bio-Inspired Computation Based on Mathematical Modeling—Theories and Applications in Health Sciences
by Barna Iantovics June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

Call for papersSpecial Issue: Bio-InspiredComputation Based on Mathematical Modeling—Theories and Applications in HealthSciencesJournal: Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390)Impact Factor 2.2 Submission https://www.mdpi.com/journal/mathematics/special_issues/9B5062KZ98 Dear Colleague, You are kindly invited tocontribute with a paper to the Special Issue. It is estimated that biologicallife that has evolved over millions of years will be a fruitful source ofinspiration for the development of novel computational mathematical methods inthe years to come, representing important research directions on mathematicalmodeling in the field of artificial intelligence. Diverse problems in healthsciences are computationally hard and cannot be solved efficiently via actualmethods. Mathematical modeling based on bio-inspired computing applied to solvecomputationally hard problems in health sciences domains is an emerging fieldin this area. Bio-inspired computing has been proven successful for solving alarge variety of problems in domains of science where other methods have notbeen so effective. In this context, this SpecialIssue invites researchers to contribute original works regarding thedevelopment of bio-inspired computational and hybrid methods for solvingdifficult problems in health sciences that represent significant scientificadvancements. Kind regards,Guest EditorsProf. Dr. Laszlo Barna IantovicsProf. Dr. Matthias DehmerProf. Dr. Francesco FlamminiProf. Dr. Frank Emmert-Streib

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[REMINDER] Apply now for the Computational Neuroscience Imbizo 2026 - application form closes July 1, 2025
by Spiros Chavlis June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

Dear friends and colleagues, Student applications for the next Imbizo are OPEN. Apply before it’s too late. Don’t let this opportunity slip by if you are hoping to join the most diverse neuroscience summer school at the most beautiful beach in the world! If you know anyone who would benefit from an extraordinary computational neuroscience summer school, please distribute this information as widely as you can: SIMONS COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IMBIZO (#Imbizo2026) 11 January - 1 February 2026, Noordhoek Beach, Cape Town, South Africa https://imbizo.africa/ Application deadline: 1st July 2025 at 20:00 UTC The Imbizo is a southern hemisphere summer school aiming to promote computational neuroscience in Africa. It will bring together international and local students under the tutelage of the world's leading experts in the field. Like its international sister courses, this three-week summer school aims to teach central ideas, methods, and practices of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. Mornings will be devoted to lectures on topics across the breadth of computational neuroscience, including experimental underpinnings and machine learning analogues. The rest of the day will be spent working on research projects under the close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Individual research projects will focus on the modeling of neurons, neural systems, behavior, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data, and the development of theories to explain experimental observations. It also includes a week focused on neuroscience-inspired machine learning! Who should apply? This course is aimed at Masters and early-PhD level students, though Honors or advanced Undergraduates may also apply. Postdoctoral students who can motivate why the course would benefit them are also encouraged to apply. Students should have sufficient quantitative skills (e.g., a background in mathematics, physics, computer science, statistics, engineering, or related fields). Some knowledge of neural biology will be useful, but not essential. Experimental neuroscience students are encouraged to apply, but should ensure that they have a reasonable level of quantitative proficiency (i.e., at least second-year level mathematics or statistics and have done at least one course in computer programming). Course fees and Scholarships: Course Fee: €1,550 includes all accommodation, meals, social activities, and ground transport in Cape Town. Thanks to our generous sponsors, significant financial assistance is available to reduce and waive fees for students, particularly for African applicants. We also hope to provide some limited travel bursaries for international students. If you need financial assistance to attend Imbizo, please state so clearly in the relevant section of your application. Scholarships on offer: (a) Full Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550) and your economy class travel to Cape Town, which will be booked by the Imbizo. (b) Partial Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550) and a set financial contribution towards your travel costs (paid after arrival in Cape Town). The amount will vary on a case-by-case basis. (c) Course Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550), but you will be responsible for booking and paying for your own travel costs to Cape Town. Note: (a) You must ensure you have a valid passport until at least the 31st of July 2026 when applying. (b) Visa application and related costs remain the responsibility of all accepted students. Important dates: Applications CLOSE: 1st July 2025 at 20:00 UTC References SUBMITTED: 7th July 2025 at 20:00 UTC Outcomes NOTIFIED: mid-August 2025 Accept BY: 1 week after notifications Imbizo STARTS: 11 January 2026 Imbizo ENDS: 1 February 2026 Information and application https://imbizo.africa/ Questions? isicn.imbizo.planning [AT] gmail.com What is an Imbizo? \ɪmˈbiːzɒ\ | Xhosa - Zulu A gathering of the people to share knowledge. View our past FACULTY and TAs: https://imbizo.africa/people/ Imbizo 2026 Organizing Committee Arif Hamid (University of Minnesota) Adrienne Fairhall (University of Washington) Xaq Pitkow (Carnegie Mellon University) Emma Vaughan (Imbizo Logistics) Spiros Chavlis (IMBB-FORTH) Sponsors The Imbizo is made possible by the generous support from the Simons Foundation (https://www.simonsfoundation.org/) the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) (https://ibro.org/) as well as DeepMind, Meta, and others.

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CNS*2025 workshop "Brain-Inspired Computing"
by Guozhang Chen June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

Dear Colleagues, We are excited to announce the "Brain-Inspired Computing" workshop at CNS2025, taking place on July 8th, 2025 (9:00 AM–12:30 PM) in Florence, Italy. This workshop will explore the intersection of neural computation and artificial intelligence, featuring cutting-edge research on self-supervised learning in cortical circuits, biologically validated AI models, and energy-efficient neuromorphic hardware. The workshop will bridge neuroscience and AI, discussing: Self-supervised learning mechanisms in the neocortex Biological validation of AI models via optogenetic perturbation Energy-efficient computing inspired by neural circuit architecture Neuromorphic hardware for rapid, low-power learning Confirmed Speakers Rui Ponte Costa (University of Oxford, UK) Guillaume Bellec (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) Guozhang Chen (Peking University, China) Robert Legenstein (Graz University of Technology, Austria): Shogo Ohmae (Chinese Institute for Brain Research, China) Yuliang Zang (Tianjin University, China) Details available on our workshop page: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ChEKLctgh7j3Q5pmRLYEEBp-U0G9akuMTehfTBf… Who Should Attend? Researchers in computational neuroscience, AI, and machine learning Engineers in neuromorphic hardware and brain-inspired computing Students and professionals interested in biological-computational convergence Please share this invitation with colleagues who may be interested. We look forward to exploring the frontiers of brain-inspired computing in Florence with you! Regards, Guozhang Chen & Yunliang Zang

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