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3 days remaining to submit a "Trainee Talk" for the second Canadian Computational Neuroscience Spotlight

by Scott Rich

The second edition of the Canadian Computational Neuroscience Spotlight (CCNSv2) is fast approaching, with the meeting taking place this coming May 17-18. We now have a permanent homepage for the meeting at ccnsmeeting.ca where you can see details on our finalized list of speakers and our four fantastic session chairs: Drs. Maurizio De Pitta, Etay Hay, Carmen Canavier, and Bratislav Misic. *There are now three days remaining for trainees (undergrads, grad students, postdocs, and research scientists) to submit an abstract for a "trainee talk" via https://forms.gle/bsbrvZca6F1q62RA6 <https://forms.gle/bsbrvZca6F1q62RA6>*. We anticipate all submissions that reasonably fall under the broad banner of "computational neuroscience" will be accepted unless the demand far exceeds our expectations. Talks will either be 8 minutes (with 2 minutes for questions) or 12 minutes (with 3 minutes for questions) depending on the demand. Four submissions that are both the most meritorious and best correspond with the themes of our sessions will be offered a longer, "spotlight" presentation. Please be sure to register for the meeting itself at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ccnsv2/register if you submit a trainee abstract. Please feel free to spread the news about our meeting to anyone who might be interested as well! We look forward to seeing you at CCNSv2. Sincerely, – Scott Rich, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Krembil Research Institute – Andreea Diaconescu, Ph.D. Independent Scientist, Krembil Center for Neuroinformatics at CAMH – John Griffiths, Ph.D. Independent Scientist, Krembil Center for Neuroinformatics at CAMH – Milad Lankarany, Ph.D. Scientist, Krembil Research Institute

April 28, 2021

Open PhD Position on Machine Learning for Brain Connectivity in Clinical Neuroscience

by Emanuele Olivetti

We are pleased to announce the opening of one PhD position in neuroinformatics at the International Doctoral School in Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CIMeC) of the University of Trento, Italy. The PhD Grant is funded by the Neuroinformatics Laboratory (NILab) of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK). The position is part of the “Neusurplan” project, an integrated approach to neurosurgery planning based on multimodal and longitudinal data. Neuroimaging methods, like structural, functional, and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can be used to investigate the anatomical and functional connectivity of the brain. In this project, the candidate will pursue research on machine learning methods for neuroimaging data analysis to study and characterize brain connectivity, with applications to longitudinal studies and clinical practice. The ideal candidate should have a mixed background in neuroimaging techniques and numerate disciplines, like computer science, engineering, physics, or mathematics. This project is in collaboration with the Division of Neurosurgery, S. Chiara Hospital, Trento (IT). The position is for a 4 year PhD program (Nov. 1, 2020- Oct. 31, 2024). Courses are in English. The salary is starting at approximately €1.200/mo., net. An additional personal budget of around €5.000 is provided for research and mobility. The University of Trento ranks among top Italian Universities ( https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1636/rankings) Fondazione Bruno Kessler ranks first among the Italian research centers in Engineering and Computer Science ( https://magazine.fbk.eu/en/news/fbk-ranks-1st-in-italy-for-scientific-excel… ). Why choose Trento? ( http://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1629/why-choose-the-university-of-trento) Important dates: Deadline for application: 25 May 2021 Evaluation interview: 28 June 2021 Beginning of PhD program: 1 November 2021 Apply now: https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1942/announcement-of-selection https://www.unitn.it/drcimec/105/2021-topic-specific-grants-and-descriptions You are kindly invited to contact in advance Emanuele Olivetti ( olivetti(a)fbk.eu) and Paolo Avesani (paolo.avesani(a)unitn.it) Recent related publications: - Giulia Bertò, Daniel Bullock, Pietro Astolfi, Soichi Hayashi, Luca Zigiotto, Luciano Annicchiarico, Francesco Corsini, Alessandro De Benedictis, Silvio Sarubbo, Franco Pestilli, Paolo Avesani, Emanuele Olivetti, "Classifyber, a robust streamline-based linear classifier for white matter bundle segmentation", Neuroimage, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117402 - Gabriele Amorosino, Denis Peruzzo, Pietro Astolfi, Daniela Redaelli, Paolo Avesani, Filippo Arrigoni, Emanuele Olivetti, "Automatic Tissue Segmentation with Deep Learning in Patients with Congenital or Acquired Distortion of Brain Anatomy", Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging and Radiogenomics in Neuro-oncology (MLCN 2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66843-3_2 - Pietro Astolfi, Ruben Verhagen, Laurent Petit, Emanuele Olivetti, Jonathan Masci, Davide Boscaini, Paolo Avesani, "Tractogram filtering of anatomically non-plausible fibers with geometric deep learning", Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI 2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59728-3_29 -- Emanuele Olivetti, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist at Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK-ICT) NeuroInformatics Laboratory (NILab) http://nilab.fbk.eu Center for Mind and Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento Via delle Regole 101 - 38123 Mattarello (Trento), ITALY olivetti(a)fbk.eu - +39 0461314179 emanuele.olivetti(a)unitn.it - +39 0461282760 -- -- Le informazioni contenute nella presente comunicazione sono di natura privata e come tali sono da considerarsi riservate ed indirizzate esclusivamente ai destinatari indicati e per le finalità strettamente legate al relativo contenuto. Se avete ricevuto questo messaggio per errore, vi preghiamo di eliminarlo e di inviare una comunicazione all’indirizzo e-mail del mittente. -- The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material.

April 28, 2021

Open positions in the Vogels Lab

by Tim Vogels

Dear Colleagues, the Vogels lab has two open postdoctoral positions. TL;DR, if you liked our last NeurIPS paper https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.24.353409v1 <https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.24.353409v1> and you think you can contribute and imagine, oh, the places we’ll go from here,…from one of the most liveable cities in the world, … DO apply. — We are looking for at least two scientists to join the vogelslab.org as postdocs at the @ISTAustria near Vienna. The successful candidate will join an ongoing ERC funded project to discover families of spike-induced synaptic plasticity rules by way of numerical derivation. Together, we will define and explore search spaces of biologically plausible plasticity rules expressed e.g., as polynomial expansions or multi layer perceptrons. We aim to compare the results to various experimental and theoretical data sets, including functional spiking network models, human stem-cell derived neural network cultures, in vitro and in vivo experimental data. We are looking for someone who can expand and develop our multipurpose modular library dedicated to optimization of non-differentiable systems. Due to the modularity of the library, the candidate will have extensive freedom regarding which optimization techniques to use and what to learn in which systems, but being a team player will be a crucial skill. A conceivably successful candidate will have a strong expertise in numerical simulations, and specifically spiking neuron models, and some knowledge in the field of synaptic plasticity. A strong background in applied maths, especially in numerical optimization would be desirable. Some of the questions we ponder: How to express high dimensional rules in However, we can hire more than one person, and we would also be interested in someone who can contribute to design, implementation and maintenance of a library dedicated to performing numerical optimization in non-differentiable systems on large scales. We are thinking about how to simulate spiking neural networks with complex, unsupervised and supervised plasticity rules efficiently, in parallel, on a cluster. Depending on your (flexible, possibly immediate) starting date we can offer up to 4-year contracts with competitive salaries, benefits, vacation time and ample budget for materials and travel in a tranquil and inspiring environment. The Vogelslab, and the IST Austria is located in Klosterneuburg, a historic city northwest of Vienna. The campus is located in the middle of the beautiful landscape of the Vienna Woods, 30 minutes from downtown Vienna, the capital of Austria that consistently scores in the top cities of the world for its high standard of living. If you are interested, send an email with your application to Jessica . deAntoni [at] ist.ac.at. Your application should include your CV, your most relevant publication, contact information for 2 or more references, and a cover letter with a short description of you & your career, and a brief discussion of what you think is the greatest weakness of the above mentioned NeurIPS paper (and maybe how you would go about fixing it). We are looking to build a diverse and interesting environment, so if you bring any qualities that make our lab (and computational neuroscience at large) more diverse than it is right now, please consider applying. We will begin to evaluate applications at the end of April and aim to get back to you with a decision within 5 weeks of your application. We are also looking for people with a strong background in maths and machine learning, and an intense interest in neuroscience. Specifically, we will focus on (GABAergic, <http://www.neurotheory.ox.ac.uk/~timv/pub/VogelsScience2011.pdf> codependent <http://www.neurotheory.ox.ac.uk/~timv/pub/Hennequin2017.pdf>, and machine-learning inspired <https://fzenke.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ZenkeGanguli2018_SuperSpike.p…>) synaptic plasticity, and modulated <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-018-0276-0> neural network dynamics. <http://www.neurotheory.ox.ac.uk/~timv/pub/HennequinNeuron2014.pdf> Finally, we are keen to hear from women and members of underrepresented groups in neuroscience. Please email me with any questions or thoughts. Best wishes, Tim Vogels --- Professor Neurotheory IST Austria vogelslab.org +43 2243 9000 2170

April 27, 2021

Post-doc in the Neurophysiology of Attention & Decision Making at UCLA

by Bisley, James

Apologies for cross-posting We invite applications for a post-doc position studying the interactions of attention and decision making in parietal cortex. The work will include recording from cortical areas MT and LIP while animals perform a visual search task utilizing moving dot patterns. For more information about the sort of work done in the lab, check out our publications at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/james.bisley.2/bibliography/public/. Applicants should have a strong background in systems neurophysiology, behavioral training or computational neuroscience and be comfortable working independently on all aspects of the project. Previous experience with NHP recording and data analysis is desirable. Candidates should hold a PhD in neuroscience, psychology or a related discipline. The position is initially for 12 months with the possibility of renewal. Compensation will be commensurate with relevant experience. Candidates should send a CV, a brief statement of research experience and interests, expected date of availability, and the contact information for two references to James Bisley (jbisley(a)mednet.ucla.edu<mailto:jbisley@mednet.ucla.edu>). Cheers, James ________________________________ UCLA HEALTH SCIENCES IMPORTANT WARNING: This email (and any attachments) is only intended for the use of the person or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. You, the recipient, are obligated to maintain it in a safe, secure and confidential manner. Unauthorized redisclosure or failure to maintain confidentiality may subject you to federal and state penalties. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify us by return email, and delete this message from your computer.

April 26, 2021

Postdoc position on causal explanations in reinforcement learning at the University of Vienna

by Moritz Grosse-Wentrup

We have an opening for a postdoc position in the Research Group Neuroinformatics at the University of Vienna [1]. The position is funded by the CHIST-ERA project CausalXRL - Causal eXplanations in Reinforcement Learning [2]. The project aims to equip reinforcement learning agents with causal structure learning and reasoning abilities, enabling them to explore their environment more efficiently and justify their actions, e.g., in medical decision support. All work will be done in close collaboration with partners at the University of Sheffield and Inria Lille. The position is available for three years, with an earliest (but reasonably flexible) starting date on July 1st. Salary is according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for university staff at the University of Vienna (job group B1 100% [3]). Our ideal candidate would have * a background in computer science or mathematics, * recently finished their Ph.D. on reinforcement learning or causality, * published first-author papers at internationally recognized machine learning conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, UAI, ECML) or in prominent journals. We will consider all applicants with a strong track record in machine learning or artificial intelligence. We strive to be a heterogeneous research team and particularly welcome applications by women, transgender and intersex candidates, people of colour, disabled applicants and candidates from other underrepresented groups. Disabled applicants will receive preference over equally qualified non-disabled applicants. Your application should include a cover letter, a CV, relevant transcripts, and contact information of at least two referees. Please submit your application documents (as one PDF file) to fsg.neuroinformatics(a)univie.ac.at. We will begin screening applications on May 17th. Applications will be considered until the position is filled. Our offices are in downtown Vienna, which has been ranked the most liveable city globally for two years in a row [4]. The University of Vienna is one of Europe's largest universities (with >90k students) and has a vibrant research community. If you have any questions before applying, please contact me at moritz.grosse-wentrup(a)univie.ac.at! 1. https://ni.cs.univie.ac.at/ 2. https://www.chistera.eu/projects/causalxrl 3. https://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/en/jobs-recruiting/job-center/salary-sch… 4. https://www.eiu.com/topic/liveability -- Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Moritz Grosse-Wentrup Research Group Neuroinformatics Faculty of Computer Science University of Vienna Hörlgasse 6, A-1090 Wien, Austria moritz.grosse-wentrup(a)univie.ac.at +43-1-4277-79610 http://neural.engineering/

April 26, 2021

FINAL call to register for neuroscience workshops!

by Mary

With just 2 weeks to go, this is the final call for participants to register for upcoming neuroscience online courses, organized by ScienceBeam Academy, as described below: 1) “Deep Dive into Event Related Potentials (ERPs) Technique” Online Course Prospective overview of the sessions: 1. Basics of EEG signal and EEG recordings ➢ Overview of the theory behind neural signals (History) ➢ Generation and Propagation of ERP and EEG ➢ Different EEG Recording Systems with its specifics (Amplifier, Electrodes etc.) ➢ 10/20 Electrode System, Reference, Montages, Impedance, etc. ➢ Brain Rhythms and Cognition (Based on Clinical and Research Studies) 2. Basics of ERP Components ➢ ERP Components (MMN, P300, N400, N170, VPP, CNV, Sensory ERP Components, etc.) ➢ Difference Wave, Forward-Inverse Problem ➢ Challenges in ERP Source Localization ➢ Peaks and Components 3. EEG-ERP Prepossessing with Various Preprocessing Pipelines ➢ Basic Principles and Challenges ➢ Filtering, Baseline Correction, Interpolation, Artifact Rejection and Correction, Re-referencing, ICA etc. ➢ Pipelines: MAKATO, HAPPE, BEAP and etc. 4. Experimental Design ➢ Principles of Experimental design for ERP in Clinical and Research Settings ➢ Significance of Measurement Window ➢ Common Design Problems and Solutions ➢ Case Studies on research articles with good and bad design 5. Basic Analysis ➢ Quantifying ERP Amplitudes and Latencies ➢ Introduction to the Analysis tool boxes (EEGLAB, ERPLAB) ➢ FFT, Time Frequency Analysis 6. Common Mistakes (in lack of parameters) ➢ Overlapping ➢ Filtering ➢ Epoching ➢ Baseline Correction ➢ Measurement Window • Instructor: Mrs. Pragati Gupta, M.Sc. in Neuro-psychology from Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, India and a Student Member at Indian Academy of Neuroscience • Course Length: 7-sessions online course • Introductory webinar: https://sciencebeam.com/erplab-webinar/ • Registration: https://sciencebeam.com/pragati-gupta-course/ o Deadline: May 5, 2021 2) “Modeling Electrophysiological Activities: From Single Neuron to Nervous Tissue” Online Course. Theoretical and experimental hands-on course including lab sessions, in which you will learn about extracellular recording from rat models and also working with single-unit and Local Field Potential (LFP) data. Prospective overview of the sessions: 1. Session 1: ➢ Systems and complex system in neurosciences ➢ Origins of electrophysiological signals and measurements ➢ Electrophysiology and relevant features for computational modeling: o Membrane potential o Raster plot o Local field potential 2. Session 2: ➢ Understanding the time evolution of the electrophysiological signals from a dynamical systems point of view. ➢ Introduction to dynamical systems for neurosciences: o Differential equations o Phase space representation o Stability and domain of attraction ➢ Unidimensional and bidimensional models o Dynamics of integrate-and-fire models o Repertoire of 2 D models o Reduction of Hodgkin-Huxley model 3. Session 3: ➢ 2D and Higher dimensions models: o Particular role of the reset o Possibility of chaos ➢ Models of synapses ➢ Limits of models: o Biophysical and mechanistic description o Phenomenology ➢ Introduction to the first lab session (with Brian2 simulator) 4. Session 4: ➢ First Lab Session: o Repertoire of electrophysiological patterns o Models of networks o Global measure on simulations 5. Session 5: ➢ Second lab session: o analysis of the results o relations to the data ➢ Conclusive discussion • Instructor: Dr. Damien Depannmaecker, Post-Doc researcher at Department of Integrative and Computational Neuroscience, Paris Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, France • Course Length: 5-sessions hands-on online course • Introductory webinar: https://sciencebeam.com/modeling-electrophysiological-activities/ • Registration: https://sciencebeam.com/online-course-modeling-electrophysiological-activit… o Deadline: May 20, 2021 If you require any further information, feel free to contact us: workshop(a)sciencebeam.com

April 26, 2021

EBRAINS Training on Model Validation (May 4 - 7) - Extended Deadline

by Shailesh Appukuttan

*EBRAINS Training on Model Validation* *4–7 May 2021* https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/education/training-on-model-validation/ The HBP Education Programme is organising a training on Model Validation. This training will guide modellers and experimentalists in model validation (comparing simulation results to experimental data) using the EBRAINS Model Validation Framework. The training will take place *virtually* over 4 days. Participation in the Training is open to the entire student and researchers community, regardless of whether they are affiliated with the HBP or not. We encourage young scientists to register and aim at an equal gender representation. For a quick overview of the EBRAINS Model Validation Framework, check this short video: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEq-McLHxD4 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEq-McLHxD4>* There are two parts to the workshop: - *Part 1: **May 4th, 5th* *talks, demos, hands-on tutorials* Deadline for application: *30 April (Friday) 2021* - *Part 2 (optional): **May 6th, 7th* *working on own projects* Deadline for application: *28 April (Wednesday) 2021* *Registration is free of charge for everyone. Visit:* https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/education/training-on-model-validation/ Applicants are allowed to register for only Part (1), in which case they are not required to submit the abstract (mentioned below). *Call for Submissions (for Part 2):* *For the 2nd part of the training,* we invite interested researchers to bring their own models and to send us a short abstract, describing your model. The abstracts should include: • A short description of your model • Simulators/tools used for developing and simulating models • Overview of validation(s) you wish to implement during the training (specify at least one validation test), along with target (experimental) reference data • If you have already some questions or comments, you are welcome to mention them • If your model is already published, please include references at the end of the abstract Please send your abstract latest until *30 April 2021 (Friday), 5pm (CET)* to training-support(a)humanbrainproject.eu Further information on abstract submission and registration: https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/education/training-on-model-validation/ For any further questions, please contact training-support(a)humanbrainproject.eu Cheers, Shailesh Appukuttan

April 26, 2021

Fully funded PhD Position Panzeri Lab- Computational approaches to study the neural code

by Stefano Panzeri

*Fully funded PhD Position Panzeri Lab - Computational approaches to study the neural code* I am seeking candidates for a PhD position fully funded (including a full stipend) for 4 years in my laboratory. The PhD project can focus on any of the research topics about neural information processing that are of interest to both the candidate and my lab, including: developing mathematical analysis methods and neural network models for studying large scale neural population coding during cognitive tasks, for studying the neural bases of sensory perception and decision making, for linking functional to anatomical connectivity with cellular resolution at the neural population level, and for determining the best theoretical framework to combine recording of neural activity (calcium imaging, electrophysiology, EEG) and intervention on it (optogenetics, TMS). My computational neuroscience lab has developed long-term collaboration with many experimental laboratories including Christopher Harvey (Harvard Medical School), Tobias Donner (UKE), Tommaso Fellin (IIT), Mathew Diamond (SISSA), Alex Thiele (Newcastle), Cristina Becchio (IIT), Alessandro Gozzi (IIT), Mike Lombardo (IIT) and others. The PhD project will likely involve collaborations with one or more experimental lab. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in numerate sciences, and have a strong propensity for interdisciplinary research. No extensive previous experience in neuroscience is needed. However, a keen interest in understanding the brain is essential. The deadline for the formal application is set to *May 21th 2021*, but quite a bit of paperwork is needed. Thus, interested candidates are invited to contact me informally by email (*stefano.panzeri(a)gmail.com <stefano.panzeri(a)gmail.com>*) *as soon as possible,* by attaching their CV and briefly explaining their interest in this position, to initiate discussion about potential PhD projects of interest and to discuss the details of the formal application process. For recent representative publications please see: Runyan, C.A., Piasini, E., Panzeri, S., and Harvey, C.D. (2017). Distinct timescales of population coding across cortex. *Nature* 548, 92-96. Panzeri S., Harvey, C.D. Piasini, E., Latham, P.E. , Fellin, T. (2017) Cracking the neural code for sensory perception by combining statistics, intervention and behaviour. *Neuron* 93: 491-507 G. Pica, E. Piasini, H. Safaai, C.A. Runyan, M.E. Diamond, T. Fellin, C. Kayser, C.D. Harvey, S. Panzeri, (2017) Quantifying how much sensory information in a neural code is relevant for behavior, *Neural Information Processing Systems* (NIPS) 30, 2017, available online H. Safaai, A. Onken, C.D. Harvey, S. Panzeri (2018) Information estimation using nonparametric copulas. *Phys. Rev. E* 98, 053302 E. Chong, M. Moroni, S. Shoham, S. Panzeri, D. Rinberg (2020) Manipulating synthetic optogenetic odors reveals the coding logic of olfactory perception. *Science* 368, 1329. S. Pashkovski, G. Iurilli, D. Brann, D. Chicharro, K. Drummey, K. Franks, S. Panzeri, S.R. Datta (2020). Structure and flexibility in cortical representations of odour space. *Nature*: 583: 253-258 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2451-1 J-F Patri, A. Cavallo, K. Pullar, M. Soriano, M. Valente, A. Koul, A. Avenanti, S. Panzeri*, C. Becchio* (2020) Transient disruption of the inferior parietal lobule impairs the ability to attribute intention to action. *Current Biology* 30: 4594-4605 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.104 S. Trakoshis, P. Martínez-Cañada, … A. Gozzi, S. Panzeri, and M.V. Lombardo (2020) Intrinsic excitation-inhibition imbalance affects medial prefrontal cortex differently in autistic men versus women. eLIFE 9: e55684. doi.org/10.7554/eLife.55684 D. Ferro, J. van Kempen, M. Boyd, S. Panzeri*, A. Thiele* (2021) Directed information exchange between cortical layers in macaque V1 and V4 and its modulation by selective attention. *PNAS* 118 (12), e2022097118, doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022097118 Valente, A., Pica, G., Bondanelli, G., Moroni, M., Runyan, C.A., Morcos, A., Harvey, C.D., and Panzeri, S. (2021). Correlations enhance the behavioral readout of neural population activity in association cortex. *Nature Neuroscience*, in press, early preprint available at: https://t.co/QJ3aHlTFad Stefano Panzeri

April 25, 2021

NIH BRAIN postdoc: Computational neuroscience, machine learning & vision

by Michael Beyeler

Assistant Professor Michael Beyeler and his Bionic Vision Lab ( https://bionicvisionlab.org) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) invite applications for a fully funded postdoctoral position at the intersection of computational neuroscience and machine learning. Funded by the NIH BRAIN Initiative, the goal of this project is to determine how the mouse brain extracts relevant visual features from the rich, dynamic visual input that typifies active exploration, and to investigate how the neural representations of these features can support visual navigation. Under the guidance of Michael Beyeler, and in consultation with Bing Brunton (University of Washington), the role of the candidate is to perform data-driven statistical analyses and develop (deep) predictive models of brain activity based on visual input and several behavioral variables. The data includes one-of-a-kind measures of neural activity in mice navigating through real-world and virtual environments, collected using 2-photon imaging and electrophysiology by our collaborators Spencer Smith (UCSB), Michael Goard (UCSB), and Cris Niell (University of Oregon). This is an opportunity to work on an impactful real-world problem within a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. The successful candidate should have a strong quantitative background with a PhD in computer science, computational neuroscience, cognitive sciences, statistics, or a closely related field. To work effectively in this highly collaborative environment, superior communication, language, and writing skills are required. Expertise in programming and statistical analysis is required as well; previous background in vision, neuroscience or deep learning would be highly beneficial. Candidates should send their CV, expected date of availability, and contact information for 2-3 references to Michael Beyeler (mbeyeler(a)ucsb.edu) Further information: - Position Title: Postdoctoral Fellow - Job Duration: 2 years, full-time - Start Date: asap / negotiable - Required Travel: 0-10% (possibility of interning with our collaborators) -- Michael Beyeler Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences University of California, Santa Barbara bionicvisionlab.org

April 23, 2021

SCGB Global Postdoc/Student Meeting: Tuesday, April 27th by C. Ann Duan

by Laura Long

The Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) hosts postdoc/student meetings to bring together trainees interested in neural coding and dynamics to discuss ideas and data. In addition to regional meetings in New York, Boston, and the Bay Area, SCGB holds a Global virtual series to connect systems and computational neuroscientists across the world. We would love to see you at this month's Global meeting! Please see event details and Zoom link below. SCGB Global Postdoc/Student Meeting: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scgb-global-postdocstudent-meeting-tickets-146… Tuesday, April 27th, 9am Eastern Time https://simonsfoundation.zoom.us/j/93633603374?pwd=LytrcVp6MWlPY1dkb2UvbUJW… Passcode: 989252 C. Ann Duan SCGB Postdoctoral Fellow, Chinese Academy of Sciences Incoming Group Leader, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre *Cortical and collicular contributions to decision making in rats and mice* A central goal of behavioral neuroscience is to expose general principles of neural computation that give rise to cognition. Until recently, cognitive functions were thought to mainly rely on cortical areas such as the frontal cortex, while “old” subcortical areas, such as the midbrain superior colliculus (SC), have mostly been associated with sensorimotor processing. Based on these earlier work, we expected the SC to be passively inhibited while animals avoided unwanted reflexive actions. We were surprised to find that the SC played an active and pivotal role in suppressing context-inappropriate behaviors. Since then, my research has focused on understanding how the SC, in coordination with cortex, implements flexible decision making. My talk will cover work in two different decision-making tasks: flexible sensorimotor routing in freely-moving rats and motor planning in head-fixed mice. Using electrophysiology, optogenetics, pathway-specific two-photon calcium imaging, and computational modeling, we found that the SC is particularly important during the memory period in both tasks, when the context information or motor planning signals need to be maintained in the brain in the absence of sensory input and motor output. The participation of SC seems to increase as cognitive demand increases in both behaviors. Together, our experimental and computational work reveal the SC as a key node in the distributed cortico-subcortical network underlying flexible behaviors, and make surprising predictions for how decision making is implemented in brain circuits. *Please note that this meeting is open to all neuroscience postdocs and PhD students, regardless of location or SCGB affiliation (sorry, no PIs). *After Q&A with the speaker, we will open breakout rooms for anyone interested in staying to chat, network, or further discuss the talk. In addition to these breakouts, SCGB Scientific Staff will be available for "office hours" to chat and answer questions about SCGB programs and support. Registration on EventBrite is encouraged but not required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scgb-global-postdocstudent-meeting-tickets-146… Please contact Laura Long at llong(a)simonsfoundation.org with any questions.

April 22, 2021