- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Funded PhD Opportunities at the University of Toronto: NeuroAI and Computational Neuroscience

by Helena Liu

Funded PhD Opportunities: NeuroAI and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Toronto I am recruiting PhD students to join my new lab at the University of Toronto for Fall 2027. We study how brains and artificial neural networks learn from experience, form useful representations, assign credit to past events, and generalize to new situations. Our work combines computational neuroscience, machine learning, mathematical modeling, and neural and behavioral data, and has appeared in PNAS, NeurIPS, ICLR, and ICML. Research directions include how biological mechanisms support learning from delayed feedback; how neural circuit structure and learning dynamics shape representations, generalization, and continual learning; and methods for inferring learning processes from neural and behavioral data. As one of the founding students, you can begin with a concrete project in one of these directions, with room to bring your own interests into the work and help shape the lab’s culture. You can learn more about our work at helena-yuhan-liu.github.io<https://helena-yuhan-liu.github.io/>. Who should apply: Students from computer science, engineering, statistics, physics, applied mathematics, neuroscience, psychology, and related fields are encouraged to apply. A strong quantitative background and experience with scientific programming are important; applicants should be comfortable with linear algebra, probability/statistics, and computational problem solving. Prior training in neuroscience or psychology is not required. We especially value students who are intellectually curious, creative, self-motivated, and able to take ownership of a project and carry it through to completion. What we offer: Close, direct mentorship with individualized support for research and career development; interdisciplinary training in computational methods and scientific thinking; and opportunities to present at conferences and publish in machine-learning and neuroscience venues. Students will benefit from U of T’s strengths in AI, neuroscience, and cognitive science, with opportunities to connect and collaborate across disciplines. Toronto combines a vibrant research community with diverse neighborhoods, a lively arts scene, and excellent food. Admission and funding: This is a funded PhD opportunity through U of T’s Psychology graduate program. The program uses direct admission to a supervisor’s lab. Direct entry from a bachelor’s degree is available for eligible applicants; applicants with a master’s degree are also welcome. The application deadline is December 1, 2026. Please see the program’s application page<https://www.psych.utoronto.ca/prospective-graduate-students/application-inf…> for application requirements and instructions. Interested? Please apply through the U of T Psychology PhD program and list me as a prospective supervisor. If you have questions about research fit, feel free to email me with your CV attached. Best, Helena Liu ________________________________________ Y. Helena Liu Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University Incoming Assistant Professor (January 2027), Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Website: https://helena-yuhan-liu.github.io/

Oct. 15, 2026

M2 / PhD positions in computational neuroscience / NeuroAI at CERCO, Toulouse, France

by Messagerie CNRS

Hi all, We have two fully funded M2 / PhD positions in computational neuroscience / NeuroAI at CERCO, Toulouse, France: 1) Modeling visual learning in bees with deep neural networks. We are looking for an M2 and/or PhD student. More details here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5jnm96coewyiwv9szh6l9/Bees_M2-PhD_2026.pdf?r… 2) From Synaptic Delays to Neural Sequences: Modeling Temporal Neural Coding with Spiking Neural Networks We are looking for an M2 student. More details here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v9lvbs02uifz3feofscuz/CerCo_M2_Offer_2027.pd… Please forward, distribute, etc. Cheers, Tim ___________________________________________________________________ Timothée Masquelier - timothee.masquelier(a)cnrs.fr - http://cerco.cnrs.fr/pagesp/tim

Oct. 15, 2026

Summit on Open Problems for AI (London, Nov 25-27th)

by Ruairidh Battleday

Dear all, Thinking About Thinking has put together a Summit on Open Problems for AI <https://www.algopreneurship.org/>, to occur in London Nov 25-27th. We believe that this is an extremely important time to discuss frontier breakthroughs, threats, and applications in AI, especially in an open-access manner. *The three days:* - Wednesday 25 November: AI Research Breakthroughs and Infrastructure - Thursday 26 November: AI Safety, Enterprise and Society - Friday 27 November: AI Entrepreneurship and Applications *Our speakers include:* Prof Zoubin Ghahramani (DeepMind), Prof Tim Rocktäschel (Recursive), Dr Raia Hadsell (Google DeepMind), Dr Danyal Akarca (Callosum), Prof Jakob Foerster (Oxford/Meta), Dr Ed Hughes (Inherent), Dr Katja Hofmann (Microsoft), Prof David Barber (UCL), Dr Talfan Evans (Cursive), Dr Jonathan Richard Schwarz (Reuters), Dr Leon Chlon (Hassana Labs & PhysicsX), Dr Vassia Simaiaki (Wayve), Dr Artemis Seaford (formerly ElevenLabs) Dr Phil Lorenz (Basecamp Research) and Dr Hannah Madan (Prima Mente), and many more. We would love to see some of you there. All the best, Ruairidh and the team -- [image: Thinking About Thinking] Dr. Ruairidh McLennan Battleday Chief Executive Officer Thinking About Thinking battleday(a)thinkingaboutthinking.org • thinkingaboutthinking.org <https://www.thinkingaboutthinking.org/> • LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruairidh-battleday-648a2b65/>

Oct. 14, 2026

Subcortical Sensory Circuits Meeting 2027

by Beatriz Mizusaki

We’re happy to advertise the third edition of the *Subcortical Sensory Circuits Meeting at SISSA*! The meeting will take place on the *9-12 February 2027*. *https://www.subcortical2027.com/* <https://www.subcortical2027.com/> Subcortical circuits play a crucial role in perception and the execution of a wide variety of essential behaviours. The number of laboratories focusing on subcortical areas has increased steadily, establishing these regions as key model systems for understanding how defined circuits and computations integrate sensory signals with context and internal state to drive and modulate some of life’s core behaviours. This meeting brings together leading scientists whose research interrogates subcortical circuits from these different viewpoints using a variety of approaches. The program is complemented by a session focusing on modelling-based perspectives and approaches to catalyse discussions between experimental and computational researchers on how established models from other circuits and systems can be adapted to subcortical structures. *The application deadline for a poster/talk abstract is October 31**st* and registration deadline is the 24th of December. Hope to see some of you at this conference! On behalf of the organizing committee: Katja Reinhard, Associate Professor at SISSA, Trieste, Italy Elise Savier, Assistant Professor at Michigan University, USA Karl Farrow, Associate Professor at KU Leuven, Belgium Lukas Ian Schmitt, Team Director at RIKEN, Japan ----- *Beatriz E. P. Mizusaki* *Bridge Postdoctoral Researcher* *Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA)* *Trieste, Italy*

Oct. 14, 2026

Reminder: 2 postdoc and 1 phD positions on computational mechanisms of human perception (Alex Hyafil & Chris Summerfield, Barcelona)

by Alexandre Hyafil

The group of Alex Hyafil at the CRM Barcelona (https://ahyafil.github.io/) is looking for two postdoc researchers and a PhD student. One of the postdoc positions will be co-supervised by Chris Summerfield (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona / Oxford; https://humaninformationprocessing.com/) The selected candidate will investigate the computational operations underlying visual scene perception through a combination of simulation of artificial visual systems (conv nets, visual transformers) and human experiments. The position is for two years. The other postdoc researcher (2-year duration) and the PhD student (4-year) will work jointly on identifying canonical Bayesian operations at play in human visual and auditory perception. The project involves Bayesian modelling, artificial vision network simulations, behavioral and EEG experiments as well as intra-cranial EEG experiments (in collaboration with Benjamin Morillon, AMU Marseille). We will look for complementarity of the two profiles, notably in terms of quantitative and experimental backgrounds. The hired researchers will benefit from the stimulating environment of the Barcelona area in cognitive and computational neuroscience. Our groups form part of a larger interacting network of neuroscience labs in Barcelona ( http://www.barccsyn.org) Financial support is provided by the Spanish National Agency of Investigation (FPI fellowship for the PhD student). *APPLICATION:* Send a curriculum and motivation with a list of two contacts for recommendation letter at https://bit.ly/ChrisAlexPositions. Informal enquiries are welcome. *DEADLINE:* before October 31 for the PhD position; until position is filled for the postdoc positions. *STARTING DATE:* before July 2027 for the PhD position; flexible for the postdoc positions

Oct. 14, 2026

PSI correction and new perspective on clinical assessment and EEG validation

by נתי שטרן

Dear Comp-neuro community, I am following up on my earlier PSI announcement with a new perspective that corrects its clinical framing and proposes a staged validation protocol: *Reframing the Psychiatric State Index Through Clinical Assessment and Measurement Validation* Full manuscript with references <https://github.com/netanelcyber/psi-qeeg-bis/blob/18e22b6dd4ddc8747b6c2034c…> The manuscript is not peer reviewed. Psychiatric review has been requested and remains pending. The computational project currently provides numerical signal analyses and exploratory diagnosis-group benchmarks; its available data do not validate future clinical-event prediction. The protocol makes clinical adjudication the reference standard and asks whether EEG adds value over a clinical-only comparator. It separates synchrony/coupling, diagnosis-group differences, movement-associated measurements and future-event prediction. Scalp gamma/PAC is excluded from primary human analyses, with independent artifact measurements required for secondary interpretation; intracranial LFP is treated separately. The accompanying PR #3 <https://github.com/netanelcyber/psi-qeeg-bis/pull/3> corrects PAC surrogate boundaries and configured-count reporting, enforces acquisition/QC compatibility, and balances human training by participant. Synthetic regression tests and public-data benchmarks are documented as computational evidence, not clinical validation. I would welcome criticism of the surrogate/null assumptions, participant-level evaluation and incremental-value study design, particularly from researchers with psychiatric or EEG measurement expertise. Best regards, Netanel Stern On Wed, 07 Oct 2026 22:16:46 -0700, נתי שטרן <nsh531(a)gmail.com> wrote: Dear Comp-Neuro community, I am sharing a perspective article proposing a wearable EEG device, the Psychiatric State Index (PSI), to differentiate autistic meltdowns from psychotic episodes in real time. As an autistic researcher, I combine lived experience with computational neuroscience. The article introduces two composite indices (SOI and RDI), addresses BIS calibration failures in neuropsychiatric populations, and includes worked clinical vignettes. Full article available upon request. Netanel Stern Rosh HaAyin, Israel

Oct. 14, 2026

Vote for the Best Illusion of the Year! The 20th Best Illusion of the Year Contest

by smart＠neuralcorrelate.com

Dear Illusion Enthusiasts, Worldwide voting for the 20th Best Illusion of the Year Contest <https://illusionoftheyear.com/> will start on Monday, October 19th, and remain open until Friday, October 24th. The 1st place winner will receive $3,000, the 2nd place winner $2,000, and the 3rd place winner $1,000. We're excited to share the mind-bending illusions from our incredible finalists with you! The Top 10 Finalists, selected from dozens of entries from countries all around the world, will be publicly revealed at voting time. Anybody with an internet connection (that means YOU!) can vote to pick the Top 3 Winners from the Top 10 Finalists. The Neural Correlate Society thanks our 2025 Platinum Sponsor, the Museum of Illusions <https://www.museumofillusions.com/> , for their generous support of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest. On behalf of the Executive Board of the Neural Correlate Society: Jose-Manuel Alonso, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Luis Martinez, Xoana Troncoso, Peter Tse --------------------------------------- Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD Author, <x-msg://2/championsofillusionbook.com> Champions of Illusion and Sleights of Mind Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology Director, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience 2014 Society for Neuroscience's Science Educator Award 2014 Empire Innovator Scholar State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University 450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn NY 11203, USA Email: <mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com> smart(a)neuralcorrelate.com Phone: <tel:%2B1%20718-270-4520> +1 718-270-4520 http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com

Oct. 14, 2026

NITMB Focused Research Group Awards for Summer 2027 --- please apply by 30 November 2026

by William L. Kath

*Do you have an ongoing group research project at the interface between mathematics and biology that has been on hold because you and your collaborators are scattered in different locations?* *Or would you like to get a new team of people together to brainstorm about and tackle some exciting idea? * *If so, apply for an interdisciplinary research retreat in Chicago!* The National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) invites applications for our *Focused Research Group Awards (FRGA)*. We bring small, multi-institutional teams (e.g., 3–6 researchers) for up to 9 days of intense, distraction-free collaboration in our space on the 35th floor of the iconic Hancock Building. * Funding (subject to NITMB policies): Covers travel, local lodging, subsistence, and dedicated meeting space. * Breaking disciplinary silos: Open to mathematicians exploring biological contexts, biologists employing advanced theoretical frameworks and, especially, groups with interdisciplinary expertise. * High-risk, high-reward: Priority is given to projects developing innovative mathematical approaches inspired by biology. *For visits during Summer 2027 (May through August), please apply by 30 November 2026 for full consideration. Visit our website to view further information, full eligibility criteria, and to submit your 2-page proposal: nitmb.org/research/focused-research-group-awards *

Oct. 13, 2026

Doctoral studies in Computational/Theoretical Neuroscience at NYU

by Eero Simoncelli

New York University is home to a thriving interdisciplinary community of researchers using computational and theoretical approaches in neuroscience. We are interested in exceptional PhD candidates with strong quantitative training (e.g., physics, mathematics, engineering) coupled with a clear interest in scientific study of the brain. A listing of faculty, sorted by their primary departmental affiliation, is given below. Doctoral programs are flexible, allowing students to pursue research across departmental boundaries. Nevertheless, admissions are handled separately by each department, and students interested in pursuing graduate studies should submit an application to the program that best fits their goals and interests. Center for Neural Science (CNS), Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (deadline: 1 December) [https://as.nyu.edu/cns/DoctoralProgram.html, https://neuroscience.nyu.edu/program.html] * Andre A. Fenton - Molecular, neural, behavioral, and computational aspects of memory. * David Heeger (also in Psychology) - Computational neuroscience, vision, attention. * Roozbeh Kiani - Vision and decision-making. * Wei Ji Ma (also in Psychology) - Perception, working memory, and decision-making. * Tony Movshon - Vision and visual development. * Alex Reyes - Functional interactions of neurons in a network. * John Pearson - Development, structure and function of sensory systems. * John Rinzel (also in Mathematics) - Biophysical mechanisms and theory of neural computation. * Cristina Savin (also in the Center for Data Science) - Computational models of learning and memory, machine learning. * Robert Shapley - Visual physiology and perception. * Eero Simoncelli (also in the FlatIron Institute) - Computational vision and audition. * Xiao-Jing Wang - Computational neuroscience, decision-making and working memory, neural circuits. * Alex Williams (also in the FlatIron Institute) - Statistical analysis of neural data. Neuroscience Institute, School of Medicine (deadline: 1 December) [https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/neuroscience/, https://neuroscience.nyu.edu/program.html] * Gyorgy Buzsaki - Rhythms in neural networks. * Zhe Chen - Memory and learning, cognitive flexibility and decision making, social behaviors, and pain. * Dmitri Chklovskii (also in the FlatIron Institute) - Neural computation and connectomics. * Paul W. Glimcher - Decision-making in humans and animals. Neuroeconomics. * Biyu He - Large-scale brain dynamics underlying human cognition. * Dima Rinberg - Olfaction, sensory information processing, perception. * Shy Shoham - Methods for controlling, imaging, and analyzing neural systems. * Mario Svirsky - Auditory neural prostheses; experimental/computational studies of speech production/perception. Psychology, Cognition & Perception program (deadline: 1 December) [http://as.nyu.edu/psychology/graduate/phd-cognition-perception.html] * Todd Gureckis - Memory, learning, and decision processes. * Michael Landy - Computational approaches to vision. * Laurence Maloney - Mathematical approaches to psychology and neuroscience. * Marcelo Mattar - Learning and planning in the brain/mind. * Denis Pelli - Visual object recognition. * Jonathan Winawer - Visual perception and memory. Data Science (deadline: 3 December) [https://cds.nyu.edu/phd-program/] * Joan Bruna (also in Computer Science) - Machine learning, signal/image processing. * Kyungyun Cho (also in Computer Science) - Machine learning, natural language processing. * Carlos Fernandez-Granda (also in Mathematics) - Optimization methods for medical imaging, neuroscience, computer vision. * Brenden Lake (also in Psychology) - Computational modeling of cognition, deep learning. * Grace Lindsay (also in Psychology) - Machine learning models of the brain/mind. * Mengye Ren (also in Computer Science) - Brain and cognitively inspired representation learning. Mathematics (deadline: 18 December) [https://gsas.nyu.edu/admissions/arc/programs/mathematics.html] * Aaditya Rangan - Computational neurobiology, numerical analysis. * Charles Peskin - Mathematical biology. * Daniel Tranchina - Information processing in the retina. * Lai-Sang Young - Dynamical systems, statistical physics, computational modeling and theoretical neuroscience. Physics (deadline: 30 December) [https://as.nyu.edu/physics/programs/graduate.html] * Marc Gershow - Perception, decision-making, and learning in neural circuits. * Stefano Martiniani - Fundamental principles governing neural systems. Computer Science (deadline: 12 December) [http://www.cs.nyu.edu/home/phd/] * Davi Geiger - Computational vision and learning. * Yann LeCun - Machine learning, computer vision, robotics, computational neuroscience. Economics (deadline: 18 December) [https://as.nyu.edu/econ/graduate/phd.html] * Andrew Caplin - Economic theory, neurobiology of decision. * Andrew Schotter - Experimental economics, game theory, neurobiology of decision.

Oct. 13, 2026

COSYNE 2027: Abstract submission closes soon

by Tomas Hromadka

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2027 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING & WORKSHOPS 11 - 16 March 2027 Montreal, Canada www.cosyne.org ==================================================== IMPORTANT DATES Abstract submission is now open. Abstract submission deadline: 18 October 2026 Workshop proposal submission is now open. Workshop proposal submission deadline: 01 November 2026 UNDERGRADUATE travel grant applications are now open. UNDERGRADUATE travel grant submission deadline: 30 October 2026 ---------------------------------------------------- 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. We would like to foster increased participation from experimental groups as well as computational ones. Please circulate widely and encourage your students and postdocs to apply. When preparing an abstract, authors should be aware that not all abstracts can be accepted for the meeting. Abstracts will be selected based on the clarity with which they convey the substance, significance, and originality of the work to be presented. ----------------------------------------------------- COSYNE TRAVEL GRANTS ----------------------------------------------------- The COSYNE community is committed to bringing talented scientists together at our annual meeting, regardless of their ability to afford travel. Thus, a number of travel grants will be awarded to students, postdocs, and PIs for travel to the COSYNE meeting. We currently offer five travel grant programs: Childcare, Presenters, New Attendees, Mentorship, and Undergraduate Travel Grants, see Cosyne.org -> Attend -> Travel Grants for details. Applicants may apply for more than one grant program, but no applicant will receive more than one award. You may apply for a travel grant before receiving notification about the outcome of your submission. You may also apply if you are not submitting anything to the Main Meeting but still wish to attend Cosyne 2027. ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE 2027 ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE INVITED SPEAKERS Dani Bassett (UPenn) Chand Chandrasekaran (Boston U) Christine Constantinople (NYU) Paul Cisek (U Montreal) Kevin Franks (Duke) Leslie P Kaelbling (MIT) Andy Leifer (Princeton) Scott Linderman (Stanford) Amy Orsborne (U Washington) Cengiz Pehlevan Kempner (Harvard) Kanaka Rajan (Harvard; Kempner Inst) Rebecca Saxe (MIT) Carsen Stringer (Janelia) ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Kimberly Stachenfeld (DeepMind) and Mark Histed (NIH) Program Chairs: Annegret Falkner (Princeton) and Guillaume Lajoie (MILA/U Montreal) Workshop Chairs: N Alex Cayco Gajic (ENS) and Marcelo Mattar (NYU) Tutorial Chairs: Eva Dyer (Georgia Tech) and Alex Williams (NYU) Mentorship and Networking Chairs: Renata Brito (Mount Sinai) and Srikanth Ramaswamy (Newcastle U) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Lea Duncker (Columbia) and Kevin Miller (DeepMind) Development Chair: Michael Long (NYU) Media Chairs: Roxana Zeraati (MPI Biol Cybernetics) and Claire Sturgill (TU Dresden) Social Media Chair: Shervin Safavi (TU Dresden) Poster Design: Maja Bialon PROGRAM COMMITTEE Annegret Falkner (Princeton) Guillaume Lajoie (MILA/U Montreal) Thomas Akam (Oxford) Mikio Aoi (UCSD) Shahab Bakhtiari (U Montreal) Arkarup Banerjee (CSHL) Joao Barbosa Pouya Bashivan (McGill) Marcus Benna (UCSD) Colin Bredenberg (U Oregon) Fanny Cazettes (Aix-Marseille U) Angus Chadwick (U Edinburgh) Vincent Costa (Emory) Ben Cowley (CSHL) Emily Dennis (Janelia) Sridhar Devarajan (IISc) Celine Drieu (JHU) Eva Dyer (UPenn) Becket Ebitz (U Montreal) Noemi Elteto (Google) Rainer Engelken (UIUC) Arseny Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University) Juan Gallego (Champalimaud) Erin Grant (U Alberta) Christine Grienberger (Brandeis) Laura Grima (Janelia) Bilal Haider (Georgia Tech) Yu Hu (ION, CAS Shanghai) Michele Insanally (U Pittsburgh) Kishore Kuchibhotla (JHU) Nina Kudryashova (U Edinburgh) Helena Liu (U Toronto) Laureline Logiaco (CU Anschutz) Thomas Zhihao Luo (U Utah) Paul Masset (McGill) Francesca Mastrogiuseppe (Champalimaud) Alexander Mathis (EPFL) Luca Mazzucato (U Oregon) Dan McNamee (Champalimaud) Cory Miller (UCSD) Wilten Nicola (U Calgary) Ramon Nogueira Manas (U Chicago) Gouki Okazawa (ION, CAS Shanghai) Agostina Palmigiano (UCL) Matt Perich (U Montreal) Rui Ponte Costa (Oxford) Lorenzo Posani (Paris Brain Institute) Dean Pospisil (UIUC) Isabeau Premont-Schwarz (U Laval) Carolina Rezaval (U Birmingham) Shreya Saxena (Yale) Evan Schaffer (Sinai) Heike Stein Weinan Sun (Cornell) Roxana Zeraati Chris Zimmerman (U Utah) Petr Znamenskiy (Crick) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Anne-Marie Oswald (U Pittsburgh) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) 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 Cosyne.org -> About-> Mailing lists for details.

Oct. 12, 2026