- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

[jobs] Postdoc/PhD positions in Toulouse (France): Deep learning models of the Global Workspace
by Rufin VanRullen Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

Multiple postdoctoral and PhD positions are available in an ERC-funded project exploring deep-learning implementations of the Global Workspace theory. We are seeking highly motivated and dedicated students and post-docs to join our group in Toulouse, France in the Fall of 2025. Successful candidates will have formal training in AI, Computer Science or related fields (e.g. computational neuroscience), and a keen interest in cognitive neuroscience. Our ERC Advanced Grant "GLoW" (2023-2028) aims to take inspiration from neuroscience and cognitive theories to build deep neural network models of cognition, capable of integrating or "grounding" information across sensory and linguistic modalities, and of displaying flexible cognitive behavior. We will also use advanced AI models to improve the decoding and understanding of brain activity. Details on the ideas that will be developed in the project can be found in this Opinion paper <https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236(21)00077-1>. The project is headed by Rufin VanRullen (CNRS, Toulouse, France), with external advisors Ryota Kanai (Araya, Tokyo, Japan) and Murray Shanahan (ICL/Deepmind, London, UK). Our lab <https://rufinv.github.io/> is part of the CerCo Institute <https://cerco.cnrs.fr/en> as well as the Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute (ANITI) <https://aniti.univ-toulouse.fr/en/>. Our team has many opportunities to collaborate with neuroscientists, computer scientists, linguists, roboticists etc. We have direct access to fMRI recording facilities and to in-house (GPU) computing clusters as well as research-dedicated supercomputers. Typical appointments for post-docs are for 2 years (renewable for a 3rd or 4th year), and 3-years for PhD. The beginning post-doc salary is 2,700 Euros/month (net), and can reach 3,300 Euros/month (net) for more experienced post-docs. The PhD stipend is 2,000 Euros/month (net). We expect to hire several candidates by the Fall of 2025, but will continue to recruit exceptional applicants in the foreseeable future. To apply, please send a CV and a letter <mailto:rufin.vanrullen@cnrs.fr> explaining your research interests and motivations to: rufin.vanrullen [at] cnrs.fr Any questions should also be directed to the same address. Applications received before April 1st, 2025 will be given full consideration, but we will continue to accept outstanding applications after this date. --

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The Algonauts Project 2025 challenge is now live: How the Human Brain Makes Sense of Multimodal Movies
by The Algonauts Project Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

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

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CFP - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Its Social Impacts (ARSO 2025)
by nagai.yukie＠mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp Jan. 6, 2025

Jan. 6, 2025

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

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World wide VVTNS series: Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Dmitry Krotov, IBM Research, Cambridge, USA
by David Hansel Jan. 5, 2025

Jan. 5, 2025

[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

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Join Us at Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2025 in Montreal!
by Ryan Ly Jan. 3, 2025

Jan. 3, 2025

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

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PhD and Postdoc positions [Neuro-AI lab @ Technion] - Stefano Recanatesi
by Stefano Recanatesi Jan. 2, 2025

Jan. 2, 2025

*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)

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Call for Papers: Neuromorphic Artificial Intelligence and Its Applications: Retrospective and Prospective
by Vassilis Cutsuridis Dec. 31, 2024

Dec. 31, 2024

Dear colleagues, We would like to invite you to submit an article to the Special Issue "Neuromorphic Artificial Intelligence and Its Applications: Retrospective and Prospective<https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/special_issues/ID2J799RH5>" organized by the Brain Sciences journal (MDPI). Scope Neuromorphic artificial intelligence (AI), inspired by the structures of brains, constitutes a new shift in the development of AI technology that is able to process vast amounts of information extremely quickly, accurately, and expending far less energy than any AI/DL system. It is unparalleled in its ability to rapidly, and on its own, adapt and learn from changing and unexpected environmental contingencies with very limited resources. Because it utilizes event-based processing in which neurons spike only in response to specific stimuli, at any given time only a small fraction of neurons is active, drastically reducing energy consumption. Thus, neuromorphic AI is ideal for low-power devices such as mobile phones or cameras and, because it utilizes temporal coding as a form of efficient information processing, it is extremely precise and fast allowing visual recognition in the human brain to be achieved in less than 100ms. To learn stably about the world, it uses temporal learning, a type of continual learning that depends on the timing of spikes. Neuromorphic AI is expected to open new roads to computing technologies (software and hardware) and pave the way to true artificial general intelligence. This Special Issue aims to solicit articles that report state-of-the-art approaches to and recent advances in: 1. Novel neuromorphic architectures and models constrained by neurobiological data from multiple levels of detail showing mastery in all faculties, including sensory recognition, learning and memory, decision making, cognitive control, reasoning, language processing, and consciousness; 2. Learning algorithms constrained by the limits of biology and neuromorphic hardware; 3. Neuromorphic hardware (sensors, chips, cameras, etc.) for cognitive systems; 4. Applications of neuromorphic architectures or hardware to cognitive robotics; 5. Application of neuromorphic architectures or hardware to all other aspects of science and technology including healthcare, medical imaging, environment, etc.; This Special Issue will bring together scientists with diverse backgrounds to discuss current concepts and exciting new results in this broad field, cutting across disciplines and focusing on topics that have a high potential to synergize. It is expected that this Special Issue will generate valuable new insights and highlight promising directions of future progress. Research articles, review articles, opinion articles, theory and hypothesis articles, short communications. Manuscript Submission Information Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com<https://www.mdpi.com/> by registering<https://www.mdpi.com/user/register/> and logging in to this website<https://www.mdpi.com/user/login/>. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form<https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload/?journal=brainsci>. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors<https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/instructions> page. Brain Sciences<https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/> is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI. Please visit the Instructions for Authors<https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/instructions> page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC)<https://www.mdpi.com/about/apc/> for publication in this open access<https://www.mdpi.com/about/openaccess/> journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service<https://www.mdpi.com/authors/english> prior to publication or during author revisions. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 Best wishes, Vassilis Cutsuridis --- Dr Vassilis Cutsuridis Associate Professor in Computer Science School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK, PL4 8AA Email: vassilis.cutsuridis(a)plymouth.ac.uk Web: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/vassilis-cutsuridis *** I work strange hours. You may receive emails from me outside of office hours, but please do not feel you need to reply outside of office hours. ________________________________ [https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/images/email_footer.gif]<http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/worldclass> This email and any files with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the recipient to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient then copying, distribution or other use of the information contained is strictly prohibited and you should not rely on it. If you have received this email in error please let the sender know immediately and delete it from your system(s). Internet emails are not necessarily secure. While we take every care, University of Plymouth accepts no responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan emails and their attachments. University of Plymouth does not accept responsibility for any changes made after it was sent. Nothing in this email or its attachments constitutes an order for goods or services unless accompanied by an official order form.

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Deadline extended School on the Origins of Life, Behavior and Cognition 2025
by Ahmed El Hady Dec. 30, 2024

Dec. 30, 2024

*School on the Origins of Life, Behavior and Cognition* *March 10-21, 2025* *ICTP-SAIFR, São Paulo, Brazil* */Application Deadline:/ January 5, 2025* School on Origins is an interdisciplinary school that tackles the foundational questions concerning the origins of biophysical systems which include but are not limited to : molecular, cellular, neural and behavioral systems. We aim to find principles shared across systems using tools from statistical physics, mathematical analysis and numerical simulations to explore these questions. We have invited researchers that work both on the experimental and theoretical side to cover a variety of biophysical systems and theoretical approaches. The school is aimed at graduate students either at the master’s or PhD level who have a strong quantitative background and a keen interest to pursue interdisciplinary research. We invite students pursuing degrees in physics, computer science, engineering, or mathematics. Those pursuing degrees in biology need to provide evidence of strong and extensive quantitative background in topics such as calculus, dynamical systems and numerical programming. /There is no registration fee and limited funds are available for travel and local expenses./ *Organizers:* * *Ahmed El Hady* (Cluster of Excellence Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Germany.) * *Antonio C. Roque* (USP Ribeirão Preto, Brazil) * *Daniel Y. Takahashi* (UFRN, Brazil) *Lecturers:* * *Suzanne Still* (University of Hawaii at Mānoa, USA) * *Randall Beer* (Indiana University Bloomington, USA) * *Asif Ghazanfar* (Princeton University, USA) * *Don Katz* (Brandeis University, USA) * *Gandhimohan M. Viswanathan* (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN, Brazil) * *Bruno Mota* (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) * *Ana Amador* (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina ) All details and application procedure can be found here: https://www.ictp-saifr.org/solbc2025/ All the best, Ahmed El Hady Dr. Ahmed El Hady Research Group Leader Cluster for Advanced Study of Collective Behavior University of Konstanz / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz Room ZT 907 Postbox 687 Tel.: +49 7531 88-4742

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Summer school "Cognitive Foundations of Decision-Making" in Ghent, Belgium - CORRECTED LINK
by Rava A. da Silveira Dec. 24, 2024

Dec. 24, 2024

Applications are open for the second edition of the interdisciplinary summer school “*Cognitive Foundations of Decision-Making.”* The summer school is aimed at young scholars interested in decision-making in general, and the neural and cognitive foundations of decision-making in particular, regardless of their background. The summer school will be held from *June 30 to July 4, 2025*, at Ghent University, in Ghent, Belgium. Information, including details on how to apply, can be found at https://www.rislab.net/summer-school-2025. The lecturers will include Rava Azeredo da Silveira (University of Basel and University of Zurich), Ryan Oprea (University of California at Santa Barbara), Elise Payzan LeNestour (UNSW Business School), Arthur Robson (Simon Fraser University), Christian Ruff (University of Zurich). Additional speakers to be announced soon.

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Modellers Workshop for the Brain Dynamics Toolbox
by Stewart Heitmann Dec. 24, 2024

Dec. 24, 2024

Enrolments are now open for the Modellers Workshop for the Brain Dynamics Toolbox. This is an online course for researchers who wish to build custom dynamical models in matlab using the Brain Dynamics Toolbox. The course focuses on practical programming techniques for the major classes of differential equations (ordinary, partial, delay, stochastic) in computational neuroscience. Example code is provided in all cases. Study time is 8 hours. Upon completion, students will be able to turn differential equations into working simulations. Course Website https://bdtoolbox.teachable.com/p/modellers-workshop Toolbox Website https://bdtoolbox.org Important Dates Enrolments close 31st Jan 2025. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website.

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