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Brain Mechanisms: Linking Cognitive Phenomena to Neuron Activity
by Andrew Coward Sept. 23, 2021

Sept. 23, 2021

Dear colleagues, I would like to bring to your attention a book that has just been published. The book, Brain Mechanisms: Linking Cognitive Phenomena to Neuron Activity, describes how to understand higher cognition in terms of anatomical, physiological and chemical processes in the brain using techniques based on how we understand the operation of complex electronic systems. A brain has absolutely no resemblance to an electronic system. Nevertheless, how we go about understanding complex electronic systems has some important lessons for how to go about understanding the brain. Brains have huge numbers of neurons, and understanding obviously cannot be based on simultaneously imagining the ongoing activity of all these neurons. Some way must be found to organize all this information in a way humans can handle. A complex computing system can have hundreds of billions of components like transistors. Engineers could not design such systems by simultaneously imagining the activity of all the components that could be involved. Rather, the design information is organized in such a way that all design tasks are within the mental bandwidth of a human designer. The techniques to achieve this involve hierarchies of description, carefully managed use of approximation, and the ubiquitous use of just two types of information process: instructions and data read/writes. Natural selection pressures have resulted in brain architectures to which analogous techniques for organizing information can be applied. The pressures have resulted in the ubiquitous presence of two types of information processes in the brain, condition definition/detections and behavioural recommendation definition/integrations. These information processes are completely different from those in computing systems, but they allow creation of analogous hierarchies of description. Such hierarchies of description make it possible to achieve an intuitively satisfying understanding of human memory, consciousness and self-awareness in terms of the activity of the billions of neurons. A blog touches on some of these ideas. The book is available at Amazon.comDownload a sample chapterVideo of recent lecture at Florida State University Andrew CowardAustralian National UniversityCanberrahttps://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/coward-a

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PhD's and Postdoc positions at UVa
by Mario Negrello Sept. 22, 2021

Sept. 22, 2021

Posting on behalf of Jorge Mejias: Dear all, I hope things are going well for all of you. I’m writing you because I’m looking for candidates with a strong quantitative background for a PhD position and a postdoc position at my lab, both for working on computational models of large-scale brain networks. If you know of anybody in your surroundings who might be interested, would you mind sharing this information with them? I think it’s especially important for the postdoctoral position, as the deadline is approaching (Sept 30) and we still don’t have a lot of candidates. The PhD position is focused on studying multisensory integration under noisy or uncertain conditions. The researcher will design and study computational models of large-scale brain networks of the mouse for this purpose, constraining the models with anatomical data and comparing the predictions with electrophysiological recordings from local colleagues at the Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience group at the UvA. The models will later inform other colleagues, also involved in the project, to build neuro-inspired algorithms for sensor fusion in self-driving vehicles and drones. More information and application procedure (with deadline October 15) can be found here: https://www.uva.nl/en/content/vacancies/2021/09/21-734-phd-position-in-comp… <https://www.uva.nl/en/content/vacancies/2021/09/21-734-phd-position-in-comp…> The postdoc position aims to uncover the mechanisms behind compulsive behavior. The researcher will build computational models of large-scale brain networks of mouse and human, using anatomical and electrophysiological data to constrain and test the models. This is a collaboration with Ingo Willuhn at the NIN, who will provide mouse electrophysiological and human clinical data to test the models for healthy and OCD subjects. The final goal is to use the model to investigate translational biomarkers for compulsive disorders. More information and application procedure (deadline September 30) can be found in this link: https://www.uva.nl/shared-content/uva/en/vacancies/2021/09/21699-postdoctor… <https://www.uva.nl/shared-content/uva/en/vacancies/2021/09/21699-postdoctor…> Thanks a lot for the help with spreading this around! Best, Jorge

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Call for Teaching Assistants for the Cape Town Imbizo, August 11th to September 4th 2022. Apply by October 11
by Tim Vogels Sept. 22, 2021

Sept. 22, 2021

Dear Colleagues, We are looking for teaching assistants for the IBRO-Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo (#isiCNI), a computational neuroscience summer school held in Cape Town, South Africa. We are looking for post-doctoral or advanced PhD researchers to join our team as Teaching Assistants (TAs) for the #isiCNI2022 in August 2022. Please send your application to to isicn.imbizo(a)gmail.com <mailto:isicn.imbizo@gmail.com>. Include 1) CV and a 2) cover letter with a short motivational statement for why you would be a good fit, and what your favourite topics would be for teaching tutorials and supervising student projects. Additionally, 3) please provide the email address of one reference. We will start assessing applications on 11 October 2021. About the Imbizo: The school hosts 31 students for an amazing 25 days of lectures, tutorials, projects and parties. All this takes place on Noordhoek beach, between the mountain and the ocean. It's a spectacular location. The dates for the isiCNI2022 are August 11th to September 4th 2022. The Imbizo is a special experience, with students being totally immersed in academic, social, touristic and cultural activities, and has resulted in student and TA groups from previous schools becoming very close, personally and scientifically. This is fantastic, as a major goal of the isiCNI project is to help young African researchers grow their academic peer and friend group. About being a TA: Each TA runs one afternoon tutorial in the first week of the school, which they design themselves. Each TA will teach a different topic, which the TA's choose among themselves, to provide students with a broad exposure to problems and methods in computational neuroscience. Each TA is also assigned 5 students to supervise for project work during the last 2 weeks of the school. TAs will be asked to help processing student applications. TAs are integral in helping run the school. In addition to academic support, they foster good social interactions and academic discussions among students, and they help 'shy' students meet faculty. They also act as 'social glue’, helping to notice and support students who may be feeling ill, not fitting in socially, or generally having difficulties. To fulfil these roles, TAs need to be at all school meals and activities. What we provide: We cover a direct as possible, economy class ticket to Cape Town, as well as all board and lodging during the school. In addition, TAs will receive a cash budget for 'hosting purposes' during the school (e.g. for buying some beverages/ice-creams for students, train tickets, etc.). We also provide you with life-long memories of one of the most beautiful places on earth. I'm interested, how do I apply: If you think you would like to join us for this amazing experience, please send us a brief CV (2 or 3 pages is fine) to isicn.imbizo(a)gmail.com <mailto:isicn.imbizo@gmail.com>. Please include (as a cover letter or in your email) a short motivational statement for why you would be a good fit, and what your favourite topics would be for teaching tutorials and supervising student projects. We will start assessing applications on 11 October 2021. A call for student application will follow soon. We hope to hear from you soon! Let us know if you have any questions. Thanks and regards Demba Ba, Peter E. Latham, Joseph Raimondo, Emma Vaughan, and Tim Vogels IBRO-Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo Committee 2022 #isicni2022 Twitter: @isicni

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"Brains Through Time" reading club
by Paul Cisek Sept. 20, 2021

Sept. 20, 2021

Dear all, I would like to bring to your attention the Brains Through Time Reading Club I am co-organizing with people from the Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante. As the name implies, the idea is to review the book Brains Through Time<https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/978019512568…>, by Georg Striedter<https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=3006> and Glenn Northcutt<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Northcutt>. It is a masterful synthesis of much what is known about brain evolution, and I believe it offers great insights to anyone interested in a broad understanding of how the brain produces behavior. We will dedicate a ~90 minute session to each of the 7 chapters. The first session will be on the 6th of October (6pm CEST / 12 EST) and will include the participation of Georg Striedter<https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=3006> (one of the authors), Luis Puelles<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nIoLKVAAAAAJ&hl=en> and Paul Cisek<https://cisek.org/pavel/>. If you are interested, please visit our web site<https://sites.google.com/view/bbtreadingclub/home> for more information and to register! Paul Cisek, PhD Département de neurosciences Université de Montréal Physical: 2960 chemin de la tour, local 4117 Montréal, QC H3T 1J4 CANADA Mailing: CP 6128 Succursale centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 CANADA e-mail: paul.cisek(a)gmail.com<mailto:paul.cisek@gmail.com> Web: www.cisek.org/pavel<http://www.cisek.org/pavel>

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[CFP] MDPI Molecules (IF: 4.411, ISSN: 1420-3049) - Special Issue "Practical Aspects of Molecular Communications"
by Murat Kuşcu Sept. 20, 2021

Sept. 20, 2021

MDPI Molecules (IF: 4.411, ISSN: 1420-3049) Special Issue on Practical Aspects of Molecular Communications https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/special_issues/molecular_communicati… --------------------------- CALL FOR PAPERS The Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) is an emerging technology that aims to extend our connectivity to nanoscale and biological environments with collaborative nanonetworks of artificial nanomachines and biological entities integrated into the Internet infrastructure. To enable the IoBNT and its groundbreaking applications, such as continuous intrabody health monitoring, it is imperative to devise low-complexity nanoscale communication techniques suitable for the envisioned nanomachines of simple architectures. The most promising communication technology for realizing the IoBNT is Molecular Communications (MC), as it ubiquitously manifests itself in many complex biological systems in the Universe, and thus, stands as one of the most common communication modalities, optimized from many aspects as a result of billions of years of evolutionary advancement. Making use of this naturally existing technology requires understanding its foundations through our existing modeling and analysis tools. This quest, which started almost 15 years ago, has received increasing attention from ICT researchers, which have been overly inspired by conventional electromagnetic communication technologies in their approach to this radically different paradigm. These theoretical approaches, however, have not always come with sufficient physical relevance. Currently, this emerging field has come to a critical turning point, as many researchers have started to report on initial MC experiments following different approaches and using different materials, while consistently pointing out a discrepancy between the obtained experimental results and the past theoretical work. This reveals the need to rethink the previous efforts and come up with new interdisciplinary strategies, thus building practical MC techniques and developing feasible MC system components, experimental testbeds, and prototypes in order to close the gap between theory and practice, and expedite the transfer of this emerging technology to the market. Among the challenges stated above, this Special Issue is particularly focused on the practical aspects of MC. Therefore, we are calling for technical papers that report on new research with the potential to move this field forward towards its practical applications, as well as surveys/tutorials focusing on the practical challenges of MC research. Hence, its scope encompasses a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics, with some examples listed as follows: ** The physical design, modeling, and implementation of MC system components (e.g., transmitter, receiver, channel); ** The design and implementation of MC testbeds; ** Practical and low-complexity MC methods (e.g., modulation, detection, channel estimation, synchronization, coding methods); ** The testing and validation of MC transceiver/channel models and MC methods; ** Applications of microfluidics, biosensors, and nanomaterials for MC system design; ** Bio-cyber interfaces between MC networks and conventional macroscale networks; ** Synthetic biology-based MC transceiver architectures; ** Optimization of ligand-receptor interactions for MC; ** Biocompatibility and co-existence challenges; ** Energy harvesting and power transfer techniques for MC networks; ** The design and demonstration of MC applications (e.g., those in healthcare, agriculture, biocomputing). --------------------------- Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2021 --------------------------- Guest Editors Murat Kuscu, Koc University, Turkey (mkuscu(a)ku.edu.tr) Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, TSSG/Walton Institute, Waterford Institute of Technology (sasi.bala(a)waltoninstitute.ie) Kerstin Lenk, Graz University of Technology, Austria (kerstin.lenk(a)tugraz.at ) Ergin Dinc, University of Cambridge, UK (ed502(a)cam.ac.uk) Michael Barros, University of Essex, UK (m.barros(a)essex.ac.uk) Bige D. Unluturk, Michigan State University, USA (unluturk(a)msu.edu) --------------------------- Paper submission Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be 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 page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI. Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions. --------------------------- Additional information: Please visit the MDPI Molecules Special Issue webpage at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/special_issues/molecular_communicati… Inquiries can be addressed to Ms. Emity Wang at: emity.wang(a)mdpi.com, molecules(a)mdpi.com

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New "Developing Minds" global online lecture series; September 30: Pierre-Yves Oudeyer
by Jochen Triesch Sept. 19, 2021

Sept. 19, 2021

What: New bi-monthly "Developing Minds" global online lecture series; inaugural lecture by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, INRIA, Bordeaux Sud-Ouest, France on "Developmental AI: machines that learn like children and help children learn better" When: Thursday, September 30, 13:00 UTC Where: online via zoom; please register at: https://sites.google.com/view/developing-minds-series Background: In 1950, Alan Turing asked "Instead of trying to produce a programme to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child's?" Today, over 70 years later, constructing a computer program that can learn like a child and that develops a human-like general intelligence is still considered a grand, if not the ultimate, challenge for artificial intelligence (AI). An interdisciplinary community of scientists from AI, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Engineering, and Neuroscience are tackling this grand challenge. In the Developing Minds global lecture series we showcase the progress being made. It is organized by the IEEE Technical Committee on Cognitive and Developmental Systems of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. The inaugural lecture by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer is entitled: "Developmental AI: machines that learn like children and help children learn better" Abstract: Current approaches to AI and machine learning are still fundamentally limited in comparison with the amazing learning capabilities of children. What is remarkable is not that some children become world champions in certains games or specialties: it is rather their autonomy, open-endedness, flexibility and efficiency at learning many everyday skills under strongly limited resources of time, computation and energy. And they do not need the intervention of an engineer for each new task (e.g. they do not need someone to provide a new task specific reward function or representation). I will present a research program, which I call Developmental AI, that studies models of open-ended development and learning. These models are used as tools to help us understand better how children learn, as well as to build machines that learn like children with applications in educational technologies, automated discovery, robotics and human-computer interaction. I will ground this research program into several fundamental ideas proposed by developmental psychologists: 1) the child is autotelic, setting its own goals and spontaneously exploring the world like a curious little scientist (e.g. Piaget, Berlyne); 2) intelligence develops in a social context, where language and culture are internalized to become cognitive tools (e.g. Vygostky and Bruner); 3) intelligence is embodied and develops through self-organization of the dynamical system formed by the brain-body-environment interactions (e.g. Thelen and Smith). I will show how, together with many colleagues and students, we have worked on operationalizing these ideas in computer and robotic models, and explain how this has enabled to advance child development understanding, open new possibilities for AI systems (including for recent language-guided intrinsically motivated Deep RL systems and for training more classical Deep RL systems to foster generalization), and led to applications now used by thousands of children in the world to help them learn (educational technologies). Speaker Bio: Dr. Pierre-Yves Oudeyer has been Research Director at Inria, France, and head of the Flowers lab (Inria, Univ. Bordeaux, Ensta ParisTech). Before, he has been a permanent researcher in Sony Computer Science Laboratory for 8 years (1999-2007). He studies models of open-ended development and learning, at the frontiers of AI and cognitive sciences. These models are used as tools to help us understand better how children learn, as well as to build machines that learn like children within the field of developmental artificial intelligence. He has been developing models of intrinsically motivated learning, pioneering curiosity-driven learning algorithms working in real world robots, and developed theoretical frameworks to understand better human curiosity and autonomous learning. He also studied mechanisms enabling machines and humans to discover, invent, learn and evolve language. He is also working on applications in educational technologies, automated discovery, video games, robotics and human-computer interaction. He received several prizes for his work in developmental AI and on the origins of language. In particular, he is laureate of the Inria-National Academy of Science young researcher prize in computer sciences, and of an ERC Starting Grant EXPLORERS. Finally, he is also working actively for the diffusion of science towards the general public, through the writing of popular science articles and participation to radio and TV programs as well as science exhibitions. Web: http://www.pyoudeyer.com and http://flowers.inria.fr Upcoming speakers: Linda B. Smith, Indiana University Joshua B. Tenenbaum, MIT Please visit https://sites.google.com/view/developing-minds-series/home for up-to-date information. -- Prof. Dr. Jochen Triesch Johanna Quandt Research Professor Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~triesch/ Tel: +49 (0)69 798-47531 Fax: +49 (0)69 798-47611

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CFP - Annual Conference of Cognitive Science (ACCS8) - Jan 20--22, 2022, India
by Shyam Diwakar Sept. 18, 2021

Sept. 18, 2021

Dear All, As the local organizer, it is our pleasure to invite you to participate at ACCS8. Here's more details. ACCS8: Call for contributions 8th Annual Conference of Cognitive Science (ACCS8) Amrita University, India – 20 – 22 January 2022 https://www.amrita.edu/accs8 The 8th edition of ACCS, to be hosted by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), Kollam, India will be held virtually. List of our invited speakers, TPC and other info will soon be made available at https://www.amrita.edu/event/accs8 CONFERENCE TOPICS Like in our previous years, the ACCS8 conference is open to all topics with Cognitive Science as a discipline, and in various areas of study, including Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Skilling, Medicine, Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, and Education. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We welcome submissions from all areas of cognitive science and from anyone worldwide. For the 2022 online event, we are accepting only abstracts containing the salient details of your study. Please copy and paste the title and abstract into the submission form. Contribution size limit for the abstract is 1000 words. We are not accepting any paper-length submissions this year, so do include all relevant details in the abstract itself. A small number of abstracts will be selected for oral presentations/talks. Submission link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=accs8 For CFP: https://easychair.org/cfp/accs8 IMPORTANT DATES Abstract registration deadline November 25, 2021 Submission deadline November 25, 2021 BEST PAPER AWARDS We are planning some best poster and oral presentations. Please stay tuned. CONTACT All questions about submissions should be emailed to accs8conference(a)gmail.com<mailto:accs8conference@gmail.com> Previous ACCS events - https://www.amrita.edu/event/accs8/about With best regards, Shyam Diwakar -- Prof. Shyam Diwakar, Ph.D. Director - Amrita Mind Brain Center Faculty Fellow - Amrita Center for International Programs Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University) Amritapuri, Clappana P.O. Kollam, India. Pin: 690525 Ph:+91-476-2803116 Fax:+91-476-2899722 http://amrita.edu/mindbrain [https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1_nOxaCXob6wVcuQyYI5KVk1PhMgi…] [https://intranet.cb.amrita.edu/sig/RankingLogo.png] Disclaimer : The information transmitted in this email, including attachments, is intended only for the person(s) or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. Any views expressed in any message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and destroy any copies of this information.

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(Call for papers) Adaptive Machines: Leveraging Neuroscience for Lifelong Learning Systems
by Andrea Soltoggio Sept. 17, 2021

Sept. 17, 2021

Dear All, This is a reminder of the upcoming deadline (30th of September) to submit to the Research Topic “Adaptive Machines: Leveraging Neuroscience for Lifelong Learning Systems”, co-hosted by Frontiers in Neuroscience, Robotics and AI, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Neurorobotics and Computational Neuroscience. Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/20053/adaptive-machines-leverag… Description: Artificial intelligence has always sought inspiration in the brain. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), in particular, were modeled after their biological counterparts (biological neural networks, BNNs). However, state-of-the-art deep networks are drastically different from BNNs. Their architectures (at both the single-neuron and macro levels), learning algorithms, and failure conditions share little in common with brain circuit dynamics. In particular, state-of-the-art deep learning is optimized for single, well-defined, static tasks. Deep networks struggle to learn multiple or evolving tasks over time (i.e., continual learning) or to adjust their processing based on environmental conditions. They are also less modular than BNNs, and thus less energy efficient, and utilize little-to-no feedback signals. We believe that deep networks suffer from these limitations because their modeling of brain dynamics is too superficial. Modeling more sophisticated neural mechanisms is therefore key for deep networks to achieve continual or lifelong learning and to cope with open-ended, dynamic environments. The goal of this Research Topic is to publish novel models and/or algorithms that expand the capabilities of deep learning (e.g., achieve better continual learning) by incorporating additional properties of BNNs. We are also interested in neuroscience research that elucidates mechanisms that can be leveraged by the AI community. Neuroscience has uncovered a wide range of learning and regulatory mechanisms, at scales ranging from single molecules to the entire nervous system, that help the brain learn, remember, and adapt. These include replay (systems-level consolidation), neuromodulation, neurogenesis, neuroevolution, attention, homeostatic plasticity, and synaptic consolidation. There exist some deep learning techniques motivated by these mechanisms (e.g., experience replay or attention networks), but they have rarely been used for lifelong learning. As such, our focus will be on approaches that leverage brain-like principles---ideally biologically well-grounded---to solve problems currently beyond the capabilities of the state of the art. We will also welcome neuroscience research that helps to elucidate the brain’s mechanisms, in the hope that they can be used by the next generation of machine learning models. The scope of this Research Topic covers: (1) biologically inspired techniques in deep learning (2) neuroscience research on how the brain facilitates learning and adapts to different contexts We seek to address continual or lifelong learning, transfer learning, and other ML scenarios that go beyond the traditional, train-then-test learning paradigm. Since machine learning is an experimental field, a paper must include experimental results to be accepted; however, we encourage authors to include theoretical analyses of their methods. We aim to collect the following types of manuscripts: Original Research and Brief Research Reports. Since the goal of this Research Topic is to publish highly novel, experimentally grounded work, we are not interested in Reviews (Systematic, Policy and Practice, etc.), General Commentaries, or Opinions. In addition, since the editorial board does not include medical experts, we cannot accept Clinical Trials or Study Protocols. The Research Topic is edited by Rolando Jose Estrada, Georgia State University, USA Andrea Soltoggio, Loughborough University, UK Praveen K. Pilly, HRL Laboratories, USA Vincenzo Lomonaco, University of Pisa, Italy, Davide Maltoni, University of Bologna, Italy. Please consider submitting your original research to this Research Topic. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you wish to discuss your contribution. Best wishes, Andrea -- Dr. Andrea Soltoggio (he/him or they/them) Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Artificial Intelligence Department of Computer Science, School of Science & Intelligent Automation Centre https://www.intelligent-automation.org.uk/about-us/centre-staff & Centre for Information Management https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/sbe/cim/ Haslegrave Building, N.2.03 Loughborough University LE11 3TU, UK Email: a.soltoggio(a)lboro.ac.uk<mailto:a.soltoggio@lboro.ac.uk> Web: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/compsci/staff/dr-andrea-soltoggio.html

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ISRC Computational Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuro-inspired AI Autumn School (ISRC-CN3)
by Wong-Lin, Kongfatt Sept. 17, 2021

Sept. 17, 2021

Dear All, We are excited to announce that our ISRC Computational Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuro-inspired AI Autumn School (ISRC-CN3) is now live and open for registration at the following link: https://store.ulster.ac.uk/product-catalogue/faculty-of-computing-engineeri… This Autumn School (from 25th October to 29th October), which will be conducted in a hybrid format, is organised by our Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC) at Ulster University, Magee campus. More details can be found at the website: https://sites.google.com/view/isrc-cn3/home<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsites.goo…> If you have any further queries about this event, please contact Dr. KongFatt Wong-Lin (k.wong-lin(a)ulster.ac.uk) This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The Ulster University was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

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Postdoctoral Associate in Neural Circuits of Learning and Memory
by Yuri Dabaghian Sept. 17, 2021

Sept. 17, 2021

NIH-funded postdoctoral position is immediately available in the group of Dr. Yuri Dabaghian in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas, Houston. We are looking for scientists with research interests at the intersection of mathematics, physics, and neuroscience, in the general area of emergent phenomena and representations, network dynamics, topological data analyses. Some projects aim to explain electrophysiological data patterns, some are theoretically motivated. Specifically, we are interested in circuit mechanisms of learning and memory and their involvement in neurological disorders, notably Alzheimer's Disease. Successful candidates will develop data-driven hippocampal neuronal network models explaining spatial learning dynamics, develop and creatively apply tools for the data analysis including novel methods of brain waves (EEG) analyses, Topological Data Analysis of spiking data, etc. The Position requires strong background in quantitative disciplines (PhD and ongoing interest in computational or theoretical neuroscience, physics, mathematics, or related), plus willingness to do programming and to analyze experimental data. Previous experiences in data analyses are preferred but not required. All Appointments are initially for one year and are renewable for at least three years given satisfactory performance. The salary is competitive. The postdoc will be integrated into the large, vibrant neuroscience community of the Texas Medical Center and have the opportunity to participate in collaborations with groups at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University. To apply, please send application materials including a detailed CV, a brief statement of research interests, and contact information of 3 references to Dr. Yuri Dabaghian at [Yuri.A.Dabaghian [at] uth.tmc.edu) The position is available immediately, until filled. For Additional information and informal inquiries, please contact Dr. Dabaghian. We Strive for a diverse and inclusive environment, and encourage applications from members of any identity.

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COSYNE 2022: Meeting announcement
by Tomas Hromadka Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2022 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING 17 - 20 March 2022 Lisbon, Portugal WORKSHOPS 21 - 22 March 2022 Cascais, Portugal www.cosyne.org ==================================================== ---------------------------------------------------- MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT ---------------------------------------------------- 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. All abstract submissions will be reviewed double blind. The deadline for Abstract submission will be 20 November 2021. 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. IMPORTANT DATES Abstract submission opens: 15 October 2021 Travel grant submission opens: 01 November 2021 Abstract submission deadline: 20 November 2021 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. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Anne-Marie Oswald (U Pittsburgh) and Srdjan Ostojic (Ecole Normale Superieure Paris) Program Chairs: Laura Busse (LMU Munich) and Tim Vogels (IST Austria) Workshop Chairs: Anna Schapiro (U Penn) and Blake Richards (McGill) Tutorial Chair: Kanaka Rajan (Mount Sinai) DEIA Committee: Bianca Jones Martin (Columbia), Gabrielle Gutierrez (Columbia), and Stefano Recanatesi (U Washington) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Angela Langdon (Princeton) and Bob Wilson (U Arizona) Fundraising Chair: Michael Long (NYU) Social Media Chair: Grace Lindsay (Columbia) Poster Design: Maja Bialon PROGRAM COMMITTEE Laura Busse (U Munich) Tim Vogels (IST Austria) Athena Akrami (UCL) Omri Barak (Technion) Brice Bathellier (Paris) Bing Brunton (U Washington) Yoram Burak (Hebrew University) SueYeon Chung (Columbia) Christine Constantinople (NYU) Victor de Lafuente (UNAM Mexico) Jan Drugowitsch (Harvard) Alexander Ecker (Göttingen) Tatiana Engel (Cold Spring Harbor) Annegret Falkner (Princeton) Kevin Franks (Duke) Jens Kremkow (Berlin) Andrew Leifer (Princeton) Sukbin Lim (Shanghai) Scott Linderman (Stanford) Emilie Mace (MPI Neurobiology) Mackenzie Mathis (EPFL Lausanne) Ida Momennejad (Microsoft) Jill O'Reilly (Oxford) Il Memming Park (Stony Brook) Adrien Peyrache (McGill Montréal) Yiota Porazi (FORCE) Nathalie Rochefort (Edinburgh) Christina Savin (NYU) Daniela Vallentin (MPI Ornithology) Brad Wyble (U Penn) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) 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 -> Mailing lists for details.

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Online workshop "Towards multipurpose neural network models II: Model testing and model fitting"
by Anton Arkhipov Sept. 14, 2021

Sept. 14, 2021

Dear Colleagues, Registration is now open for the online workshop "Towards multipurpose neural network models II: Model testing and model fitting" organized by Gaute Einevoll (NMBU/University of Oslo) and Anton Arkhipov (Allen Institute, Seattle) and supported by the European Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience (EITN). Please join us for three days of talks about cutting-edge science by fantastic speakers, as well as panel discussions. Dates: September 29 – October 1, 2021 Time: 8AM – 12:15PM US Pacific time / 5PM – 9:15PM Central European Time Daily. Registration: https://cnrs.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_saMXfg31Roe4tqHbWtTdFg Please see the agenda below and more details at this web page: https://www.eitn.org/index.php/calendar-event/eventdetail/750/-/workshop-on… We hope to see you there! Wednesday, September 29, 2021 Gaute Einevoll (NMBU/U. Oslo) Introduction Jacob Macke (U. Tübingen) Keynote. Simulation-based inference: Bridging the gap between mechanistic models and machine learning. Aaron Milstein (Rutgers U.) Nested parallel simulation and multi-objective optimization of neuronal cell and circuit models Atle Rimehaug (U. Oslo) Enhancing model constraints by utilizing current source densities Kristin Tøndel (NMBU) Facilitating optimization using metamodelling Frances Skinner (Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, and University of Toronto) Clarity in model development and goals leads to model linkages and biological insights Panel debate – All participants of the day. Thursday, September 30, 2021 Anton Arkhipov (Allen Institute) Introduction James DiCarlo (MIT) Keynote. Reverse Engineering Visual Intelligence Sharon Crook (Arizona State U.) Testing the Data-driven Model Szabolcs Kali (Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary) Systematic construction and evaluation of models of rodent hippocampal neurons Peter Jedlicka (U. Giessen) Building consistent and robust models of hippocampal granule cells and CA1 pyramidal cells Stefan Mihalas (Allen Institute) Computing with a mess: How nonstationary, heterogeneous and noisy components help the brain’s computational power Panel debate – All participants of the day. Friday, October 1, 2021 Markus Covert (Stanford) Special lecture. Simultaneous cross-evaluation of heterogeneous E. coli datasets via mechanistic simulation Kanaka Rajan (Mount Sinai) Keynote. Data-constrained neural network models of adaptive learning in the brain Julijana Gjorgjeva (Max Planck Institute and TUM) Biologically plausible learning in developing networks Carsen Stringer (Janelia) Rastermap: Extracting structure from high-dimensional neural data Arvind Kumar (KTH Stockholm) Structure and activity dynamics relationship in biological neuronal networks: Measurements and models Panel debate – All participants of the day.

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PhD position in computational neuroscience/machine learning at UC Santa Barbara
by Michael Beyeler Sept. 14, 2021

Sept. 14, 2021

The Bionic Vision Lab lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) invites applications for a fully funded PhD position to develop computational models of neural activity in mice navigating through real-world and virtual environments. The successful candidate will have a strong quantitative background that includes machine learning, programming experience, and a thorough interest in neuroscience. This is an opportunity to work on an impactful real-world problem within a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. Interested applicants should send a CV and transcript (unofficial is fine) to Michael Beyeler (mbeyeler(a)ucsb.edu) Official applications will have to be submitted through UCSB Grad Admissions before the application deadline indicated below. All genders welcome. Application deadline: December 1, 2021 Start date: Fall 2022 UCSB is a dynamic research institution, particularly in physical sciences and engineering, and was recently rated one of the Top 5 public schools in the United States (US News & World Report). Neuroscience research is well established here, featuring >35 faculty members whose research interests span the range from molecular to theoretical neuroscience.

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Call for community feedback on the endorsement of Neurolucida XML as a standard
by Malin Sandström Sept. 14, 2021

Sept. 14, 2021

Dear all, INCF is seeking community feedback and comments on the review of the MBF neuromorphological file format v 4.0, a format for digital reconstruction & modeling structure for microscopic anatomies, also known as “Neurolucida XML”, which has been submitted to INCF for endorsement as a community standard. If you have experience of using Neurolucida XML, we ask you to read the review report and comment based on your experiences, especially if you share or reuse data in the format, or work on models or tools that use the format. Link to the review: https://f1000research.com/documents/10-712 *Why endorse community standards? * INCF (incf.org) has implemented a formal procedure for evaluating and endorsing community standards and best practices in support of the FAIR principles. Our mission is to make neuroscience more open and FAIR, to ensure that research funds and efforts are well invested, and that neuroscientific findings are robust and replicable. Open community review is a very important step in the process. Quality community standards are necessary to make FAIR resources and processes work, but too many neuroscience communities lack robust standards or have competing incompatible standards. The rapid development of new techniques also means that there is a continuous need for new and updated standards, and that old standards need an active developer and user community keeping them up to date. By endorsing standards, INCF wants to make it easy to find the best, most reliable standard appropriate for your research, and ensure recognition for community members investing their time and effort in standards. The review criteria (https://incf.org/incf-standards-review-criteria-v20) include Openness; FAIRness; Design, Testing and Implementation; Governance; Adoption and use; Stability and support; Extensibility; Comparison (similarity to other standards). -- Malin Sandström, PhD Community Engagement Officer malin.sandstrom(a)incf.org ORCID: 0000-0002-8464-2494 International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility Karolinska Institutet Nobels väg 15 A SE-171 77 Stockholm Sweden http://www.incf.org

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workshop on Brain Criticality: The Past, the Present and the Future
by Claudius Gros Sept. 14, 2021

Sept. 14, 2021

You are invited to attend the upcoming Bernstein workshop on Brain Criticality: The Past, the Present and the Future https://www.bernstein-network.de/en/bernstein-conference/2021-online/satell… Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 2pm CEST It is free, but you need to register with the Bernstein conference (see link above). Claudius Gros ### ### Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros ### http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros ### ### Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems, A Primer ### A graduate-level textbook, Springer (2008/10/13/15) ### ### Life for barren exoplanets: The Genesis project ### https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10509-016-2911-0 ###

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Bernstein Conference 2021 - abstracts are published
by Anja Dorrn Sept. 13, 2021

Sept. 13, 2021

Each year the Bernstein Network invites the international computational neuroscience community to the annual Bernstein Conference for intensive scientific exchange. It has established itself as one of the most renown conferences worldwide in this field, attracting students, postdocs and PIs from around the world to meet and discuss new scientific discoveries. Due to the ongoing pandemic the Bernstein Conference will be held online. www.bernstein-conference.de ____ IMPORTANT DATES & NEWS * Bernstein Conference: September 21-23, 2021 * Abstracts are published * Registration is open and free of charge * PhD Symposium on September 24, 2021 ____ ABSTRACTS All accepted abstracts are now published online and are citable via Digital Object Identifiers (DOI). Please find them here: https://abstracts.g-node.org/conference/BC21/abstracts#/ ____ REGISTRATION The participation at the online Bernstein Conference 2021 will be free of charge for all participants. Thus the Bernstein Network contributes to keep the scientific exchange alive in the ongoing challenges during the pandemic. Please register here: https://hopin.com/events/bernstein-conference-2021 ____ PHD SYMPOSIUM The Bernstein PhD Symposium on September 24, 2021 is an opportunity for junior researchers to meet their peers, share their experience and make new connections. This year's topic is Gaming meets neuroscience. Please register here: https://hopin.com/events/bernstein-phd-symposium-2021 ____ INVITED SPEAKERS Keynote Timothy Behrens (University of Oxford, UK) Invited Talks Athena Akrami (University College London, UK) Nadine Gogolla (Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany) Guillaume Hennequin (University of Cambridge, UK) Jennifer Li & Drew Robson (Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany) Scott Lindermann (Stanford University, USA) Ashok Litwin-Kumar (Columbia University, New York City, USA) Ida Momennejad (Microsoft Research, New York City, USA) Cristina Savin (New York University, USA) Marion Silies (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany) Daniela Vallentin (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany) ____ CONFERENCE COMMITTEE Christian Leibold (Conference Chair) Julijana Gjiorgjieva (Program Chair) Christian Machens (Program Vice Chair) Marion Silies (Workshop Chair) Moritz Helias (Workshop Vice Chair) & Matthew Botvinick, Megan Carey, Peter Dayan, Brent Doiron, Rainer Friedrich, Ann Hermundstad, Srdjan Ostojic, Nathalie Rochefort, Nicole Rust, Gasper Tkacik ____ For any further questions, please contact: bernstein.conference(a)fz-juelich.de -- Dr. Anja Dorrn Scientific Coordinator Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) Branch Office of the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9A | 79104 Freiburg, Germany phone: (+49) 0761 203 9589 web: www.bernstein-network.de<http://www.bernstein-network.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Volker Rieke Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Dr. Astrid Lambrecht, Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Biologically plausible models of path planning in humans and rodents
by Jeffrey Krichmar Sept. 10, 2021

Sept. 10, 2021

Dear Colleagues, We recently published two papers on biologically plausible models of path planning that simulate and analyze navigation strategies in rodents and humans. Some of the ideas presented in these papers may be applicable to autonomous systems. If you are interested, please see: Krichmar, J.L., and He, C. (2021). Importance of Path Planning Variability: A Simulation Study. Topics in Cognitive Science. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tops.12568 Individuals vary in the way they navigate through space. Some take novel shortcuts, while others rely on known routes to find their way around. We wondered how and why there is so much variation in the population. To address this, we first compared the trajectories of 368 human subjects navigating a virtual maze with simulated trajectories. The simulated trajectories were generated by strategy-based path planning algorithms from robotics. Based on the similarities between human trajectories and different strategy-based simulated trajectories, we found that there is a variation in the type of strategy individuals apply to navigate space, as well as variation within individuals on a trial-by-trial basis. Moreover, we observed variation within a trial when subjects occasionally switched the navigation strategies halfway through a trajectory. In these cases, subjects started with a route strategy, in which they followed a familiar path, and then switched to a survey strategy, in which they took shortcuts by considering the layout of the environment. Then we simulated a second set of trajectories using five different but comparable artificial maps. These trajectories produced the similar pattern of strategy variation within and between trials. Furthermore, we varied the relative cost, that is, the assumed mental effort or required timesteps to choose a learned route over alternative paths. When the learned route was relatively costly, the simulated agents tended to take shortcuts. Conversely, when the learned route was less costly, the simulated agents showed preference toward a route strategy. We suggest that cost or assumed mental effort may be the reason why in previous studies, subjects used survey knowledge when instructed to take the shortest path. We suggest that this variation we observe in humans may be beneficial for robotic swarms or collections of autonomous agents during information gathering. Krichmar, J.L., Ketz, N.A., Pilly, P.K., and Soltoggio, A. (2021). Flexible Path Planning through Vicarious Trial and Error. bioRxiv, 2021.2009.2008.459317. https://www.biorxiv.org/node/2148912.abstract Flexible planning is necessary for reaching goals and adapting when conditions change. We introduce a biologically plausible path planning model that learns its environment, rapidly adapts to change, and plans efficient routes to goals. Unlike prior models of hippocamapl replay, our model addresses the decision-making process when faced with uncertainty. We tested the model in simulations of human and rodent navigation in mazes. Like the human and rat, the model was able to generate novel shortcuts, and take detours when familiar routes were blocked. Similar to rodent hippocampus recordings, the neural activity of the model resembles neural correlates of Vicarious Trial and Error (VTE) during early learning or during uncertain conditions. Similar to rodent studies, after learning, the neural activity resembles forward replay or preplay predicting a future route, and VTE activity decreases. We suggest that VTE, in addition to weighing possible outcomes, is a way in which an organism may gather information for future use. Best regards, Jeff Krichmar Department of Cognitive Sciences 2328 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-5100 jkrichma(a)uci.edu http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma

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Postdoctoral position available
by Sara A. Solla Sept. 10, 2021

Sept. 10, 2021

*Integrating Human and Machine Learning for Enabling Co-Adaptive * *Body-Machine Interfaces* * Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi and Sara A. Solla PI’s * *Northwestern University* We are seeking postdoctoral applicants with interests and experience in computational methods, machine learning, and human-machine interactions to participate in an NSF-funded project. The goal of the project is customizing human-machine interfaces through a collaborative interaction between human and machine learning. This has relevance to the recovery of function after injury to the spinal cord. The same goals apply also to non-clinical domains. Common to the different domains is the necessity to learn novel movement skills. The project will consider how this challenge is met through the interaction with an adaptive interface, the body-machine interface, that maps body motions onto commands to external devices. The working hypotheses are H1) that through a dynamical process of learning the human operators form an internal model of the interface and connected device, and H2) that the human machine interface can be adapted to its users by an update rule that tracks the learning process of the human operator. The success of the research project will lead to a new family of intelligent human machine interfaces capable of customizing themselves to the evolving ability of their users. Applications, including a brief statement, a bio sketch, and the names of two references, should be sent to bomiproject2021(a)gmail.com

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Postdoc position on neural mechanisms of flexible behavior
by Luca Mazzucato Sept. 5, 2021

Sept. 5, 2021

Dear colleagues, We are looking for a computational neuroscience postdoc to lead a project on the neural mechanisms of flexible behavior. The theory position will be co-supervised by Luca Mazzucato and David McCormick and funded by the NIH BRAIN Initiative collaboration between the McCormick, Niell, Jaramillo and Mazzucato labs at University of Oregon. The project aims at elucidating the whole-brain dynamics enabling flexible modality switching in an audiovisual decision-making task. A successful candidate will use state-space models and multi-area recurrent network models to elucidate the activity and functional connectivity of cortical circuits from large datasets in behaving mice (2-photon mesoscope with ~10k neurons; multiple neuropixel probes). Experience with deep learning is recommended for integrating behavioral analyses with task performance and neural activity. The postdoc will be part of the vibrant neuroscience and machine learning community at the University of Oregon including the Institute of Neuroscience <https://ion.uoregon.edu/> and the Knight Campus <https://accelerate.uoregon.edu/> for Accelerating Science. The University is located in beautiful Eugene, the country's leader in the "20-minute friendly <https://tinyurl.com/y8jd8pmr>" bike commute movement, at close range between the Cascades ski areas and the Pacific Ocean. Successful candidates will have a PhD in Physics, Neuroscience, Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics or a related discipline and, preferably, experience in theoretical neuroscience and statistical analysis of large neuroscience datasets. For inquiries please contact Luca Mazzucato or David McCormick.

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8th Baltic-Nordic Summer School on Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics (BNNI 2021)
by Pawel Herman Sept. 5, 2021

Sept. 5, 2021

Dear Fellow Neuroscientists and Students We would like to invite you to the 8th Baltic-Nordic Summer School on Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics, which will be organised as a virtual event on 21-25 September, 2021. The 8th Baltic-Nordic Summer School on Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics 2021 “Learning in the Brain and NeuroRobots – from Molecules to Behaviour” offers interdisciplinary course and covers modelling at different levels of organization of the brain, from single neurons to microcircuits, neural networks and neurorobotics. The course offers lectures on the latest achievements in understanding learning, neural and network dynamics and function in health and disease, neurorobotic theory and applications, and hands-on tutorials on the EBRAINS services and tools. The summer school targets advanced master students, doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in biomedical and technology sciences, ranging from medicine, biology, psychology, to mathematics, informatics, information technology, physics and chemistry, who would like to get an introduction to neuroinformatics and computational neuroscience and especially the EBRAINS Infrastructure<http://ebrains.eu/> (ebrains.eu<http://ebrains.eu>). Further information and registration: https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/education/BNNI2021/ Best regards Pawel Herman on behalf of the organising committee ------------------------------------ Paweł Herman Associate Professor, PhD, Docent KTH Royal Institute of Technology School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Division of Computational Science and Technology (CST) Lindstedtsvägen 5 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden room 4442 (4th floor, D-building) tel. +46 8 790 6513

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DEADLINE EXTENDED: Summer School on Network and Control Sciences for Psychiatry
by Jasper Bischofberger Sept. 2, 2021

Sept. 2, 2021

Dear all, We are happy to announce a Summer School on “Current and Future Applications of Network and Control Sciences for Psychiatry” Host Institution: *University of Tübingen, Germany* Location: *Online event* Dates: *September 29th – October 1st 2021* Abstract deadline: *September 10th, 2021* Registration fees: *free* *Focus* This Summer School gives an opportunity to students and young researchers to get acquainted with and exchange within a range of current topics in network and control sciences and its applications in Psychiatry. ____ *Keynotes* Danielle S. Bassett (University of Pennsylvania, USA) Peter Dayan (MPI Tübingen, Germany) John Medaglia (Drexel University, USA) For the full list of speakers visit: https://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/de/summer-school-controlpsychiatry/spe… ____ *Registration* The summer school is free of charge for all participants, but to get all important information please register online via: https://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/de/summer-school-controlpsychiatry ____ *Poster Submission* Participants can present their latest research results as a poster. Some of the most relevant submissions will have the possibility to present their work in a dedicated oral session and receive an official certificate. Please submit your abstract (limited to 250 words) latest by September 10th to: controlpsychiatry(a)med.uni-tuebingen.de ____ Questions? Please contact: controlpsychiatry(a)med.uni-tuebingen.de We are excited to see you soon! Best wishes, The organizing committee

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Faculty Position in Computational Neuroscience at Bristol University.
by Conor Houghton Aug. 31, 2021

Aug. 31, 2021

In the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol we are seeking to appoint a faculty member in Computational Neuroscience at Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level, comparable to Assistant or Associate Professorship level. https://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/details/?jobId=252155 Candidates are sought with expertise in computational neuroscience or computational cognitive science; any area of our broad subject will be considered. The University of Bristol is a significant centre for both computational neuroscience and machine learning and a leader in experimental, clinical and cognitive neuroscience. There is a robust tradition of collaboration between experimental and computational neuroscientists. Bristol itself is a friendly green coastal city with a rich and lively cultural scene and is regarded one of the best places to live in the UK. You are welcome to contact one of us (conor.houghton||laurence.aitchison||n.lepora||rui.costa)(a)bristol.ac.uk, or our head of department Chris Allen, c.b.allen(a)bristol.ac.uk, to discuss the post informally. The closing date for applications is 3 October. We value diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity. All the best Conor Houghton Laurence Aitchison Nathan Lepora Rui Ponte Costa https://bristolcnu.github.io/ http://www.bristol.ac.uk/neuroscience/

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PhD position at the Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
by Claudius Gros Aug. 30, 2021

Aug. 30, 2021

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD position at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany Fields: theoretical neurosciences, complex systems theory, Covid-19 modeling Application deadline: Oct 15, 2021 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros We are developing new models and generative principles for the societies of interacting agents using a range of toolsets from dynamical systems theory and game theory. Examples are Covid-19 modeling and the influence of envy on the structure of human societies. We are also developing operating principles for reference robot systems, and for neuroscience applications. It is expected that applicants study the publication list available on the website of the lab, as given below. Several subjects are available for the announced PhD thesis, depending on the background of the successful candidate. The work will include analytical investigations and numerical simulations. The candidates should have a Diploma/Master's in physics with an excellent academic track record and good computational skills. Experience or strong interest in the fields of complex systems, dynamical systems theory, game theory, and/or artificial or biological cognitive systems is expected. The degree of scientific research experience is expected to be on the level of a German Diploma/Master. The appointment will start early 2022, for three years. Interested applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a list of publications, and arrange for letters of reference to be sent to the address below. Prof. Claudius Gros Institute for Theoretical Physics Goethe University Frankfurt Max-von-Laue-Str. 1 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany cgr(a)itp.uni-frankfurt.de http://www.itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros General information on the University of Frankfurt and its employment policy: With its around 46,000 students and 4,600 employees, the Goethe University in Frankfurt is the largest university in the state of Hessen and an internationally renowned, important regional employer. Numerous quality and performance oriented internal reforms have been initiated in the recent years. The reorganized campuses for natural sciences and humanities offer an ideal environment for research and education. Since 2008, the Goethe University is a foundation under public law and enjoys full administrative autonomy.  The fixed-term employment of the academic staff is subject to the provisions of the Temporary Science Employment Law and the Hessian Higher Education Act. The University advocates gender equality and therefore strongly encourages women to apply. People with disabilities are given preference if equally qualified. -- ### ### Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros ### http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros ### ### Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems, A Primer ### A graduate-level textbook, Springer (2008/10/13/15) ### ### Life for barren exoplanets: The Genesis project ### https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10509-016-2911-0 ###

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Ph.D. student / Postdoc position in machine learning with spiking neurons at University of Bremen, Germany
by David Rotermund Aug. 30, 2021

Aug. 30, 2021

tl;dr: You looked at our paper Back-Propagation Learning in Deep Spike-By-Spike Networks ( https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncom.2019.00055/full ) and thought "Interesting idea but I can improve that!" then you may want to tell us your idea... You could end up working on it as a Ph.D. student / Postdoc for the next three years in Bremen, Germany. ------------- The Computational Neuroscience group of Klaus Pawelzik invites applications for an open Ph.D. student / Postdoc position (E13 TV-L 100% for 3 years; all genders welcome) in the project "Efficient Implementation of Spike-by-Spike Neural Networks using Stochastic and Approximative Techniques". We are looking for a person with a strong background in mathematics, programming, and machine learning as well as an intense interest in neuroscience. Someone who is not afraid of cooperating with engineers, since this is a joint project with a focus on hardware development. The overarching goal of our project is to improve the efficiency of spiking artificial neural networks using hardware and algorithmic approximation techniques. Specifically, the project focuses on Spike-by-Spike networks since they offer a balance between computational requirements and biological-realism which keeps the advantages of the biological networks while enabling a compact technical realization. To fully take advantage of the unique features of SbS in terms of robustness and sparseness, dedicated hardware architectures are required. You would join in with numerical simulations, theoretical analyses, as well as through the development of new ideas and approaches for boosting the performance and capabilities of the Spike-By-Spike model. Furthermore, you would also work on combining Spike-By-Spike networks with non spiking deep neuronal networks into hybrid models. The details can be found at http://www.neuro.uni-bremen.de/content/open-position-sbs

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Postdoc / Staff Scientist in brain imaging during natural behavior
by Geoffrey Goodhill Aug. 28, 2021

Aug. 28, 2021

Postdoc / Staff Scientist in brain imaging during natural behavior The Goodhill lab at Washington University in St Louis is looking for a postdoc or staff scientist for an NIH-funded project to develop novel microscopy methods for whole-brain calcium imaging in freely-behaving zebrafish. This is a collaboration with Oliver Cossairt at Northwestern University. The lab focuses on the formation of neural circuits underlying behavior. This includes developing novel experimental, computational and theoretical methods and applying them to domains including hunting and social behavior, sleep and autism spectrum disorders. In this project we will be constructing new light-field imaging techniques to record the activity of ~100,000 neurons in the zebrafish brain during unconstrained hunting behavior. We are looking for someone with a background in developing new imaging technologies. The lab is fully integrated between experimental and theoretical work. Washington University in St Louis is ranked in the top 10 globally for Neuroscience and Behavior, and offers an outstanding intellectual environment for neuroscience research. To apply please send a detailed CV and cover letter explaining your interest to g.goodhill(a)wustl.edu<mailto:g.goodhill@wustl.edu>. Professor Geoffrey J Goodhill Departments of Developmental Biology, Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical and Systems Engineering Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO 63110 https://neuroscience.wustl.edu/people/geoffrey-goodhill-phd Email: g.goodhill(a)wustl.edu<mailto:g.goodhill@wustl.edu>

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Post-doctoral Position in Human Perceptual Neuroscience at NYU
by Hardstone, Richard Aug. 27, 2021

Aug. 27, 2021

The Perception and Brain Dynamics Laboratory (PI: Biyu J. He, Ph.D.; www.med.nyu.edu/helab<http://www.med.nyu.edu/helab>) at New York University currently has two open post-doctoral positions, which can start immediately (with a flexible start date). We are interested in candidates with a background in perceptual/cognitive neuroscience and/or related computational modeling. Experience in human electrophysiology (MEG/EEG or intracranial recordings) or neuroimaging (fMRI) is ideal. Successful applicants will be able to participate in cutting-edge research to understand the neural basis of human perception (broadly defined), and will have opportunities to employ multiple advanced recording (e.g., M/EEG, 7T fMRI, ECoG) and analysis approaches in their research. Research questions may include: * What are the roles of spontaneous brain activity in perception? * How do prior knowledge and past experiences influence perception? * What are the neural differences between conscious and unconscious processing? * What are the temporal dynamics of neural activity underlying perception? To apply, please email PI Biyu J. He at biyu.jade.he(a)gmail.com<mailto:biyu.jade.he@gmail.com>, with subject line "post-doctoral application", and include a CV, a 1-2 page research statement (including accomplishments and interests), and names and contacts for 2-3 referees. To inquire, please email PI Biyu J. He at biyu.jade.he(a)gmail.com<mailto:biyu.jade.he@gmail.com>, with subject line "post-doctoral application inquiry", and attach your CV. Our laboratory is located on the medical campus of New York University in Manhattan, NY, and is affiliated with the Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience & Physiology, and Radiology. We offer competitive salaries and benefits that adjust for cost of living in New York City. The position is expected to last at least 2 years, and is renewed annually depending on satisfactory performance and availability of funding. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, starting immediately.

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2nd SMILES workshop, Aug 31st: Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols
by Xavier Hinaut Aug. 27, 2021

Aug. 27, 2021

* WHAT The SMILES workshop is about Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols (SMILES). It is a satellite event from the ICDL 2020 (International Conference on Developmental Learning). * WHEN Tuesday 31st of August 2021. Planned schedule: 9am - 8.30pm CEST (UTC+2). * WHERE Online event on Zoom. (Link sent to registered people the day before, see LINKS section) * WHO 8 Invited speakers from multiple fields: neurolinguistics, speech communication, language evolution, developmental science, social robotics, computational neuroscience, language acquisition. - Morten Christiansen, Cornell University, NY, USA & Aarhus University, Denmark - Kaya de Barbaro, University of CaliforniaSan Diego, USA - Cynthia Matuszek, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA - Yair Lakretz, NeuroSpin Center, Gif sur Yvette, France - Harm Brouwer, Saarland University, Germany - Jean-Luc Schwartz, Gipsa lab, Grenoble-Alpes University, France - Daniel Dor, Tel Aviv University, Israel - Lauren Emberson, University of British Columbia, Canada - Bart de Boer, AI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium * LINKS - ** Website **: https://sites.google.com/view/smiles-workshop/home - ** Registration is free but mandatory **: https://forms.gle/tyvMdbb8UJFyXZky8 - Contact: smiles.conf(a)gmail.com - ICDL conference website: https://icdl-2021.org/ * WHAT+ (Short Description) On the one hand, models of sensorimotor interaction are embodied in the environment and in the interaction with other agents. On the other hand, recent Deep Learning development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) models allow to capture increasing language complexity (e.g. compositional representations, word embedding, long term dependencies). However, those NLP models are disembodied in the sense that they are learned from static datasets of text or speech. How can we bridge the gap from low-level sensorimotor interaction to high-level compositional symbolic communication? The SMILES workshop will address this issue through an interdisciplinary approach involving researchers from (but not limited to): - Sensori-motor learning, - Emergent communication in multi-agent systems, - Chunking of perceptuo-motor gestures (gestures in a general sense: motor, vocal, ...), - Sensori-motor learning, - Symbol grounding and symbol emergence, - Compositional representations for communication and action sequence, - Hierarchical representations of temporal information, - Language processing and acquisition in brains and machines, - Models of animal communication, - Language evolution, - Understanding composition and temporal processing in neural network models, and - Enaction, active perception, perception-action loop. SMILES workshop organisers - Xavier Hinaut, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Clément Moulin-Frier, Inria and Ensta ParisTech, Bordeaux, France - Silvia Pagliarini, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Michael Spranger, Sony AI and Sony CSL, Tokyo, Japan - Tadahiro Taniguchi, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan - Anne S. Warlaumont, University of California, Los Angeles, America - Junpei Zhong, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom Xavier Hinaut Inria Researcher (CR) Mnemosyne team, Inria LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives www.xavierhinaut.com

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Recorded talks from TEX2021 - Bringing together Predictive Processes and Statistical Learning
by Yamil Vidal Aug. 26, 2021

Aug. 26, 2021

Dear all, This July we had the honor of hosting TEX2021 - Bringing together Predictive Processes and Statistical Learning. Here you can find the recordings of the talks: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtD9ktPLCbafVngJ_whZL65_KT23XAKnl Thanks again to all of our amazing invited speakers, Tristan Bekinschtein, Lucia Melloni, Padraic Monaghan, Maria Chait, Floris de Lange, Caspar Schwiedrzik, Lori Holt and Nicola Molinaro. Please share!! Best regards, Yamil Vidal and Davide Crepaldi Dr. Yamil Vidal Cognitive Neuroscience Sector Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati - SISSA via Bonomea, 265 34136 Trieste, ITALY

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CfP: Call for Paper Frontiers in Neuroscience: Special Issue "Graph Learning for Brain Imaging"
by Feng Liu Aug. 25, 2021

Aug. 25, 2021

Dear Colleagues, We are writing to you know that we are organizing a special issue "Graph Learning for Brain Imaging" in Frontiers in Neuroscience (impact factor 4.7). We believe this is a timely special issue to showcase the new developments using graph representation, deep learning on graph-structured data to address important brain imaging and computational neuroscience problems. *Link*: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/23683/graph-learning -for-brain-imaging *Keywords*: Brain Networks, Graph Neural Networks, Brain Imaging, Graph Embedding, Multi-Modal Imaging. *Topics*: We are looking for original, high-quality submissions on innovative research and developments in the analysis of brain imaging using graph learning techniques. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): • Graph neural networks (GNN) for network neuroscience applications • Graph neural network for brain mapping and data integration • Graph convolution network (GCN) for brain disorder classification • (Dynamic) Functional brain networks • Brain networks development trajectories • Graphical model for brain imaging data analysis • Spatial-temporal brain network modeling • Graph embedding and graph representation learning • Information fusion for brain networks from multiple modalities or scales (fMRI, M/EEG, DTI, PET, genetics) • Generative graph models in brain imaging • Brain network inference: scalable, online, and from non-linear relationships • Machine learning over graphs: kernel-based techniques, clustering methods, scalable algorithms for brain imaging • A few-shot learning for learning from limited brain data • Graph federated learning for brain imaging *Important Dates*: Abstract: 30-Sep-2021 Full paper: 30-Dec-2021 *Background:* Unprecedented collections of large-scale brain imaging data, such as MRI, PET, fMRI, M/EEG, DTI, etc. provide a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of the brain working mechanisms, improve prognostic predictions for mental disorders, and tailor personalized treatment plans for brain diseases. Recent advances in machine learning and large-scale brain imaging data collection, storage, and sharing lead to a series of novel interdisciplinary approaches among the fields of computational neuroscience, signal processing, deep learning, brain imaging, cognitive science, and computational psychiatry, among which graph learning provides a valuable means to address important questions in brain imaging. Graph learning refers to designing effective machine learning and deep learning methods extracting important information from graphs or exploiting the graph structure in the data to guide the knowledge discovery. Given the complex data structure in different imaging modalities as well as the networked organizational structure of the human brain, novel learning methods based on graphs inferred from imaging data, graph regularizations for the data, and graph embedding of the recorded data, have shown great promise in modeling the interactions of multiple brain regions, information fusion among networks derived from different brain imaging modalities, latent space modeling of the high dimensional brain networks, and quantifying topological neurobiomarkers. The goal of this Research Topic is to synergize the start-of-the-art discoveries in terms of new computational brain imaging models and insights of brain mechanisms through the lens of brain networks and graph learning. --On Behalf of all the Guest Editors Feng Liu, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA Yu Zhang, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA Jordi Solé-Casals, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya, Barcelona, SpainIslem Rekik, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, TurkeyYehia Massoud, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia Best regards Feng Liu

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WWNeuRise series on predictive processing (Sept-Oct 2021)
by William Podlaski Aug. 24, 2021

Aug. 24, 2021

WorldWideNeuRise will host several online talks throughout September-October on the topic of predictive processing from the following speakers (titles TBA): Wednesday, 8 September, 5pm CET Caroline Jahn (Buschman Lab, Princeton University) Ramon Bartolo (Averbeck Lab, National Institute of Mental Health) Wednesday, 22 September, 5pm CET Nick Audette (Schneider Lab, New York University) Colleen J. Gillon (Richards Lab, Mila & McGill University) Wednesday, 6 October, 5pm CET Nuttida Rungratsameetaweemana (Sejnowski Lab, UCSD & Salk Institute) Oded Bein (Niv Lab, Princeton University) Wednesday, 20 October, 5pm CET Selina Solomon (Growth Intelligence) Tomaso Muzzu (Saleem Lab, University College London) For more information, please visit our website (https://neurise.github.io/) find us on WorldWideNeuro (https://www.world-wide.org/Neuro/WWNeuRise/) or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/WWNeuRise) We are actively searching for PhD students and postdocs to give talks in our upcoming seminar blocks. On our website (https://neurise.github.io/) you can find an application form to directly apply, as well as a recommendation form, where you can suggest individuals from your lab, institute, or otherwise who you think might have an interesting story to tell! We are looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming seminars! The organising committee, Ellen Boven (Apps lab, University of Bristol) Christina Buetfering (Häusser lab, University College London) Lucie Descamps (Kentros lab, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Gily Ginosar (Ulanovsky lab, Weizmann Institute) Loreen Hertäg (Clopath lab, Imperial College London) Joram Keijser (Sprekeler lab, TU Berlin) Bill Podlaski (Machens lab, Champalimaud Research)

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Reminder (one week left): Call for papers: Symposium on Mathematics of Neuroscience
by Ruairidh McLennan Battleday Aug. 23, 2021

Aug. 23, 2021

Two decades into the 21st century, can we claim to be any closer to a unified model of the brain? In this exploratory symposium, we invite submissions for short talks and posters presenting general mathematical models of brain function. We give priority to those models that account for brain or behavioural data, or provide simulations to that effect. The symposium will be held at the applied mathematics conference ICNAAM 2021, to be held virtually and in person on the island of Rhodes, Greece from the 20-26th of September 2021. Submission is by 250-word abstract before the 30th August, sent to the organizers Prof Dan V. Nicolau Jr ( dan.nicolau(a)qut.edu.au) and Dr Ruairidh M. Battleday ( battleday(a)princeton.edu) We already have a great lineup (www.neuromonster.org) and with one week left until the deadline for the abstract submission encourage any remaining interested parties to apply. Ruairidh and Dan -- Dr. Ruairidh McLennan Battleday, BMBCh (Oxon) MA PhD Candidate and Cognitive Science Fellow Computational Cognitive Science Lab, Department of Computer Science Princeton University Department of Statistics St John's College University of Oxford

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[meetings] 2nd SMILES workshop, Aug 31st: Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols
by Xavier Hinaut Aug. 21, 2021

Aug. 21, 2021

* WHAT The SMILES workshop is about Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols (SMILES). It is a satellite event from the ICDL 2020 (International Conference on Developmental Learning). * WHEN Tuesday 31st of August 2021. Planned schedule (it might change): 9am - 8.30pm CEST (UTC+2). * WHERE Online event on Zoom. (Link sent to registered people the day before, see LINKS section) * WHO 8 Invited speakers from multiple fields: neurolinguistics, speech communication, language evolution, developmental science, social robotics, computational neuroscience, language acquisition. - Morten Christiansen, Cornell University, NY, USA & Aarhus University, Denmark - Kaya de Barbaro, University of CaliforniaSan Diego, USA - Cynthia Matuszek, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA - Yair Lakretz, NeuroSpin Center, Gif sur Yvette, France - Harm Brouwer, Saarland University, Germany - Jean-Luc Schwartz, Gipsa lab, Grenoble-Alpes University, France - Daniel Dor, Tel Aviv University, Israel - Lauren Emberson, University of British Columbia, Canada * LINKS - ** Website **: https://sites.google.com/view/smiles-workshop/home <https://sites.google.com/view/smiles-workshop/home> - ** Registration is free but mandatory **: https://forms.gle/tyvMdbb8UJFyXZky8 <https://forms.gle/tyvMdbb8UJFyXZky8> - Contact: smiles.conf(a)gmail.com <mailto:smiles.conf@gmail.com> - ICDL conference website: https://icdl-2021.org/ <https://icdl-2021.org/> * WHAT+ (Short Description) On the one hand, models of sensorimotor interaction are embodied in the environment and in the interaction with other agents. On the other hand, recent Deep Learning development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) models allow to capture increasing language complexity (e.g. compositional representations, word embedding, long term dependencies). However, those NLP models are disembodied in the sense that they are learned from static datasets of text or speech. How can we bridge the gap from low-level sensorimotor interaction to high-level compositional symbolic communication? The SMILES workshop will address this issue through an interdisciplinary approach involving researchers from (but not limited to): - Sensori-motor learning, - Emergent communication in multi-agent systems, - Chunking of perceptuo-motor gestures (gestures in a general sense: motor, vocal, ...), - Sensori-motor learning, - Symbol grounding and symbol emergence, - Compositional representations for communication and action sequence, - Hierarchical representations of temporal information, - Language processing and acquisition in brains and machines, - Models of animal communication, - Language evolution, - Understanding composition and temporal processing in neural network models, and - Enaction, active perception, perception-action loop. SMILES workshop organisers - Xavier Hinaut, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Clément Moulin-Frier, Inria and Ensta ParisTech, Bordeaux, France - Silvia Pagliarini, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Michael Spranger, Sony AI and Sony CSL, Tokyo, Japan - Tadahiro Taniguchi, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan - Anne S. Warlaumont, University of California, Los Angeles, America - Junpei Zhong, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom Xavier Hinaut Inria Researcher (CR) Mnemosyne team, Inria LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives www.xavierhinaut.com <http://www.xavierhinaut.com/>

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Postdoc and PhD Positions in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience at UKE - Hamburg
by Stefano Panzeri Aug. 20, 2021

Aug. 20, 2021

The Panzeri and Donner laboratories at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) aim to fill joint postdoc and PhD positions starting at any time. The vacant positions are for collaborative projects in computational cognitive neuroscience, and funding is available for several years. Applications will be reviewed when they are received until positions are filled. Both labs aim to understand how higher brain functions such as sensation, perception, decision-making, and memory, emerge from the interactions between brain areas and/or populations of neurons within these areas. These topics are studied in the healthy brain and in neuropsychiatric disorders, and they are addressed through a tight interplay between theoretical and experimental approaches. Joint ongoing work focuses on how feedforward and feedback communication across the cortical hierarchy, excitation-inhibition balance, and neuromodulatory processes, shape decision-making. The Panzeri Lab, newly established at UKE Hamburg, is a theoretical lab which develops advanced mathematical tools for brain data analysis, applies these methods to real data to produce new results on neural information processing, and develops biophysically plausible neural network models of how information is processed in the brain. The Donner lab is an experimental lab that combines pharmacological intervention, psychophysics, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging (MEG and fMRI) in human subjects with advanced data analysis and computational modeling tools to uncover signatures and mechanisms of cognitive computation. The new lab members will join existing teams with extensive expertise in both computational and experimental neuroscience. The new lab members will also benefit from both labs’ extensive international collaborations including Harvard Medical School, Italian Institute of Technology, Baylor College of Medicine, Cornell University, École Normale Supérieure, New York University, Pompeu Fabra University, University of Pennsylvania, SISSA and others. We seek applications from qualified individuals from all demographics, genders, and backgrounds. Both labs are committed to diversity, highly international, and operate in English. Hamburg is a vibrant, international, family-friendly, and green city. It hosts one of the world’s largest harbours, an internationally acclaimed concert hall, a large lake, and dozens of canals, lots of beautiful parks, and many other nice places for leisure time. The UKE also has excellent family-friendly facilities. Candidates should have a solid background in numerate sciences and a keen interest in applying advanced mathematical concepts to reveal the function of the brain. Experience in quantitative or computational neuroscience is a major plus. The main criterion, however, is a commitment to scientific excellence. Applications (full CV, statement of research interest and name and contact of 2 referees) should be sent to t.donner(a)uke.de , stefano.panzeri(a)gmail.com Further information on both labs can be found here: http://www.tobiasdonner.net https://www.uke.de/english/departments-institutes/institutes/department-of-… Recent relevant publications of the labs include: Pfeffer, T. et al (2021), Circuit mechanisms for the chemical modulation of cortex-wide network interactions and behavioral variability*. *Science Advances 7: eabf5620 Valente, M., et al (2021), Correlations enhance the behavioral readout of neural population activity in association cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 24, 975–986 Murphy P., et al (2021), Adaptive circuit dynamics across human cortex during evidence accumulation in changing environments. Nature Neuroscience 7: 987-997. Wilming N., et al (2020), Large-scale dynamics of decision information across human cortex. Nature Communications 11: 5109. Chong, E. et al (2020) Manipulating synthetic optogenetic odors reveals the coding logic of olfactory perception. Science 368, 1329. Runyan C. A., et al (2017) Distinct timescales of population coding across cortex, Nature: 548: 92-96. Stefano Panzeri, Professor of Neural Information Processing Tobias H. Donner, Professor of Integrative Neuroscience University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

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Faculty research fellowships ('tenure-track') available at the University of Nottingham
by Marcus Kaiser Aug. 19, 2021

Aug. 19, 2021

Dear all, New recruitment round launched for Nottingham Research and Anne McLaren Fellowship schemes! Join a cohort of ambitious and exceptional early-career researchers. Generous funding, research expenses, childcare costs, leadership mentoring + more. We have two schemes, each offering the same package of support: - *Anne McLaren Fellowships* are aimed at outstanding female postdoctoral researchers in science, technology, engineering and medicine, who are at the early stage of their academic careers and wish to establish a research career in the UK - *Nottingham Research Fellowships* are aimed at outstanding postdoctoral researchers who are at the early stage of their academic careers from all academic disciplines represented at the university We offer: - three years’ independent research funding, covering salary costs at c. £40,000-49,000 - *the link to a permanent academic post, subject to performance* - additional funding for research expenses totalling £75,000 - childcare costs of up to £15,000 - access to mentoring, career development and networking with the wider fellowship community Find out more at: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/researchwithus/fellowships/nottingham… Nottingham “the home of MRI” offers an excellent environment for imaging ( https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/precision-imagi… and https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/spmic/index.aspx ), is pioneering the use of neurotechnology for brain disorders ( http://mindtech.org.uk/ ), hosts the Institute of Mental Health ( https://www.institutemh.org.uk ), and has a large group of faculty members including four full professors (Stephen Coombes, Mark van Rossum, Mark Humphries, Marcus Kaiser) in the area of computational/mathematical neuroscience. Please contact me if you want to find out more about how your research might fit in with our priorities of connectomics, brain stimulation, neurotechnology, neuroimaging, and computational/mathematical neuroscience. Best, Marcus -- *Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. FRSB* @ConnectomeLab <https://twitter.com/ConnectomeLab> *Professor of Neuroinformatics* *Precision Imaging Beacon, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham* Guanci Visiting Professor Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Book: Changing Connectomes https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/changing-connectomes Lab website: http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/ Neuroinformatics UK: http://www.neuroinformatics.org.uk/

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PhD position: Molecular basis of synaptic plasticity and consolidation
by Fauth, Michael Aug. 18, 2021

Aug. 18, 2021

Apologies for cross-postings. The Institute of Biophysics at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is looking to fill a Ph.D. position (German Salary Scale TV-L E13, 66% of 39.8 weekly hours) for 3 years to work on theoretical models of the molecular underpinnings of (structural) synaptic plasticity and consolidation. This post is designed to foster young researchers and give the successful applicant the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree. The position should be filled by September 15th 2021 or soon thereafter. Suitable candidates should hold a Master in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science or comparable subjects, preferably with some additional experiences in Computational Neuroscience, Geometrical Modeling and Stochastic Processes. We expect excellent mathematical and coding skills (e.g., Python, Matlab, C++) as well as skills in scientific communication (including proficiency in English). The candidate should be curious, highly motivated, self-organized, and show a keen interest to work in a lively research team, collaborate with experimental research labs and to perform leading-edge research. The positions will be affiliated with the groups of Dr. Michael Fauth and Prof Florentin Wörgötter, who are investigating the emergence of stable behavior like memory and computation in the presence of a continuously changing biological substrate (see, e.g., Fauth & van Rossum, eLife, 2019; Bonilla-Quintana et al., Scientific Reports 2021). The aim of the research project is to model the dynamics of the synaptic scaffolding protein actin as well as its influence on synapse geometry during and after synaptic plasticity, exploring a possible molecular mechanism for the consolidation of synaptic changes. The project is embedded in and funded through the Collaborative Research Center 1286 “Quantitative Synaptology” (German Science Foundation). Consequently, the successful candidate will also be involved and pursue an active collaboration with experimental partners within the CRC. The Göttingen Campus is a leading center of neuroscience in Europe hosting numerous internationally renowned research institutions, including the University and its Medical Center, the three life science Max Planck Institutes, the European Neuroscience Institute, the German Primate Center, and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Göttingen. For more information, consult the official announcement at https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/2794.html?cid=15701

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Call for papers: Symposium on Mathematics of Neuroscience
by Ruairidh McLennan Battleday Aug. 17, 2021

Aug. 17, 2021

Symposium on the Mathematics of Neuroscience. ICNAAM, Rhodes, 20-26th September 2021. Two decades into the 21st century, can we claim to be any closer to a unified model of the brain? In this exploratory symposium, we invite submissions for short talks and posters presenting general mathematical models of brain function. We give priority to those models that account for brain or behavioural data, or provide simulations to that effect. The symposium will be held at the applied mathematics conference ICNAAM 2021, to be held virtually and in person on the island of Rhodes, Greece from the 20-26th of September 2021 (www.neuromonster.org) Submission is by 250-word abstract before the 30th August, sent to the organizers Prof Dan V. Nicolau Jr (dan.nicolau(a)qut.edu.au) and Dr Ruairidh M. Battleday ( battleday(a)princeton.edu) -- Dr. Ruairidh McLennan Battleday, BMBCh (Oxon) MA Cognitive Science Fellow Computational Cognitive Science Lab, Department of Computer Science Princeton University Department of Statistics St John's College University of Oxford

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Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging at UC Riverside
by Aaron Seitz Aug. 16, 2021

Aug. 16, 2021

Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging in the UCR Psychology Department Tenure-Track Assistant Professor The Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position with a focus on Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging beginning July 1, 2022. We seek applicants who investigate individual differences, as well as diverse populations, in cognitive and neural mechanisms of aging. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research will benefit from the social, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of Southern California’s aging population. Specific topics of research can address any area of cognitive psychology that will add to or complement our existing research specializations in perception, action, learning, memory, language, and experience-driven change. We are further interested in candidates whose research includes quantitative methods such as computational neuroscience; uses neuroimaging methodologies; makes connections between human, animal, and computational perspectives of cognition; and/or makes connections with the Developmental, Social/Personality, and/or Behavioral Neuroscience areas of the Department. Applicants should be committed to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, and interest in teaching courses related to cognitive neuroscience, aging, cognition, and quantitative methods is desirable. Review of applications will begin on 11/15/2021 and will continue until the position is filled. Candidates who apply by this date will be given full consideration. The University of California, Riverside is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate and graduate student body (http://diversity.ucr.edu/)<http://diversity.ucr.edu/>. Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification. The department is particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and a demonstrated commitment to improving access to higher education for underrepresented students. The campus is surrounded by mountain ranges and is only an hour away from ski slopes, surfing, and hiking in mountain and desert environments. It boasts a fully-accredited child care facility and maintains a commitment to “family friendly” policies and programs. A Ph.D. in psychology, neuroscience or a related discipline is required at the time of appointment, and relevant postdoctoral experience and significant publications are expected. Salary level will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Advancement through the faculty ranks at the University of California is through a series of structured, merit-based evaluations, occurring every 2-3 years, each of which includes substantial peer input. Applications must include a cover letter, curriculum vita, statements of research and teaching interests, reprints and preprints, a statement of contributions to diversity, and three letters of recommendation. All application materials must be submitted through AP Recruit at: https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/apply/JPF01442. For more information about the position, please contact the Search Committee Chair, Dr. Aaron Seitz, Department of Psychology, at aseitz(a)ucr.edu<mailto:aseitz@ucr.edu>. UCR is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. -Aaron ************************************************** Aaron Seitz, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Director of UCR Brain Game Center Director of UCR Aging Initiative Campbell Endowed Term Chair for Research Excellence and Undergraduate Research Mentoring University of California, Riverside 900 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92521 Ph: (951) 827-6422 Fax: (951) 827-3985 Email: aseitz(a)ucr.edu<mailto:aseitz@ucr.edu> Web: http://faculty.ucr.edu/~aseitz/ BGC: http://braingamecenter.ucr.edu<http://braingamecenter.ucr.edu/> **************************************************

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Call For Participation - Workshop on Spatio-temporal Aspects of Embodied Predictive Processing - StEPP @ ICDL2021 - 22.08.2021
by Stefan Heinrich Aug. 15, 2021

Aug. 15, 2021

Call For Participation - Workshop on Spatio-temporal Aspects of Embodied Predictive Processing - StEPP @ IEEE ICDL2021 Schedule and Venue Date: 22. August 2021, 13:30-18:00h (GMT+8) Location: Online (Details will be announced on the website) All details and full schedule: https://sites.google.com/view/stepp21 Aims and Scope: Understanding human intelligence and building strong AI systems is a key challenge for our generation. A particularly puzzling aspect is that the human brain seems to cope very well with the highly variable and uncertain nature of perception and action, regarding both their signal characteristic and how they extend over time. Furthermore, it seems apparent that the information processing in the brain always involves previous bodily experiences and all our senses, thus is embodied and crossmodal. For explaining these characteristics, there are strong accounts that the brain is constantly predicting sensory input and feedback while minimising free energy in the prediction and is hierarchically abstracting the perception as well as hierarchically composing action. Furthermore, it is also hypothesised that mechanistic priors in the brain’s information processing induce a failure of hierarchical inference in the brain, accounting for atypical perception and action of psychiatric disorders. For example, some brains might have developed to focus too strongly on current sensory input while others might focus too strongly on memorised previous experience. A typically developed brain, in contrast, would show a fine balance compared to these two extreme priors. The big open mystery is: how is the brain developing this on a mechanistic level and thus how can this get learned within an AI system? Thus, to lift this mystery, we further need to bring together research from computational neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence. With this workshop, we particularly want to wrap up different recent hypotheses, models, and experiments and discuss in-depth how to shape future imaging, behavioural, and developmental robotics studies as a complement to computational modelling and bio-inspired artificial intelligent algorithms. As a guiding theme, we aim to approach the following central questions: - How does the brain learn spatio-temporal stochasticity in perception and action? - What is the role of priors in learning spatio-temporal adaptive prediction? - How can developmental robotics help us to study spatio-temporal stochasticity as an analogy to infant learning? We examine these questions with the insight from invited key speakers from complementary fields as well as original contributions in breakout sessions in order to conclude the next steps within a panel discussion. Keynotes/Panellists and topics: - Jun Tani, Cognitive Neurorobotics, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) An analysis of meta-level cognitive processes of a variational recurrent neural network model when acting with the environment. - Marcel van Gerven, Artificial Cognitive Systems, Donders Institute, Radboud University How can the brain match the unreasonable effectiveness of backpropagation? - Takuya Isomura, Brain Intelligence Theory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science Reverse engineering Bayesian aspect of canonical neural networks. - Takamitsu Watanabe, Brain Network Dynamics, International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN), The University of Tokyo Global and local brain dynamics underlying typical and atypical human intelligence. Organisers: Stefan Heinrich, IRCN, The University of Tokyo, Japan Shingo Murata, Dept. Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Keio University, Japan Yukie Nagai, IRCN & Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Japan Yuichi Yamashita, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan -- ************************************************************* Dr. Stefan Heinrich Postdoctoral Project Researcher Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab The University of Tokyo, Institutes for Advanced Studies, International Research Center for Neurointelligence Email: heinrich.stefan(a)ircn.jp https://developmental-robotics.jp/en/members/stefan_heinrich/ https://ircn.jp/en/ https://stefanheinrich.net/ *************************************************************

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[jobs] Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence Sheffield Hallam University - College of Business, Technology and Engineering - Department of Computing
by Di Nuovo, Alessandro Aug. 13, 2021

Aug. 13, 2021

Closing date 22/08/21 at 23:30 We are seeking an outstanding individual who can make a strong academic contribution in Cognitive Computing and Intelligent Systems. You will join a large and vibrant Computing Department that is engaged in both teaching and research. The teaching and research activities in Computing are consistent with the University aims of being the leading applied university in the UK and deliver practical knowledge, skills and solutions that meet the needs of employers and society. Your main duties and responsibilities will include: * Design, develop and deliver teaching across a wide range of modules and within artificial intelligence. * Contribute to the research and innovation in artificial intelligence by publishing high-quality outputs, applying for funding, and undertaking knowledge transfer projects. We would be particularly interested in any candidate with experience of artificial intelligence and robotics. You must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in a relevant subject and possess excellent communication skills. Teaching experience at undergraduate level, is essential, including developing excellent teaching materials and assessments, delivering lectures and tutorials, supervising dissertations as well as assessing and marking student work. It is expected that the successful candidate will contribute to module and course developments, and therefore having knowledge and experience of course development would be beneficial. An excellent research record and reputation, including publications of the highest quality suitable for submission to the REF (UK Research Excellence Framework), would be advantageous. Applications from people with strong backgrounds in cognitive computing and experience of programming in Python, C++, ROS and Tensorflow (or similar) would also be desirable. More information: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CIE152/lecturer-senior-lecturer-in-artificial-in… Alessandro Di Nuovo, PhD Professor of Machine Intelligence Leader of Technological and Digital Innovations, Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre College of Business, Technology and Engineering Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom Email: a.dinuovo(a)shu.ac.uk<mailto:a.dinuovo@shu.ac.uk>

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2nd SMILES workshop, Aug 31st: Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols
by Xavier Hinaut Aug. 13, 2021

Aug. 13, 2021

* WHAT The SMILES workshop is about Sensorimotor Interaction, Language and Embodiment of Symbols (SMILES). It is a satellite event from the ICDL 2020 (International Conference on Developmental Learning). * WHEN Tuesday 31st of August 2021. Planned schedule (it might change): 9am - 8.30pm CEST (UTC+2). * WHERE Online event on Zoom. (Link sent to registered people the day before, see LINKS section) * WHO 8 Invited speakers from multiple fields: neurolinguistics, speech communication, language evolution, developmental science, social robotics, computational neuroscience, language acquisition. - Morten Christiansen, Cornell University, NY, USA & Aarhus University, Denmark - Kaya de Barbaro, University of CaliforniaSan Diego, USA - Cynthia Matuszek, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA - Yair Lakretz, NeuroSpin Center, Gif sur Yvette, France - Harm Brouwer, Saarland University, Germany - Jean-Luc Schwartz, Gipsa lab, Grenoble-Alpes University, France - Daniel Dor, Tel Aviv University, Israel - Lauren Emberson, University of British Columbia, Canada * LINKS - ** Website **: https://sites.google.com/view/smiles-workshop/home - ** Registration is free but mandatory **: https://forms.gle/tyvMdbb8UJFyXZky8 - Contact: smiles.conf(a)gmail.com - ICDL conference website: https://icdl-2021.org/ * WHAT+ (Short Description) On the one hand, models of sensorimotor interaction are embodied in the environment and in the interaction with other agents. On the other hand, recent Deep Learning development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) models allow to capture increasing language complexity (e.g. compositional representations, word embedding, long term dependencies). However, those NLP models are disembodied in the sense that they are learned from static datasets of text or speech. How can we bridge the gap from low-level sensorimotor interaction to high-level compositional symbolic communication? The SMILES workshop will address this issue through an interdisciplinary approach involving researchers from (but not limited to): - Sensori-motor learning, - Emergent communication in multi-agent systems, - Chunking of perceptuo-motor gestures (gestures in a general sense: motor, vocal, ...), - Sensori-motor learning, - Symbol grounding and symbol emergence, - Compositional representations for communication and action sequence, - Hierarchical representations of temporal information, - Language processing and acquisition in brains and machines, - Models of animal communication, - Language evolution, - Understanding composition and temporal processing in neural network models, and - Enaction, active perception, perception-action loop. SMILES workshop organisers - Xavier Hinaut, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Clément Moulin-Frier, Inria and Ensta ParisTech, Bordeaux, France - Silvia Pagliarini, Inria, Bordeaux, France - Michael Spranger, Sony AI and Sony CSL, Tokyo, Japan - Tadahiro Taniguchi, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan - Anne S. Warlaumont, University of California, Los Angeles, America - Junpei Zhong, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom Xavier Hinaut Inria Researcher (CR) Mnemosyne team, Inria LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives www.xavierhinaut.com

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WU TSAI POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS Phase II: Call for Applicants
by Gustavo Santana Aug. 13, 2021

Aug. 13, 2021

The Wu Tsai Institute (WTI) is a new neuroscience institute at Yale that seeks to understand human cognition and explore human potential by establishing an inclusive and interdisciplinary community spanning the biological, psychological, and computational sciences. People, collaborations, and diverse perspectives are at the heart of WTI’s mission. To this end, we are announcing a new postdoctoral fellowship program to attract and foster the career success of a new generation of integrative scientists. The fellowships offer a generous stipend ($60K starting) for up to 3 years, funds for training, cohort-based professional development and community-building activities, and access to cutting edge facilities in the new Wu Tsai Institute (WTI) at Yale, dedicated to integrative studies of the mind. International applicants are welcome. We encourage applications from scientists from backgrounds historically underrepresented in science and/or who have a demonstrated commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. The call features four co-mentored areas of research, carefully selected for the mentors' outstanding interdisciplinary research and the labs' inclusive and supportive training environments. Students from this listserv may be especially interested in working with Drs. David van Dijk and Jessica Cardin, who are interested in mentoring someone with a background in computer science, applied math, computational biology, or other engineering discipline, and experience working with large datasets for the development of cutting-edge machine learning methods for newly developed large-scale brain imaging techniques. Candidates who are interested in joining the WTI, but who have other research interests are also welcome to apply to our Open-Track, to join any of the almost 100 labs affiliated with the WTI. The deadline for applications is September 15. You can find more information and application instructions here: https://bit.ly/WTIPostdocFellows Best, Gustavo Madeira Santana PhD Student @ Yale @gumadeiras

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CFP - IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence for Brain Computer Interfaces (4-7 Dec 2021)
by Chun-Shu Wei Aug. 10, 2021

Aug. 10, 2021

The IEEE Symposium on the Computational Intelligence for Brain Computer Interfaces (CIBCI) will be held in Orlando, Florida at IEEE SSCI 2021 on 4-7 December 2021. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a communication pathway for a user to interact with his/her surroundings by using brain signals, which contain information about the user’s cognitive state or intentions. The brain signals could be non-invasive, e.g., the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and invasive, e.g., electrocorticography (ECoG). Early BCI systems were mainly used to help people with disabilities. For example, motor imagery based BCIs have been used to help severely paralyzed patients to control powered exoskeletons or wheelchairs without the involvement of muscles, and event related potential spellers enable patients who cannot move nor speak to type. Recently, the application scope of BCIs has been extended to able-bodied people. However, there are still many challenges in the transition of BCIs from laboratory settings to real-life applications, including the reliability and convenience of the sensing hardware, and the availability of high-performance and robust algorithms for signal analysis and interpretation. This symposium focuses on the latter. It will discuss how advances in computational intelligence can facilitate BCI signal processing, feature extraction, and pattern recognition, in order to make them more robustness and reliability in everyday applications. Research Topics Topics of interest include but are not limited to: Potential impact of AI/CI on the human workforce and distribution of wealth Potential impact of AI/CI on privacy Possible bias in AI/CI systems (e.g. can a deep neural network trained to detect lying from spoken language be more likely to get a false positive result for one racial group more than another) Safety of AI/CI systems embedded in autonomous and automated systems (e.g. autonomous vehicles, nuclear power plant control systems) Human-machine Trust and Risk in AI/CI Systems Ethics of AI/CI systems in business, economics or manufacturing Specific applications of AI/CI and the potential ethical/social benefits and risks (e.g. Marking of student assignments, assessment of legal documents, automated decision making in the stock market, medical research) Legal implications of AI/CI (e.g. legal liabilities when things go wrong; how do you certify systems that can ‘learn’ from their environment etc.) Need and direction for developing formal standards in ethics for AI/CI Public perception of AI/CI Impact of AI/CI on human cognition and social relatedness Role of AI/CI in politics and in manipulating public opinion Ethics and Legal implications of use of AI/CI in National Security Ethics in games and virtual reality Important Dates Paper Submissions: August 20th 2021 Paper Acceptance: October 1st 2021 Camera ready Paper: October 15th 2021 Early Registration: October 15th 2021 Conference dates: December 4th to 7th 2021 Paper Submission Each paper should be between 6 to 8 pages, including figures, tables and references. A maximum of two extra pages per paper is allowed (i.e., up to 10 pages), at an additional charge of US$100 per extra page. All papers should be submitted using the IEEE two-column conference style file. All papers must be submitted through the IEEE SSCI 2021 online submission system which will open in April 2021. Authors will need to select the symposium they wish to submit to from the dropdown list of research areas in the submission system. Program Committee Yu-Kai (YK) Wang (Chair), University of Technology Sydney, Australia Gang Li (Co-Chair), University of Glasgow, UK Fani Deligianni (Co-Chair), University of Glasgow, UK Chun-Shu Wei (Co-Chair), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Boon Giin, Lee, University of Nottingham Ningbo China Trung-Hau Nguyen, Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam Dalin Yang, Pusan National University, South Korea Ogechi Onuoha, University of Glasgow, UK Fu-Yin Cherng, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Poyuan Jeng, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Kuan-Jung Chiang, University of California San Diego, USA Tien-Thong Nguyen Do, University of Technology Sydney, AU Fred Chang, University of Technology Sydney, AU About SSCI IEEE SSCI is an established flagship annual international series of symposia on computational intelligence sponsored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. IEEE SSCI 2021 promotes and stimulates discussion on the latest theory, algorithms, applications and emerging topics on computational intelligence across several unique symposia, providing an opportunity for cross-fertilization of research and future collaborations. IEEE SSCI 2021 will feature exciting keynotes, panel discussions, oral presentations and social events. COVID-19 The organizers are carefully monitoring the current situation concerning COVID-19 and will Provide regular up-to-date information regarding the conference format. At this stage the conference is planned to take place in Orlando, Florida from 4th to the 7th of December 2021. The next review of the conference format will be in April 2021. Please check the website for more information IEEE SSCI 2021. Policy on Multiple Submissions IEEE SSCI 2021 will not accept any paper that is under review, has been accepted, or has been published in any other venue at the time of submission or during the review process of IEEE SSCI 2021. If in doubt, email your question to the Program Chairs, Prof. Alice Smith at smithae(a)auburn.edu or Prof. Carlos Coello at carlos.coellocoello(a)gmail.com. Review Process Each paper submitted to IEEE SSCI 2021 will receive at least three reviews. The paper will be assessed based on originality, significance, adherence to the scientific method, correctness, clarity and quality of scientific presentation. The decision made on the paper by the Program Chairs is final. Submission and Registration Restrictions There are no restrictions on the number of papers submitted by a single author. However, each accepted paper must have at least one of its authors with a full registration to the conference. A full registration covers up to two accepted papers. Archiving policy IEEE allows authors to have their paper appears in a public archive such as Techrxiv (https://www.techrxiv.org/) or Arxiv (https://arxiv.org/) The PSPB Operations Manual (www.ieee.org/documents/opsmanual.pdf) contains the policies related to posting of preprints of articles submitted to IEEE publications. Copyright All accepted papers at IEEE SSCI 2021 will be published in the IEEE SSCI 2021 proceedings, copyrighted by IEEE. Dr Yu-Kai Wang, Dr Gang Li, Dr Fani Deligianni, Dr. Chun-Shu Wei

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NeuroML tutorials at INCF Training week: 23/26 August 2021
by Ankur Sinha Aug. 9, 2021

Aug. 9, 2021

Dear all, Apologies for the cross posts. We will be conducting a NeuroML tutorial at the upcoming INCF training week at the end of August. This tutorial is intended for members of the research community interested in learning more about how NeuroML and its related technologies facilitates the standardization, sharing, and collaborative development of models. This tutorial will be offered twice during the Neuroinformatics Training Week: session 1 is targeted to participants residing in Europe, Africa, and the Americas while session 2 is targeted at participants residing in Asia and Australia. Session 1: 23 Aug 2021, 11:00-15:00 EDT / 17:00-21:00 CEST Session 2: 26 Aug 2021, 09:00-13:00 CEST / 16:00-20:00 JST / 17:00-21:00 AEST Registration is free for INCF members. For non-members, registration is only $20 for students and postdocs, and $50 for others. Please register here: https://www.incf.org/virtual-incf-neuroinformatics-training-week-2021 More information on the tutorial, including the topics to be covered can be found here: https://docs.neuroml.org/Events/202108-INCF-Training-Week.html -- Thanks, Regards, Ankur Sinha (He / Him / His) Research Fellow at the Silver Lab | http://silverlab.org/ Department of Neuroscience, Physiology, & Pharmacology University College London, London, UK Time zone: Europe/London

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Job research software engineer @ SWC/GCNU
by Joaquin Rapela Aug. 9, 2021

Aug. 9, 2021

Hello list, I am the first member of the newly established Data Center of the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit (GCNU) and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC). The GCNU develops state-of-the-art neural data analysis and machine learning algorithms. The SWC performs sophisticated neuroscience experiments, and records unprecedented behavioral and neural data. Combining these data analysis methods and these behavioral and neural recordings we will revolutionize our understanding of how computation in neural circuits gives rise to behavior. The Data Center is growing and is looking for a research engineer; details appear below. Please contact Tom Mrsic-Flogel (https://www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/people/tom-mrsic-flogel) director of the SWC, or send me an email, if you have any question about this position. Cordially, Joaquin RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEER - BEHAVIOUR AND NEURAL DATA The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre and the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit are looking for a proactive and creative Research Software Engineer to join the technical team in a newly established Data Centre. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in establishing data architectures and data processing pipelines for efficient querying of complex, large-scale and multi-format datasets of neural and behavioural data. Your work will directly contribute to our efforts to understand how the brain generates flexible, intelligent behaviour. The role will include developing, training and supervising a small team of research engineers to assist with the implementation of the software design and documentation. You will have a collaborative approach to work and the ability to build strong working relationships with colleagues to deliver successful research outcomes. Working alongside our IT team, you will create data management workflows for internal users and for sharing of data with the international research community. You will work closely with neuroscientists, electrical and mechanical engineers to design large-scale data collection, analysis and interactive visualization systems for next generation brain data. You will have advanced experience with systems programming languages and substantial experience in Python, NumPy or MATLAB. Substantial experience and knowledge of software development best practice including testing, documentation and version control is essential. With a competitive salary and benefits, this post is full time and funded until 31 October 2025 in the first instance. For further details download the information for candidates (https://www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/sites/default/files/2021-07/Job%20Des…) To apply visit UCL's vacancy listings and search for the advert using reference number 1877608. Click on "Apply Now" at the bottom of the advert to enter the online recruitment portal. The deadline for applications is Sunday 22 August 2021.

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Open PhD Position in Computational Neurosience in Juelich, Germany - Generic metadata management for reproducible high-performance-computing simulation workflows
by Martina Reske Aug. 6, 2021

Aug. 6, 2021

The Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - Computational and Systems Neuroscience (INM-6) at Research Center Juelich is also part of the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6, Theoretical Neuroscience) and hosts the Coordination Site (BCOS) of the national Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience. Among other projects, the INM-6/IAS-6 participates in the EU flagship “Human Brain Project” (HBP, https://humanbrainproject.eu) The institute creates mathematical models of the dynamics and function of neural circuits. This includes model-driven analysis of brain activity and structure, and simulation of biologically realistic models using high-performance computing (HPC) technology. A main challenge in this research field is the acquisition and organization of the metadata accompanying these simulations. This challenge will be addressed in an interdisciplinary project in Neuroscience and Environmental Research funded by the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC, https://helmholtz-metadaten.de) The recently started project “Generic metadata management for reproducible high-performance-computing simulation workflows” aims at developing a generic, cross-domain metadata management framework to foster reproducibility of HPC based simulation science, and to provide workflows and tools for an efficient organization, exploration and visualization of simulation data. A central goal of this project is to unify existing approaches, while at the same time developing concepts and tools that are applicable to diverse research fields and can cope with the modularity and flexibility demands of rapidly progressing science. This project is a collaboration between the Research Centre Jülich and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig. We at INM-6 are searching for a PhD candidate contributing to the development of a metadata management framework for generic HPC-based simulation science and in particular its application to the research field Computational Neuroscience. We are offering a PhD Position - Generic metadata management for reproducible high-performance-computing simulation workflows Your Job: The successful candidate will contribute to the project by designing, implementing, and evaluating a metadata management framework for a Computational Neuroscience use case. This includes: * Review of existing approaches and tools * Requirement specification * Conceptual design blueprint of implementation * Proof-of-concept application to Computational Neuroscience * Development of neuronal network models addressing Neuroscience questions * Simulations of neuronal networks using HPC infrastructure * Presentation and publication of the results * Close interaction with team members and collaborators from INM-6, the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ * Exchange and networking within national (NFDI) and international (RDA, EOSC) initiatives and within the funding incubator platform HMC Your Profile: * Completed study (Diploma/Master) in Physics, Computer Science, Computational Neuroscience or a related field * Solid programming skills preferably in Python and/or C++; experience with Python libraries (e.g., NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, and pandas) is beneficial * Experience with software development (e.g., version control with Git) and data organization (e.g., data bases with SQL and MySQL) is preferable * Knowledge of relevant metadata standards and semantic techniques are beneficial * Experience with modeling, simulation, and analysis of complex systems * Keen interest in cognitive and systems neuroscience * Interest in interdisciplinary projects * Interest in collaborative work and good communication skills * Good command of English Our Offer: We work on the very latest issues that impact our society and are offering you the chance to actively help in shaping the change! We offer ideal conditions for you to complete your doctoral degree: * A highly motivated working group as well as an international and interdisciplinary working environment at one of Europe’s largest research establishments * Outstanding scientific and technical infrastructure * Opportunity to participate in (international) conferences and project meetings * Continuous scientific mentoring by your scientific advisor * Flexible working hours and 30 days of annual leave * Further development of your personal strengths, e.g. through an extensive range of training courses; a structured program of continuing education and networking opportunities specifically for doctoral researchers via JuDocS, the Jülich Center for Doctoral Researchers and Supervisors: https://www.fz-juelich.de/judocs * Targeted services for international employees, e.g. through our International Advisory Service The position is initially for a fixed term of 3 Jahre years. Pay in line with 65 % of pay group 13 of the Collective Agreement for the Public Service (TVöD-Bund) and additionally 60 % of a monthly salary as special payment („Christmas bonus“). Further information on doctoral degrees at Forschungszentrum Jülich including our other locations is available at: www.fz-juelich.de/gp/Careers_Docs<http://www.fz-juelich.de/gp/Careers_Docs> Forschungszentrum Jülich promotes equal opportunities and diversity in its employment relations. We also welcome applications from disabled persons. Please apply via our online recruiting system<https://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Careers/application/_node.html?cms_hre_…> until Sept 15th, 2021. Reference number: 2021D-107 Martina Reske -- Dr. Martina Reske Scientific Coordinator Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience & Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Jülich Research Centre and JARA Jülich, Germany Work +49.2461.611916 Work Cell +49.151.26156918 Fax +49.2461.619460 www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Volker Rieke Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Dr. Astrid Lambrecht, Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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„Bridging grant” from the German Society for Cognitive Science (GK) for BA-, MA- and PhD students
by Constantin Rothkopf Aug. 6, 2021

Aug. 6, 2021

„Bridging grant” from the German Society for Cognitive Science (GK) for Bachelor, Master and PhD students The German Society for Cognitive Science (GK) would like to support students who find themselves in a difficult (emergency) situation caused by the Corona pandemic with a bridging grant. The grant consists of funding for a maximum of three months á 500 € per month. The GK is able to offer six to eight grants. The grant is meant as financial support allowing to finish the respective degree (Bachelor or Master) or providing some financial relief during an important PhD thesis phase (e.g. finishing a paper). The selection will be done by the members of the steering committee of the German Society for Cognitive Science (GK). The committee will consider all emergency cases as long as they have been caused by the Corona pandemic within the context of the studies and/or doctoral programme and are sufficiently substantiated with proof. Target group: The funding is intended for students who are enrolled and/or registered in a German university. In particular, only the following persons are eligible for funding: (1) Bachelor or Master students in subjects belonging to Cognitive Science (e.g. Cognitive Science, Philosophy, Psychology, CS, AI, Linguistics, Neuroscience) who, ideally, will be able to graduate soon, and (2) PhD students registered in one of the subjects belonging to Cognitive Science who are working on a cognitive science project. Persons who already received a bridging grant from the GK are not eligible to apply. Paradigmatic cases: A student pursuing a Master degree has fallen behind with their master thesis because due to the Corona-pandemic there was no constant childcare. The funding could be used to pay for a privately organised childcare. Or a PhD student could not finish his or her dissertation because data acquisition was delayed due to reduced lab capacities. The funding could be used to cover living expenses after the contract has expired. Application and Proof: Please submit: - a statement comprehensibly describing applicant’s situation (cases with evidence are preferred) and indicating the use of the funding. - Bachelor and Master students: -- Enrollment confirmation and transcript of record -- A letter from the faculty’s/program’s advisor confirming the regular continuation of studies, anticipated graduation (within the winter term 2021/2022) - PhD students: -- A short statement from the first supervisor roughly sketching the cognitive science related project and describing the project’s progress. The application shall be emailed with the subject „Application Bridging Grant“ to the following email: Chair of the GK, Prof. Dr. Barbara Kaup, barbara.kaup(a)uni-tuebingen.de; Application deadline: 15.10.2021 -- Prof. Constantin A. Rothkopf, PhD http://www.cogsci.tu-darmstadt.de/ http://www.pip.tu-darmstadt.de/ https://hessian.ai/ https://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~rothkopf/

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Summer School on Network and Control Sciences for Psychiatry
by Jasper Bischofberger Aug. 6, 2021

Aug. 6, 2021

Dear all, We are happy to announce a Summer School on “Current and Future Applications of Network and Control Sciences for Psychiatry” Host Institution: *University of Tübingen, Germany* Location: *Online event* Dates: *September 29th – October 1st 2021* Abstract deadline: *September 1st, 2021* Registration fees: *free* *Focus* This Summer School gives an opportunity to students and young researchers to get acquainted with and exchange within a range of current topics in network and control sciences and its applications in Psychiatry. ____ *Keynotes* Peter Dayan (MPI Tübingen, Germany) John Medaglia (Drexel University, USA) Danielle S. Bassett (University of Pennsylvania, USA) For the full list of speakers visit: https://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/de/summer-school-controlpsychiatry/spe… ____ *Registration* The summer school is free of charge for all participants, but to get all important information please register online via: https://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/de/summer-school-controlpsychiatry ____ *Poster Submission* Participants can present their latest research results as a poster. Some of the most relevant submissions will have the possibility to present their work in a dedicated oral session and receive an official certificate. Please submit your abstract (limited to 250 words) latest by September 1st to: controlpsychiatry(a)med.uni-tuebingen.de ____ Questions? Please contact: controlpsychiatry(a)med.uni-tuebingen.de We are excited to see you soon! Best wishes, The organizing committee

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Job Openings: Research Assistant Professor (3 vacancies) at Hong Kong Baptist University
by COMP HKBU Aug. 5, 2021

Aug. 5, 2021

The Department of Computer Science at Hong Kong Baptist University presently offers BSc, MSc, MPhil, and PhD programmes, and is now seeking outstanding applicants for the following positions. Research Assistant Professor in Computer Science (3 vacancies) (PR0166/19-20) The positions are created and funded as part of the strategic research development initiatives in the Department. The appointees will be provided with a conducive research environment, and will work within an established group of faculty in the Department. They are also expected to perform group-based high-impact research and to undertake some teaching duties. Applicants should possess a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, and sufficiently demonstrate abilities to conduct high-quality research in one of the Department's key research areas: (i) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; (ii) Big Data and Data Management; (iii) Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition; and (iv) Distributed Systems and Networking. These key research areas have a special thematic focus on (a) Health Informatics and (b) Security and Privacy-aware Computing related applications. Initial appointment will be made on a fixed-term contract of two to three years. Re-appointment thereafter is subject to mutual agreement. For enquiry, please contact Dr William Cheung, Head of Department (email: william(a)comp.hkbu.edu.hk) More information about the Department can be found on its website at https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk <http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/>. *Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.* Application Procedure: Applicants are invited to submit their applications at the HKBU e-Recruitment System (jobs.hkbu.edu.hk) with samples of publications, preferably *three* best ones out of their most recent publications/works. Those should also request *two* referees to send in confidential letters of reference, with PR number (stated above) quoted on the letters, to the Human Resources Office (Email: recruit(a)hkbu.edu.hk) direct. Those who are not invited for interview 4 months after the closing date may consider their applications unsuccessful. All application materials including publication samples, scholarly/creative works will be disposed of after completion of the recruitment exercise. Details of the University’s Personal Information Collection Statement can be found at http://hro.hkbu.edu.hk/pics. The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for the post advertised, and appointment will be made according to the terms and conditions then applicable at the time of offer. Closing date: *Review of applications is on-going until the positions are filled.* URL: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?page=job_vacancies&id=540

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Postdoc position in theoretical neuroscience, Aljadeff lab at UCSD
by Johnatan (Yonatan) Aljadeff Aug. 4, 2021

Aug. 4, 2021

Johnatan Aljadeff is recruiting a motivated postdoc to join his lab at UCSD, to investigate theoretical models of synaptic plasticity and learning of spatial representations. The CRCNS project is funded for a 4-year period, and is conducted in close collaboration with Nachum Ulanovsky's lab at the Weizmann Institute. The ideal candidate will have a quantitative background (math / physics / CS / EE / comp. neuro., etc.). Prior experience working on problems in neuroscience is welcome but not required. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter (incl. brief statement of research interests and possible start dates), curriculum vitae, and arrange for two reference letters to be sent on their behalf. Materials should be sent to aljadeff(a)ucsd.edu. Informal inquiries about details of the project and the position are encouraged. Application reviews will begin Sep. 15, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

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Seeking Scientific Software Engineer @ Tübingen
by Peter Dayan Aug. 4, 2021

Aug. 4, 2021

My lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, is looking to hire a Scientific Software Engineer. We build and test theories and computational models of neural processing, with a particular emphasis on decision-making, learning and representation. We are therefore looking for someone with excellent skills and experience in programming and data analysis to help us develop, test and implement scientific software across our interdisciplinary projects. Full details at: https://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/577071/scientific-software-engineer1?c=702… Preference will be given to applications received by September 10th, 2021. The Max Planck Society endeavours to employ more severely handicapped people. Applications of severely disabled persons are expressly desired. The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds.

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