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Save the date: Integrated Systems Neuroscience 2017 meeting (September 7-8, Manchester, UK)

by Mark Humphries

We are excited to announce the second Integrated Systems Neuroscience meeting. 7-8th September 2017, Manchester, UK The goal of this meeting is to present the state-of-the-art in integrated systems and computational approaches to key neural circuits. Each session of the programme will comprise a pair of talks presenting complementary experimental and computational work on the same circuit theme. Breaks between each session will allow for plentiful discussion of the work just seen and how it may translate to other circuits and problems in systems neuroscience. A poster session with wine reception will be held on the first evening. Confirmed speakers: Rune Berg (Copenhagen University) Tiago Branco (Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits) Neil Burgess (Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL) Megan Carey (Champalimaud Institute, Lisbon) Claudia Clopath (Imperial College, London) Kate Jeffery (UCL) Christian Machens (Champalimaud Institute, Lisbon) Jonathan Pillow (Princeton) Simon Peron (New York University) Manuel Zimmer (IMP, Austria) We will shortly announce the opening of registration and abstract submission. For more information, including the current programme, please visit the website: https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/conferences-meetings/isn2017/ Organisers: Mark Humphries & Rasmus Petersen (University of Manchester) Sponsors: we gratefully acknowledge the support of the Medical Research Council _____________________________________________________________________________ Dr Mark Humphries | MRC Senior non-Clinical Research Fellow | Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health http://www.systemsneurophysiologylab.manchester.ac.uk/ [0da17e2a-9ed5-496a-b161-9fd4491ce5c7]@markdhumphries <https://twitter.com/markdhumphries> Public blog: https://medium.com/the-spike

March 29, 2017

Tenure-Track Faculty positions in Robotics at ENSTA ParisTech (with possible integration in the joint Inria-Ensta ParisTech Flowers lab)

by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer

Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty positions in Robotics at ENSTA ParisTech (with possible integration in the joint Inria-Ensta ParisTech Flowers lab) Position description The Computer Science and System Engineering (U2IS) at ENSTA ParisTech is opening several tenured and non-tenured faculty positions in the field of robotics. The candidates will be recruited in the Autonomous Systems and Robotics research team (ASR), inside the U2IS laboratory. ASR dedicates itself to the development of technological systems with strong autonomy and high dependability, focusing in particular on learning, perception, navigation, human-robot interaction for assistive robotics and intelligent vehicles. The candidates will lead research and innovation activities on one or several of the following themes: navigation, SLAM, localization, planning and control perception, computer vision, image processing machine learning, deep learning, developmental and cognitive robotics system architecture for autonomous vehicles. These activities should be conducted in the application areas of intelligent vehicles or assistive/service robotics, in link with the other members of the team. In particular, candidates could be integrated in the joint ENSTA ParisTech-INRIA FLOWERS team (http://flowers.inria.fr) The candidates are expected to participate in the development of partnerships, collaborations and contractual relations in his domain, particularly in partnership with industry. Inquiries about the scientific context of the position can be directed to David Filliat (david.filliat(a)ensta-paristech.fr) or Bruno Monsuez (bruno.monsuez(a)ensta-paristech.fr) Faculty duties include teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels, research, and supervision of student research. Basic knowledge, or willingness to learn french language are required as part of the teaching will be in french. Candidates must have the ability to develop a leading research program with a focus on technology development and translation into concrete applications of robotics or Intelligent Vehicles. About ENSTA ENSTA ParisTech is one of the most renowned French institutes of engineering education and research (Grande Ecole). Located in Palaiseau, it offers graduate level scientific education, excellent research facilities and a broad international network. It is a founding member of Paris-Saclay University, a federal university composed of 19 institutions (Universities, Grandes Ecoles, Research organisms). Large companies have also settled their research center in this area so that by 2020, this scientific cluster, the largest in France, will gather up to 15% of French research. Application Requirements for applying for tenured position are: possession of a doctoral university degree, excellent skills in teaching and research, completed habilitation (post-doctoral degree) or comparable research experience, obtained as part of an academic or non-academic position. Requirements for applying for non-tenured position are: possession of a doctoral university degree, a good teaching experience, have a strong publication record, and have experience with conduction research projects. The successful candidates will be expected to conduct high quality research, teach to a diverse and talented student body, and secure competitive external funding. The complete application package required includes: a curriculum vitae including a list of publications; a brief statement explaining the candidate's contribution to their best two publications, with embedded links to the publications in pdf format; a research statement; a teaching statement including a list of lectures the candidate could teach; the names and email addresses of three references. Applications should be sent to: Bruno Monsuez (bruno.monsuez(a)ensta-paristech.fr) The positions will open on March 30th, 2017 and the selection process will continue until the position is filled. Links ENSTA ParisTech Official position description (in French) Autonomous Systems and Robotics team ================ Pierre-Yves Oudeyer Research director, Inria Head of Flowers Lab Inria and Ensta ParisTech, France https://flowers.inria.fr http://www.pyoudeyer.com

March 29, 2017

Postdoctoral Position (EEG) at Stanford in Brain Network Connectivity Research

by Wei Wu

The Laboratory of Amit Etkin, MD PhD at Stanford University is currently accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellow focused on sophisticated analyses of electroencephalography (EEG) data. The focus of this position is on understanding functional brain networks using a variety of EEG methods, relating EEG to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and application of connectivity methods in EEG. Additionally, work will focus on analysis of concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and EEG data to understand neural circuit causal mechanisms. A particular emphasis will be larger-scale application of these tools and data types to treatment outcome prediction and development of clinic-translatable biomarkers. The successful applicant will have a PhD in Engineering, Statistics, Computer Science, Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, Psychology, or related fields. Experience with EEG data analysis is required. Additionally, strong quantitative skills and a programming background are important. Duties will also include manuscript preparation, presentation of findings at conferences, and contribution to the preparation of grants. Laboratory and Stanford resources include research-dedicated 3T and 7T MRI scanners, simultaneous EEG/fMRI, multiple high density EEG setups, and concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)/fMRI and concurrent TMS/EEG setups. Salary commensurate with experience. More information about our ongoing studies can be found at: http://etkinlab.stanford.edu. To apply, please send a curriculum vitae, a statement describing research interests and relevant background and three letters of recommendations, as well as relevant reprints/preprints of research articles to: Amit Etkin, MD, PhD Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford Neurosciences Institute Stanford University amitetkin(a)stanford.edu

March 29, 2017

The 1st International Neural Dynamics Summer School 2017 - application deadline 15th May, 2017

by Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira

The 1st International Neural Dynamics Summer School 2017 Experience experimental and computational neuroscience research 30/08/2017 – 01/09/2017 Bristol University, UK We are offering twelve fully funded positions on the Wellcome Trust sponsored summer school for training and research experience in neural dynamics(TRENDs). The training and research in neural dynamics summer school is an exciting Wellcome Trust funded course held at the University of Bristol. The aim is to introduce young scientists to experimental and computational techniques used in neuroscience research. The summer school will be a three-day course made up of a series of seminars and lab visits where successful candidates will get first hand experience of electrophysiological recordings (bothin vitro and in vivo), EEG recordings, brain imaging, optogenetics, data analysis workshops and practical classes on learning to code in Python. No prior experience is necessary, but a keen interest is essential! We welcome applications from science undergraduates from a wide range of backgrounds. For successful applicants all costs to attend the course, including travel expenses within the UK, accommodation and food will be covered. Overseas travel expenses will be considered on a case by case basis. Deadline 15th May, 2017 Please send a completed application form, along with a cover letter, a copy of your CV and one academic reference or the name of one referee to elaine.sparey(a)bristol.ac.uk<mailto:elaine.sparey@bristol.ac.uk> The application form is available as .doc (TRENDS-2017-doc (Office document, 10kB)<http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/neural-dynamics/documents/tren…> ) or as a LaTeX templateTRENDS-2017-tex<http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/neural-dynamics/documents/tren…>TRENDS-2017-tex<http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/neural-dynamics/documents/tren…> (TRENDS-2017-tex<http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/neural-dynamics/documents/tren…>), please submit either .doc or .pdf. Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova Professor of Mathematics for Healthcare Department of Mathematics & Living Systems Institute, T02.17 University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK email: k.tsaneva-atanasova(a)exeter.ac.uk<mailto:k.tsaneva-atanasova@exeter.ac.uk> tel: +44 (0) 1392 723615 web: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/mathematics/staff/kt298

March 27, 2017

DEADLINE APPROACHING : 31st March . NeuroBridges 2017

by ahmed el hady

*The deadline for NeuroBridges 2017 summer school application (* *(http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2017.html <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2017.html>) is approaching. March 31st is the deadline for application. More details about the summer school and the application procedure below. * *NeuroBridges 2017 Summer school , Cluny, France* *(** September 3 - September 14, 2017 )* *NeuroBridges 2017* (http://decision-making-lab.co m/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2017.html) will be a ten days summer school. Students will attend lectures delivered by a group of leading neuroscientists, experimentalists as well as theoreticians, which will address the fundamental questions of contemporary neuroscience. In addition to the lectures, the students will work in groups on small research projects. The school is intended for graduate students and postdocs, primarily from the Middle East and the Mediterranean region either working in their home countries or abroad. We will consider applicants with some background in applied mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering or physics, interested in theoretical brain and cognitive sciences. We will also consider those with biological or medical background given that they show proof of basic mathematical knowledge (i.e. linear algebra, calculus, in particular ordinary differential equation). Through the online application system (can be accessed through: http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2017.html ) , you will be asked to provide personal details, academic background, the names of two referees , a motivation letter that should include a paragraph about your quantitative skills and a CV. The school will take place between September 3 and September 14, 2017 in Le Centre de Conférences Internationales de Cluny (CCIC) <http://www.ccic.eu/index.html>. Cluny is a small medieval town in Burgundy, France, located about 400km southeast of Paris (accessible by fast train, TGV). All costs of registration and accommodation will be covered by the organizers. A limited number of travel grants will also be available. The application deadline is March 31st 2017. *NeuroBridges* is co-organized by Ahmed El Hady <http://scholar.princeton.edu/ahmedelhady/home>(Princeton Neuroscience Institute, USA), Yonatan Loewenstein <http://elsc.huji.ac.il/loewenstein/home> (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) and David Hansel <https://neurophys.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr/members/david-hansel>(CNRS, Paris, France). *2017 Confirmed Faculty (check the website regularly for updated faculty list):* Carl van Vreeswijk (CNRS) <https://neurophys.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr/members/carl-van-vreeswijk/> Gianluigi Mongillo (CNRS) <https://neurophys.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr/members/gianluigi-mongillo/> Shaul Druckmann (Janelia) <https://www.janelia.org/people/shaul-druckmann> Yoram Burak (Hebrew University) <http://elsc.huji.ac.il/burak/home> Omri Barak (Technion) <http://neuroscience.technion.ac.il/researcher/19> Najib Majaj (NYU) <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Najib_Majaj> Farzan Nadim (NJIT) <https://biology.njit.edu/people/nadim.php> Valerie Ego-Stengel (CNRS) <https://www.unic.cnrs-gif.fr/teams/Research%20group%20of%20Daniel%20Shulz> If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Ahmed El Hady (email: ahady(a)princeton.edu )

March 27, 2017

Time Dimension new research topic on Frontiers

by dipanjan roy

Dear Colleague,Our sincere apology for cross-posting. We would like to invite you to consider contributing an article to the Frontiers research topic “Temporal Structure of Neural Processes Coupling Sensory, Motor and Cognitive Functions of the Brain”. The research topic is hosted by: Daya Gupta, Arpan Banerjee, Dipanjan Roy, and Federica Piras *The overarching goal of this research topic is trying to address the role of time-dimension in cognitive functions. So far, the emphasis in past years has been only to directly study temporal structure of neuronal data at various scales of brain organization from single neurons at microscopic level, LFP at mesoscopic level, and EEG/MEG at macroscopic level. However, the mechanisms by which timing relationship of environment is entangled with the corresponding temporal structure of neural signals are not entirely clear. Important insights can be acquired and specific predictions about timing can be made by developing computational models of the brain dynamics and relating them to empirical observations. In this Research Topic, we invite contributions based on clinical, experimental and theoretical evidence to support the hypothesis that time-dimension is an important bridge to integrate multi-scale observations of behaviour and brain information processing where temporal patterns of activity in neural networks are critical to understanding the execution of sensory, motor and cognitive processes*. *Concretely, our hope is that this research topic will further converge on a consensus that deficits of timing and specific alteration of rhythmicity are an important part of the spectrum of cognitive dysfunctions seen in a variety of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, which provides indirect, but crucial evidence that time-dimension is an integral component of information processing in the brain underlying cognitive functions.* Frontiers research topics initially require the submission of an abstract of your work, which will be considered by the topic editors to determine if it falls within the goals of the research topic. Approved abstracts will then be invited to submit a complete manuscript. Link to the research topic is provided below http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/5972/temporal-structure-of-neu… Depending on the article type, Frontiers has article processing charges (APCs). They range from free to 2490$ for original research articles or reviews (please see http://home.frontiersin.org/about/publishing-fees) If submitted to a Research Topic within the deadline there is a 15% reduction for some article types. Frontiers also has a waiver program so that APCs do not stand in the way of science. Key dates for this research topic are as follows: 1. Abstract submission deadline – 09 June 2017 2. Manuscript submission deadline – 05 January 2018 We very much hope to include your valuable work in this area within this research topic to help make it a key reference and a new resource for brain dynamics, time perception research. Yours in Neuroscience, Psychology, and Behaviour, Daya Gupta, Arpan Banerjee, Dipanjan Roy, and Federica Piras

March 26, 2017

Special issue: Information Decomposition of Target Effects from Multi-Source Interactions

by Joseph Lizier

Dear all, We are pleased to announce the following special issue in Entropy on information decompositions. We hope that you will consider submitting a new research paper or review, etc., on this topic. If you are planning to submit, we would appreciate it if you could let us know in advance. Special Issue: "Information Decomposition of Target Effects from Multi-Source Interactions" http://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy/special_issues/Information_Decompositio… Submission Deadline: May 31, 2017 (open for submission now!) Editors: * Dr. Joseph Lizier; Centre for Complex Systems, Faculty of Engineering and IT, The University of Sydney, Australia * Dr. Nils Bertschinger; Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies (FIAS), Frankfurt, Germany * Prof. Juergen Jost; Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany and Santa Fe Institute, NM, USA * Prof. Michael Wibral; MEG Unit, Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany Shannon information theory has provided rigorous ways to capture our intuitive notions regarding uncertainty and information, and made an enormous impact in doing so. One of the fundamental measures here is mutual information, which captures the average information contained in one variable about another, and vice versa. If we have two source variables and a target, for example, we can measure the information held by one source about the target, the information held by the other source about the target, and the information held by those sources together about the target. Any other notion about the directed information relationship between these variables, which can be captured by classical information-theoretic measures (e.g., conditional mutual information terms) is linearly redundant with those three quantities. However, intuitively, there is strong desire to measure further notions of how this directed information interaction may be decomposed, e.g., how much information the two source variables hold redundantly about the target, how much each source variable holds uniquely, and how much information can only be discerned by synergistically examining the two sources together. These notions go beyond the traditional information-theoretic view of a channel serving the purpose of reliable communication, considering now the situation of multiple communication streams converging on a single target. This is a common situation in biology, and in particular in neuroscience, where, say, the ability of a target to synergistically fuse multiple information sources in a non-trivial fashion is likely to have its own intrinsic value, independently of reliability of communication. The absence of measures for such decompositions into redundant, unique and synergistic information is arguably the most fundamental missing piece in classical information theory. Triggered by the formulation of the Partial Information Decomposition framework by Williams and Beer in 2010, the past few years have witnessed a concentration of work by the community in proposing, contrasting, and investigating new measures to capture these notions of information decomposition. Other theoretical developments consider how these measures relate to concepts of information processing in terms of storage, transfer and modification. Meanwhile, computational neuroscience has emerged as a primary application area due to significant interest in questions surrounding how target neurons integrate information from large numbers of sources, as well as the availability of data sets to investigate these questions on. This Special Issue seeks to bring together these efforts, to capture a snapshot of the current research, as well as to provide impetus for and focused scrutiny on newer work. We also seek to present progress to the wider community and attract further research. We welcome research articles proposing new measures or pointing out future directions, review articles on existing approaches, commentary on properties and limitations of such approaches, philosophical contributions on how such measures may be used or interpreted, applications to empirical data (e.g., neural imaging data), and more. Submission information Please see the special issue website for full details. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on the website. Entropy is an open access journal which maintains a rigorous and fast peer-review system and accepted papers are immediately published online. The Impact Factor in 2015 for Entropy is 1.743 and it is fully covered by the leading indexing and abstracting services, including Google Scholar, MathSciNet, Scopus and Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science). The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Regards, Joe, Nils, Michael and Juergen -- -- Dr. JOSEPH LIZIER | ARC DECRA Fellow | Senior Lecturer Complex Systems Research Group Faculty of Engineering and IT THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 338A, Building J05 | The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T+61 2 9351 3208 | F+61 2 9351 3343 | M+61 408 186 901 E joseph.lizier(a)sydney.edu.au | W sydney.edu.au TW @jlizier | W lizier.me/joseph CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. Please think of our environment and only print this e-mail if necessary.

March 24, 2017

Two Ph. D. positions in Ottawa, Canada (Naud Lab)

by Richard Naud

Applications are invited for two Ph. D. candidate positions starting immediately at the University of Ottawa to investigate features of dendritic integration and inhibitory microcircuit function using statistical and computational approaches. The researcher will join a collaborative group with expertise in cellular electrophysiology, two-photon imaging/uncaging, optogenetics, advanced computational modelling and statistical processing (Dr Jean-Claude Béique, Dr. Simon Chen, Dr. André Longtin, Dr. Len Maler, main supervisor: Dr. Richard Naud). The research opportunity will focus on statistical analysis of neural data and computational modelling of neural systems. This fully funded position is available immediately, with attractive conditions. The candidate is expected to be competitive for external fellowships. The researcher will join uOttawa’s Brain and Mind Research Institute’s Center for Neural Dynamics (Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Faculty of Medicine). uOttawa’s Neuroscience community is fast expanding, highly dynamic and offers a rich array of collaborative opportunities. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is a green, multi-cultural city that offers the highest standard of living in the country and is second worldwide for quality of life (Numbeo index, 2015). The city has many parks including the Unesco World Heritage Rideau Canal and is surrounded by an extensive greenbelt. This bilingual, culturally-rich city lies along the border between the province of Quebec and Ontario and is within driving distance to Montréal and Toronto. To apply, please send CV with reference contacts and s short description of your interests to rnaud(a)uottawa.ca. Only selected applicatants will be contacted. Employer Profile The University of Ottawa is a bilingual research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The university offers a wide variety of academic programs, administered by ten faculties. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada. In the Maclean’s 2015 Canadian University rankings, the University of Ottawa ranked 2nd for Medical/Science Grants, 2nd for Scholarships & Bursaries and 1st for Student Services in the Medical/Doctoral University category. These rankings reflect the increased competitiveness of UofO's research both nationally and internationally.

March 22, 2017

3.5 years PhD position: Neurogeometry of Vision, deadline 30th of March (Daniele Avitabile)

by Daniele Avitabile

A PhD scholarship in mathematical and computational neuroscience on The neurogeometry of vision is available at the University of Nottingham, within the Modelling and Analytics for Medicine and Life sciences Doctoral Training Centre (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mathematics/prospective/research/maml.aspx) This 3.5 year PhD scholarships starts in September 2017. Successful applicants will receive a stipend (£14,553 per annum for 2017/8) for up to 3.5 years, tuition fees and a Research Training Support Grant. Fully funded studentships are available for UK applicants. EU applicants who are able to confirm that they have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 years prior to the start date of the programme may be eligible for a full award, and may apply for a fees-only award otherwise. Applications: Please apply via the Training Centre website. Applicants for the MAML programme should have at least a 2:1 degree in mathematics, statistics or a similarly quantitative discipline (such as physics, engineering, or computer science). Completed applications should be submitted by Midnight GMT Thursday, 30 March<http://airmail.calendar/2017-03-31%2001:00:00%20BST> 2017. Supervisors: Dr Daniele Avitabile (School of Mathematical Sciences) Professor Alan Johnston (School of Psychology), Professor Stephen Coombes (School of Mathematical Sciences) Project description: Neural field models are now in common usage in mathematical neuroscience to describe the coarse-grained activity of cortical tissue [1]. For mathematical convenience they often assume that anatomical connectivity is homogenous. However, this is far from the truth. For example, in the primary visual cortex (V1) it is known that there are maps reflecting the fact that neurons respond preferentially to stimuli with particular features. The classic example is that of orientation preference (OP), whereby cells respond preferentially to lines and edges of a particular orientation. The OP map changes continuously as a function of cortical location, except at singularities or pinwheels. The underlying periodicity in the microstructure of V1 is approximately 1mm, the domain of which corresponds to the so-called cortical hypercolumn. Other anatomical evidence suggests that longer-range, patchy horizontal connections link neurons in different hypercolumns provided that they have similar orientation preferences. This project will consider a field of hypercolumns that respects this biological reality. The mathematical model will be that of an integro-differential equation for V1 activity, with V1 viewed as a fiber bundle that associates to every point of the cortex (or retina by the retino-cortical map) a copy of the unit circle [2]. The project will focus on combining realistic retino-cortical maps [3] with next generation neural field models [4] and state-of the art numerical methods [5] to understand not only mechanisms for visual illusions, but also basic notions of how biological tissue can perform visual computations for image completion. The project will involve a mix of high performance scientific computation, nonlinear dynamics, differential geometry, and an enthusaism for learning about visual neuroscience. References 1. S Coombes, P beim Graben and R Potthast, 2014. Tutorial on Neural Field Theory, Neural Fields, Ed. S Coombes, P beim Graben, R Potthast and J J Wright, Springer Verlag 2. P C Bressloff and J D Cowan, 2003. The functional geometry of local and horizontal connections in a model of V1. Journal of Physiology-Paris, 97:221TH236. 3. A Johnston 1989 The geometry of the topographic map in striate cortex. Vision Research, 29, 1493-1500 4. A Byrne, D Avitabile and S Coombes, 2017. A next generation neural field model: The evolution of synchrony within patterns and waves, preprint 5. J Rankin, D Avitabile, J Baladron, G Faye, DJB Lloyd, 2014. Continuation of localized coherent structures in nonlocal neural field equations. SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing 36 (1), B70-B93. This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.

March 22, 2017

3.5 years PhD position: The impact of gyrification on cortical activity, deadline 30th of March (Daniele Avitabile)

by Daniele Avitabile

A PhD scholarship in mathematical and computational neuroscience on The impact of gyrification on cortical activity is available at the University of Nottingham, within the Modelling and Analytics for Medicine and Life sciences Doctoral Training Centre (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mathematics/prospective/research/maml.aspx) This 3.5 year PhD scholarships starts in September 2017. Successful applicants will receive a stipend (£14,553 per annum for 2017/8) for up to 3.5 years, tuition fees and a Research Training Support Grant. Fully funded studentships are available for UK applicants. EU applicants who are able to confirm that they have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 years prior to the start date of the programme may be eligible for a full award, and may apply for a fees-only award otherwise. Applications: Please apply via the Training Centre website. Applicants for the MAML programme should have at least a 2:1 degree in mathematics, statistics or a similarly quantitative discipline (such as physics, engineering, or computer science). Completed applications should be submitted by Midnight GMT Thursday, 30 March 2017. Supervisors: Dr Daniele Avitabile (School of Mathematical Sciences), Dr Stamatios Sotiropoulos (School of medicine), Professor Stephen Coombes (School of Mathematical Sciences), Professor Paul Houston (School of Mathematical Sciences) Project description: The large number of neurons forming the cortex are intricately connected and, to a first approximation, can be modelled as a continuum in space. Neural field models, which make this assumption, have been used to model large-scale neural activity observed in electroencephalogram and magnetoencephalogram neuroimaging studies. Spatio-temporal patterns in these models are relevant to understand epileptic seizures, visual hallucinations and short-term working memory (see [1,2] and references therein). When neural fields are posed on flat surfaces, analytical progress can be made to understand the origin of a wide variety of activity patterns (stripes, localised spots, hexagons, travelling waves, spiral waves). Our brain, however, is not flat. Sculped on the cortical surface are characteristic bumps and grooves, known as gyri and sulci, respectively. This heterogeneity is not only geometrical: neurons have a heterogeneous density and a heterogeneous synaptic wiring (see image above, where densely connected regions are coloured in red). This project will use methods from dynamical systems and computational science to develop a theory for the evolution of synaptic activity on folded brains. We will address the following questions: Tractography and neuroimaging techniques provide us with a detailed map of gyri, sulci and neural wiring. Can we incorporate heterogeneities into neural fields? We expect that curvature plays an important role in pattern selection [3]. What is the effect of the gyrification on neural activity? If a pattern of cortical activity is observed in a model of a "flat brain", will it persist on a "curved brain"? Are cortical waves accelerated/decelerated by curvature and heterogeneities? The analytical techniques used to study patterns in flat cortices have a numerical counterpart on curved surfaces [4]. Owing to recent developments in neural field theory, it has now become possible to track and analyse patterns numerically and predict whether they will be observable in experiments [5]. Can we develop robust and efficient algorithms to perform bifurcation analysis on generic folded cortices? References 1. S Coombes, P beim Graben and R Potthast (2014) Tutorial on Neural Field Theory, Neural Fields, Ed. S Coombes, P beim Graben, R Potthast and J J Wright, Springer Verlag. 2. P C Bressloff (2012). Spatiotemporal dynamics of continuum neural fields. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 45(3), 033001. 3. S Visser, R Nicks, O Faugeras and S Coombes (2017) Standing and travelling waves in a spherical brain model: the Nunez model revisited, Physica D, to appear. 4. D Avitabile, P Matthews, R Nicks, O Smith (2017). Patterns of cortical activity in neural fields posed on spherical domains. Preprint. 5. J Rankin, D Avitabile, J Baladron, G Faye, D J B Lloyd (2014) Continuation of localized coherent structures in nonlocal neural field equations. SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing 36 (1), B70-B93. This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.

March 22, 2017