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Special Issue "Probabilistic Inference in Goal-Directed Human and Animal Decision-Making" [journal Entropy, IF=2.419]
by Domenico Maisto 19 Jul '19

19 Jul '19

Dear Colleagues, please consider submitting a research article/review to the special issue of *Entropy* <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy> “*Probabilistic Inference in Goal-Directed Human and Decision-Making*”. This special issue aims to focus on recent computational, methodological, algorithmic advances regarding inferential processing in decision-making with particular attention on efficiency and biological plausibility. Topics include: - *computational and neuronal circuits* involved in goal-directed decision making, with a focus on the inferential mechanisms; - *novel probabilistic models and methods* in decision making including information-theory approaches, statistical and free-energy minimization, hierarchical models, deep networks - *decision-making applications* in ethological, social, psychological, psychiatric, robotics, and computer science research. *Entropy <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy>* is an online open access interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal of growing popularity providing an advanced forum for the development and/or application of entropic and information-theoretic studies in a wide variety of applications. Author Benefits: - *Open Access*: free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions. -* High visibility*: indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), MathSciNet (AMS), Inspec (IET), Scopus and other databases. - *Rapid publication*: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision provided to authors approximately 19.1 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 5 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2018). More information on the special issue website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy/special_issues/probabilistic_inference Looking forward to your contributions Dr. Francesco Donnarumma <francesco.donnarumma(a)istc.cnr.it> Dr. Domenico Maisto <domenico.maisto(a)icar.cnr.it> Dr. Ivilin Stoianov <ivilin.stoianov(a)istc.cnr.it> Guest Editors

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Postdoc position in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience - TU Dresden - Correction
by Lorenz Goenner 17 Jul '19

17 Jul '19

(Apologies for re-posting because of a broken web link) Dear colleagues, the Systems Neuroscience Lab (Prof. Michael Smolka) at TU Dresden invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Neuroscience The position is initially limited until June 30 th, 2023, and is subject to TV-L remuneration (E13 scale, 100%). Within the Technische Universität Dresden, the Section of Systems Neuroscience is closely associated with the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and the Neuroimaging Center, which offers excellent research collaborations (e.g. Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Prof. Stefan Kiebel) and infrastructure (3 Tesla MRI scanner for full-time research, MRI-compatible EEG and eye tracking, as well as TMS and TDCS). Our international and multidisciplinary group conducts cognitive neuroscience research at the cutting edge and the translation to clinical applications. In order to better understand human action control we investigate cognitive processes such as value-based decision-making and learning. On the clinical side we study how these neuro-cognitive mechanisms contribute to the complex behavioral dysfunctions observed in mental disorders. Our lab is engaged in two Collaborative Research Centers (CRC). The CRC 940 ‘Volition and Cognitive Control: Mechanisms, Modulators, and Dysfunctions’, and the newly established TRR 265 ‘Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake: From Trajectories to Mechanisms to Interventions’. These centers combine research in cognitive and computational neuroscience with research in clinical psychology and psychiatry. The position is an ideal opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary group of researchers, and contribute to a wide range of projects investigating computational and neuronal underpinning of human behavior Your tasks: • Computational modelling of behavioural data from decision-making tasks • Improving existing and developing new methods (e.g., reinforcement/temporal difference learning, Markov models, Bayesian and active inference models) with support by an experienced modelling group • Preparing manuscripts and presenting results at conferences • Instructing and supervising PhD students Your profile: • University degree (master or diploma) with a strong quantitative background (e.g., computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, statistics) • Doctoral degree and documented interest in Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology • Expertise in computational modelling of behavioural data • Programming skills in common software environments (e.g., Python, MATLAB) • Keen interest in collaboration with experimental researchers to study complex human behaviour • Expertise in neuroimaging data analysis would be advantageous We offer you: • Being part of the CRCs and their scientific activities • Working in a highly interdisciplinary team with leading cognitive and computational neuroscientists We look forward to receiving your complete application (one PDF-document including a cover letter with a brief summary of research interests, full CV, and two references) until July 29th, 2019. To apply and for informal inquiries, please contact: Prof. Michael Smolka (michael.smolka(a)tu-dresden.de)

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[journals] CfP: Special Issue on Inter- and Intra-subject Variability in Brain Imaging and Decoding
by Chun-Shu Wei 16 Jul '19

16 Jul '19

Dear Colleagues, In collaboration with the journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, we are bringing together a selected group of international experts to contribute to an open-access article collection on: Inter- and Intra-subject Variability in Brain Imaging and Decoding ( https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/10801/inter--and-intra-subject-… ) We welcome you to submit your work in the field of brain imaging and decoding. Manuscripts can be submitted to this Research Topic via either of the following three journals: Frontiers in Neuroscience (Brain Imaging Methods), Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience or Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. ABOUT THIS RESEARCH TOPIC Pervasive and elusive human variability, both across and within individuals, poses a major challenge in interpreting and decoding human brain activity. Differences in brain anatomy and functionality across individuals contribute to the inter-subject variability. Within an individual, changes in neural processing, non-stationarity of brain activities, the variation of neurophysiological mechanisms, and various unknown factors might give rise to the intra-subject variability. Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies that have focused on appreciating rather than ignoring variability. Through the lens of variability, they have led to a better insight into individual differences and cross-session variations, facilitating precision functional brain mapping and decoding based on individual variability and similarity. For instance, the robustness of brain decoding has been improved by transfer learning techniques that are capable of tackling variability in data collected from different subjects across different sessions and days. On the other hand, the applicability of a neurophysiological biometric relies on its manifest inter-subject variability and minimal intra-subject variability. Critical questions, therefore, arise regarding how inter- and intra-subject variability can be observed, analyzed and modeled, what pros and cons researchers might gain from the variability, and how to deal with the variability in brain imaging and decoding. The goal of this Research Topic is to encourage researchers to examine human variability in brain imaging and decoding, with a focus on both advantages and disadvantages of inter- and intra-subject variability in mapping and modeling brain functions. We welcome empirical, theoretical and meta-analytical work and encourage authors to re-examine their datasets through the scopes of human variability rather than averaged observations and overall interpretations. Subtopics of interest include, but are not limited to: • The imaging and characteristics of inter- and intra-subject variability in neuroimaging data. • Evaluating and tracking variability within a single subject and across multiple subjects. • Obtaining neuroscientific findings from leveraging the variability in brain activities. • Enhancing the performance of brain decoding against or through variability. • Generic model learning of brain imaging • Transfer learning and model adaptation based on inter-/intra-subject variability Keywords: variability, neuroimaging, brain mapping, brain decoding, functional brain modeling, brain-computer interface, EEG, MEG, fMRI, fNIRS Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review. GUEST EDITORS Tzyy-Ping Jung, University of California, CA, United States Corey Keller, Stanford University, CA, United States Junhua Li, University of Essex, United Kingdoms Yuan-Pin Lin, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Masaki Nakanishi, University of California, CA, United States Johanna Wagner, University of California, CA, United States Chun-Shu Wei, Stanford University, CA, United States Wei Wu, Stanford University, CA, United States Yu Zhang, Stanford University, CA, United States IMPORTANT DATES 17th August 2019 – Abstract submission deadline 15th December 2019 – Manuscript submission deadline I look forward to your response. Kind Regards, Chun-Shu Wei Topic Editor, Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience On behalf of the Topic Editors. Chun-Shu Wei, Postdoctoral Fellow, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stanford University cswei.tw(a)gmail.com | 858.380.8231 | https://sites.google.com/view/cswei/

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Chief Medical Officer (CMO) vacancy in Berlin-based startup
by hamed bahmani 16 Jul '19

16 Jul '19

*Dopavision GmbH* is a digital-health startup based in Berlin with the mission to disrupt vision care with digital solutions. We are backed with venture capital and a research grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). We are developing a digital solution for myopia control which aim at modulating retinal dopamine by artificial light, in order to regulate the eyeball growth. We have successfully conducted proof-of-concept experiments and are now moving into pre-clinical investigations together with national and international academic partners. We are a team of 4 experienced scientists and startup entrepreneurs and supported by renowned scientific advisors and strategic pharmaceutical partners. We are now looking for a *Chief Medical Officer (CMO) *to join the leadership team and prepare, lead, and conduct the next stage human clinical studies. If you are passionate about eye, vision, clinical studies or digital health technologies and enjoy working in an early-stage startup, then we would like to get to know you! *Your Responsibilities* · Develop our clinical investigation strategy in order to successfully launch our product as a validated medical device · Decide on the overall company strategy as a member of the leadership team · Lead our clinical investigations through all phases – you’re responsible to achieve our scientific goals and manage the project · Manage our (not-so-small) budget for clinical investigations and contribute to fund-raising activities · Build and lead your team for medical and clinical investigations · Innovate clinical study protocols for our digital medical devices, e.g., by designing new blinding and placebo methods suitable for our break-through intervention · Work closely with our regulatory and product development team, as well as the science team to align activities and solve problems together · Become an expert in previously conducted clinical studies on myopia control, eye and vision care, and existing scientific literature · Build strong partnerships with industry partners from the pharmaceutical or medical device sector, and academic partners all around the world · Write and publish the results for internationally renowned scientific journals, and present them at international conferences · Communicate the clinical strategy to investors and business stakeholders *Your Qualifications* · MD or PhD in medical sciences, vision sciences, or life sciences with proven research experience · > 5 years of experience in clinical investigations in the pharmaceutical, health care, or medical device industry, thereof 3-5 years in a leadership or project management position · Experience in digital healthcare is a plus · Ideally deep expertise in at least one of the following areas: neurobiology of the eye, ophthalmology, myopia, or optics of the eye · Working knowledge of pharmaceutical or medical device regulatory frameworks · Excellent communication skills and fluent in English; German is a plus · Strategic thinking and excellent problem-solving abilities · Entrepreneurial experience or business experience in Asia is a big plus *What we offer* · Competitive base salary plus equity · You build the team with us and define the way our company will work – as employee number 5 · Shape the future of digital medicine and address an unmet medical need that affects billions of people world-wide · Invent new protocols and ways to perform clinical investigations for digital health care together with sharp minds in the team · Continue building your scientific career by publishing your findings in renowned international journals and present them at conferences · Work together with the best scientists in the field of myopia research from all around the world – Asia, Australia, and Europe, among others · Work together with opinion leaders in digital health in Germany from our partner Flying Health, as well as our internationally leading pharmaceutical partner · Build a great, fast-learning organization with us, with a flat hierarchy and direct communication · Offices in Mindspace, the coolest co-working space in the heart of Berlin (at least in our opinion) with free yoga classes, coffee and happy hours on the terrace Sounds like your next adventure? Apply online at http://www.dopavision.com/career-cmo.html – we’re looking forward to getting to know you! Not sure? Still take a moment to reach out to get to know us or ask your questions: jobs(a)dopavision.com *Location: *Berlin *Position: *Full-time Best regards, Dr. Hamed Bahmani Founder and Managing Director, Dopavision GmbH

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Final call for the Modellers Workshop for the Brain Dynamics Toolbox
by Stewart Heitmann 16 Jul '19

16 Jul '19

Modeller’s Workshop for the Brain Dynamics Toolbox Online Course July 1-19, 2019 Final Announcement. Enrolments close on Friday. The Modeller’s Workshop is an on-line course is for researchers and students who wish to use the Brain Dynamics Toolbox to simulate their own dynamical models. Participants learn the art of programming differential equations in Matlab and how to use the toolbox to solve those equations interactively. Topics include programming Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Delay Differential Equations, Stochastic Differential Equations, Auxiliary Plot Functions and command-line tools. Example code is provided in all cases. https://bdtoolbox.org/p/modellers-workshop/ Important Dates Enrolments close Friday 19th July, 2019. Stewart Heitmann | Computational Scientist Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute | Lowy Packer Building | 405 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Australia E: s.heitmann(a)victorchang.edu.au<mailto:s.heitmann@victorchang.edu.au> | @VictorChangInst ______________________________________________________________________ The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute's Email is scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System.

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NEURON course at SFN 2019 meeting
by Carnevale, Nicholas 16 Jul '19

16 Jul '19

Using NEURON to Model Cells and Networks Friday, Oct. 18, 2019 from 9 AM to 5 PM at a downtown Chicago location. Satellite event to the 2019 Society for Neuroscience Meeting This course provides a practical introduction to building and using models of neurons and networks with NEURON. Covered topics include basic concepts, workflow for building and using models, speeding up simulations with parallel hardware from multicore personal computers to massively parallel supercomputers, using Python with NEURON, and modeling reaction-diffusion with the RxD class. The registration deadline for this course is Friday Oct. 4, but you should sign up early because space is limited. See https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/chi2019/chi2019.html for more information and a link to the registration form. --Ted

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Open position as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in Berlin-based startup
by hamed bahmani 15 Jul '19

15 Jul '19

*Dopavision GmbH* is a digital-health startup based in Berlin with the mission to disrupt vision care with digital solutions. We are backed with venture capital and a research and development grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). We are developing a digital solution for myopia control which can take the form of a smartphone app or an application for a virtual or augmented reality device, as well as smart glasses. We have completed proof-of-concept studies and are moving into pre-clinical investigations and technology development. We are a team of 4 experienced scientists and startup entrepreneurs and supported by renowned scientific advisors and strategic industry partners. We are now looking for a *Chief Technology Officer (CTO) *to join the leadership team and advance our product and technology strategy. If you are passionate about digital health and cutting-edge technologies and enjoy working in an early-stage startup where you can combine your strategic thinking with your hands-on mentality to develop a great consumer product, then we would like to get to know you! *Your Responsibilitie**s* · Develop our technology strategy to build a medical device which will be clinically validated and comply with medical device regulations · Decide on the overall company strategy as a member of the leadership team · Define and implement the hardware platform, software platform/technology stack and the systems infrastructure for our product · Lead the development of our application: Prototypes for different stages of experiments, and the final product · Build and lead your team of top-of-the-field developers and IT experts · Manage our product development and IT budget, and relations with external providers · Implement necessary processes for a digital medical device development setup: ISO-certification for quality management, technical documentation, and data protection · Work closely with our regulatory and clinical investigations team to successfully conduct clinical investigations, and apply for regulatory approval, risk management evaluations etc. · Communicate the technology strategy to partners and investors *Your Qualifications* · Proven experience as a CTO or similar leadership role in digital technology companies · Considerable years of experience in developing technology in a medically regulated context, ideally in a pharmaceutical, medical device or optics company · Knowledge on current digital technology trends, e.g., VR/AR/MR, eye tracking technology, smart wearables, digital displays · Track record of building successful consumer digital products, e.g., web applications, games, apps or similar · Experience with mobile native development frameworks · Understanding of budgets and business-planning · Experience with German/international data protection requirements · Excellent communication skills and fluent in English; German is a plus · Proven to be an inspiring leader to people and teams · Strategic thinking and excellent problem-solving skills · BSc/BA or higher in Computer Science, Biomedical Science, Engineering or a related field; MBA or other relevant graduate degree is a plus *What we offer* · Competitive base salary plus equity · You build the team with us and define the way our company will work – as employee number 5 · Shape the future of digital medicine and address an unmet medical need that affects billions of people worldwide · Develop a product used as a real medical treatment that can change thousands of lives · Build a great, fast-learning organization with us, with a flat hierarchy and direct communication · Access to our network of peers and partners who are shaping the Berlin ecosystem of digital health · Offices in Mindspace, the coolest co-working space in the heart of Berlin (at least in our opinion) with free yoga classes, coffee and happy hours on the terrace Sounds like your next adventure? Apply online at http://www.dopavision.com/career-cto.html – we’re looking forward to getting to know you! Not sure? Still take a moment to reach out to get to know us or ask your questions: jobs(a)dopavision.com *Location:* Berlin *Position:* Full-time Best regards, Dr. Hamed Bahmani Founder and Managing Director, Dopavision GmbH

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POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS, BROWN UNIVERSITY (TRUCCOLO LAB)
by Wilson Truccolo 15 Jul '19

15 Jul '19

Applications for postdoctoral positions in Computational Neuroscience are invited for the laboratory of Dr. Wilson Truccolo in the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. The positions are for the development of theoretical and data-driven stochastic models of neuronal network dynamics, including applications to propagation and control of epileptic seizures, and collective dynamics in neocortex. Neural data consist of recordings of ensembles of single-neurons and high-density local field potentials obtained via multiple intracortical microelectrode arrays implanted in human and non-human primates. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in computational/theoretical neuroscience and modeling of stochastic neural dynamics. Related publications can be found on the Truccolo lab website ( http://www.truccololab.com/) Inquiries should be addressed to Dr. Truccolo (wilson_truccolo(a)brown.edu) Applications including a CV, statement of research interests, and the names and full contact details of three referees should be sent to wilson_truccolo(a)brown.edu. -- Wilson Truccolo, Ph.D. Pablo J. Salame '88 Goldman Sachs Associate Professor of Computational Neuroscience Department of Neuroscience & Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University Lab website: http://www.truccololab.com/

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Code release: SpykeTorch
by MASQUELIER Timothee 15 Jul '19

15 Jul '19

We are proud to release our SpykeTorch open source code! https://github.com/miladmozafari/SpykeTorch SpykeTorch is an efficient PyTorch-based simulator of convolutional spiking neural networks, in which the neurons emit at most one spike per stimulus, and use rank-order-coding. It currently supports the STDP and Reward-modulated STDP learning rules. It can reproduce various recent papers by us and others. A Jupyter tutorial is provided, and an extensive documentation can be found here: http://cnrl.ut.ac.ir/SpykeTorch/doc/ See also the SpykeTorch paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00625/ Milad Mozafari, Mohammad Ganjtabesh, Abbas Nowzari-Dalini and Timothée Masquelier

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Dual Award PhD (UH/WSU) in Neuromorphic olfaction
by Michael Schmuker 11 Jul '19

11 Jul '19

An exceptional opportunity for a dual award PhD position in Neuromorphic olfaction is open for EU/UK candidates at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, that includes a year abroad at Western Sydney University, Australia. The successful candidate will obtain a PhD degree from both institutions. We offer an exciting 3-year project in Neuromorphic computing under joint supervision of Dr Michael Schmuker (UHERTS), and Dr André van Schaik (WSU). The first and third year of the programme will be spent in the Biocomputation research group at UH, with the second year spent at the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, led by André van Schaik (WSU). The successful candidate has the unique opportunity to join two vibrant and research-driven teams at opposite ends of the world and carry home two PhD awards. The position comes with a bursary of £15,009 per year. Airfare to and from WSU in Australia is covered, too. The PhD is due to start in October 2019. EU/UK candidates with an exceptional interest in at least one of Neuromorphic computing, Event-based data processing, and chemical sensing should get in touch informally with Dr. Michael Schmuker <mailto:m.schmuker@biomachinelearning.net> by email as soon as possible. Shortlisting will begin on 21st July 2019. How to apply Download the application form <https://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/31105/uh-application-fo…>, fill it out, save it to your disk, and return it to: Lynette Spelman and Emma Thorogood <mailto:doctoralcollegeadmissions@herts.ac.uk> Research Student Administrators University of Hertfordshire College Lane Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB tel: +44 (0)1707 286083 — Dr Michael Schmuker AFHEA Reader in Data Science Biocomputation Group University of Hertfordshire https://biomachinelearning.net

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