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CfP: Workshop on Symbiotic Interaction 2015 in Berlin

by Matthias Schultze-Kraft

* Call for Participation and Contributions * International Workshop on Symbiotic Interaction Berlin, 7th and 8th of October 2015 Technische Universität Berlin, Germany www.symbiotic2015.org The Symbiotic Workshop presents an overview of the symbiotic relationships between humans and computers as well as novel advancements therein. There will be organized sessions and room for free discussions to shape the concepts, goals, and directions of this new field of research. The idea of symbiotic systems put forward in this workshop capitalises on the computers’ ability to implicitly (even subliminally) detect the users goals and psycho-physiological states and thereby enhancing human-computer interaction (HCI) without subducting control from the human. A special focus of this year’s Symbiotic Workshop will be on physiological computing approaches, e.g. using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Call for Contributions include Research Papers (12 pages including references) or Posters and Demos (6 pages) that contribute to an emergent community investigating Symbiotic Interaction as a future paradigm with theories and conceptual frameworks, experimental paradigms and user studies, multi-modal data analysis and design driven research. Submission guidelines are available from www.symbiotic2015.org. The proceedings (including research papers as well as short papers for posters and demos) will be published in LNCS Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Contributions can be submitted at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=symbiotic15. Important dates =============== Submission Deadline: Wednesday, May 25, 2015 Notification of acceptance: Tuesday, July 5, 2015 Submission of final papers: Monday, July 25, 2015 Organization ============ * General Chairs - Benjamin Blankertz, Technische Universität Berlin - Giulio Jacucci, University of Helsinki * Program Chairs - Luciano Gamberini, University of Padova - Anna Spagnolli, University of Padova - Jonathan Freeman, Goldsmiths University * Program Committee (to be completed) - Laura Acqualagna, Technische Universität Berlin - Oswald Barral, University of Helsinki - Benjamin Blankertz, Technische Universität Berlin - Marc Cavazza, Teesside University - Ricardo Chavarriaga, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - Cristina Conati, University of British Columbia - Peter Desain, Radboud University Nijmegen - Manuel Eugster, Aalto University - Stephen Fairclough, Liverpool John Moores University - Siamac Fazli, Korea University - Jonathan Freeman, Goldsmiths University - Luciano Gamberini, University of Padova - Hans Gellersen, Lancaster University - Dorota Glowacka, University of Helsinki - Giulio Jacucci, University of Helsinki - David Kirsh, UC San Diego - Juan C. Moreno, Cajal Institute, CSIC - Anton Nijholt, University of Twente - Andreas Riener, Johannes Kepler University Linz - Tuukka Ruotsalo, Aalto University - Paul Sajda, Columbia University - Erin Solovey, Drexel University - Michiel Sovijärvi-Spapé, Aalto University - Anna Spagnolli, University of Padova - Paul Verschure, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona - Markus Wenzel, Technische Universität Berlin For queries about the conference, please contact: - Benjamin Blankertz <benjamin.blankertz(a)tu-berlin.de> or - Giulio Jacucci <giulio.jacucci(a)helsinki.fi>

Feb. 19, 2015

Summer School on Neurorehabilitation - September 13-18, 2015

by Pilar Raya

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We apologize if you receive multiple copies of this announcement ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 Summer School on Neurorehabilitation El Saler (Valencia), Spain September 13-18 www.ssnr2015.org info(a)ssnr2015.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear colleagues, On behalf of all the organizers it is our pleasure to invite you to the 5th SUMMER SCHOOL ON NEUROREHABILITATION (SSNR2015) that will take place in El Saler (Valencia, Spain) from September 13 to 18 of 2015. SSNR2015 will provide in depth education on advanced procedures for neurorehabilitation of motor dysfunction following stroke, SCI, CP and other neurological conditions, covering practical applications based on neuroprosthetics, robotics interfaces and other combinational and technological approaches. World-class experts in various related disciplines will deliver plenary talks and a set of hands-on workshops will be organized. We are looking forward to welcoming you in Spain September 2015! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Registration - Prospective applicants must fill in the Application Form by May 15, 2015. The admission to the School will be decided upon a selection made by the Steering Committee. Applications received before March 31, 2015 will be given priority. The Steering Committee will select a first group among these early applications. Selected participants will be notified by April 15, 2015 and the registrations must be completed before May 15, 2015. Remaining positions will be allocated among the rest of applications received until May 15, 2015 - Important deadlines - Early Application: March 31, 2015 Early Notification: April 15, 2015 Early Payment: May 15, 2015 Application: May 15, 2015 Notification: June 1, 2015 Payment: July 1, 2015 - Plenary speakers- Metin Akay. University of Houston, USA José Carmena. University of California, Berkeley, USA Gregoire Courtine. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland Volker Dietz. Balgrist University Hospital, Switzerland Bernhard Graimann. Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, Germany David Guiraud. INRIA research scientist, leader of DEMAR team, France Bin He. University of Minnesota, USA Ilse Jonkers. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Hermano Igo Krebs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Maryland, USA Silvestro Micera. Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and EPFL Eric Perreault. Northwestern University, USA Dejan Popovic. University of Belgrade, Serbia Zev Rymer. Northwestern University, USA Aiko K. Thompson. Medical University of South Carolina, USA Jonathan Wolpaw. Wadsworth Center. University of New York, USA -Workshops- WS1 - Neural interfaces and Wearable robotics in rehabilitation: a clinical perspective Organizer: Jose L. Pons, CSIC. Co-Organizers: Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, U. Houston, and Gerard E. Francisco, UTHealth WS2 - Muscle synergies: Looking into the CNS Organizer: Diego Torricelli, CSIC WS3 - Workshop on Functional Electrical Stimulation Organizer: Thierry Keller, Tecnalia Research and Innovation WS4 - (TENTATIVE) Workshop on Virtual Rehabilitation Organizer: Belinda Lange, U. Southern California WS5 - Human neuromusculoskeletal modeling Organizers: Massimo Sartori, University Medical Center Goettingen, and Monica Reggiani, University of Padova WS6 - Brain Computer Interfaces: principles and applications in neurorehabilitation Organizer: Arnau Espinosa, Guger Technologies OG WS7 - Operant Conditioning of Spinal Reflexes in Human Subjects Organizers: Aiko Thompson (Medical University of South Carolina) and Jonathan Wolpaw (Univ of New York) For further and up-to-date information, please visit the conference website: www.ssnr2015.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pilar Raya López Neural Rehabilitation Group, Cajal Institute. Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Avda. Doctor Arce, 37. 28002. Madrid http://www.neuralrehabilitation.org

Feb. 19, 2015

Call for posters/registration: Fifth International Symposium on Biology of Decision-Making (SBDM), 11-13 May 2015 @ Paris, France

by Mehdi Khamassi

[Please accept our apologies if you get multiple copies of this message] Dear colleagues, It is our great pleasure to invite you to the Fifth Symposium on Biology of Decision Making which will take place in Paris, France, on May, 11-13th 2015. Online registration is now open at http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr The deadline for poster submission is: March, 31st. The deadline for registration is: April 30th. Registration fees (150 euros) include lunches, coffee breaks and social event. Please circulate widely and encourage your colleagues and team members to attend. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FIFTH SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGY OF DECISION MAKING (SBDM 2015) May 11-13, 2015, Paris, France Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, Hôpital La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France. & Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. & Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESENTATION: The Fifth Symposium on Biology of Decision Making will take place on May 11-13, 2015 at the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, Paris, France, with a satellite day at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. The objective of this three day symposium is to gather people from different research fields with different approaches (economics, ethology, psychiatry, neural and computational approaches) to decision-making. The symposium will be a single-track, will last for 3 days and will include 6 sessions: (#1) Beyond two: Multi-alternative and multi-attribute choices; (#2) Shaky business: Neural sources of choice variability; (#3) Looking for causality: Choice bias following brain manipulation; (#4) The dark side of choice: Delay, effort and punishment; (#5) Choosing the unknown: The route to exploration; (#6) More brains: Choice in social context. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Thomas Boraud (CNRS - Université Bordeaux 2, France) Colin Camerer (California Institute of Technology, USA) Peter Dayan (Gatsby Unit, University College London, UK) Mauricio Delgado (Rutgers University, USA) Jan Drugowitsch (Université de Genève, Switzerland) Sylvie Granon (Université d'Orsay - CNRS, France) Hauke Heekeren (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) Laurence Hunt (University College London, UK) Masud Husain (University of Oxford, UK) Quentin Huys (ETH Zurich - University of Zurich, Switzerland) Brian Knutson (Stanford University, USA) Kenway Louie (New York University, USA) John O'Doherty (California Institute of Technology, USA) Mitsuhiro Okada (Keio University, Japan) Emmanuel Procyk (CNRS - INSERM, France) Christian Ruff (University of Zurich, Switzerland) Aldo Rustichini (University of Minnesota, USA) Liane Schmidt (INSEAD, France) Christopher Summerfield (University of Oxford, UK) Mark Walton (University of Oxford, UK) Melissa Warden (Cornell University, USA) Valentin Wyart (Ecole Normale Supérieure, France) Makiko Yamada (National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan) IMPORTANT DATES: March 31, 2015 Deadline for Poster Submission April 30, 2015 Deadline for Registration May 11-13, 2015 Symposium Venue ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Thomas Boraud (CNRS, Bordeaux, France) Sacha Bourgeois-Gironde (La Sorbonne, Paris, France) Kenji Doya (OIST, Okinawa, Japan) Mehdi Khamassi (CNRS - UPMC, Paris, France) Etienne Koechlin (CNRS - ENS, Paris, France) Mathias Pessiglione (ICM - INSERM, Paris, France) CONTACT INFORMATION : Website, registration, poster submission and detailed program: http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr Contact: sbdm2015 [ at ] isir.upmc.fr / sbdm2015-registration(a)isir.upmc.fr -- Mehdi Khamassi, PhD Researcher (CNRS) Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (UMR7222) CNRS - Université Pierre et Marie Curie Pyramide, Tour 55 - Boîte courrier 173 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France tel: + 33 1 44 27 28 85 fax: +33 1 44 27 51 45 cell: +33 6 50 76 44 92 http://people.isir.upmc.fr/khamassi

Feb. 19, 2015

Radboud Summer School Neural Metrics 2.0 : Connectomics & Large-Scale Methods

by Zeldenrust, Fleur

Neural Metrics 2.0 : Connectomics & Large-Scale Methods The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour/Radboud University is organizing a summer school on neural metrics with the aim to get participants acquainted with the quantitative analysis of neural organisation and function. In Neural Metrics 2.0 we will build on the success from the previous year, focussing on methods for understanding brain networks such as connectomics as well as large scale and Bayesian methods, with world class speakers, hands-on tutorials, student projects and an interactive debate. The topics covered range from cellular connectomics to human functional connectomics. The course is designed for PhD students and starting postdoctoral researchers working at the interface between cognitive neuroscience and the application of advanced methods. Please consult the Radboud Summer school website (http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/) for details on the program, social events and registration. Further details for the Neural Metrics Summer School can be found below and on the website (http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/courses/brain-behaviour/@972443/neural…) Dates : Monday 10 August - Friday 14 August 2015 (1 week) Application Deadline : 15 June 2015 Course leaders : Bernhard Englitz, Marcel van Gerven, Fleur Zeldenrust, Tansu Celikel Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour & Radboud University Participant profile : This course was developed for PhD students and early postdoctoral researchers working at the interface between cellular and cognitive neuroscience requiring advanced methods of analysis. This includes research in the field of Neuroscience with an MSc in Biology, Computer Science, Psychology, Physics, Al, Mathematics, Engineering or a similar major. Admission requirements : As part of the admission procedure, we ask you to send us your CV and a brief motivation letter in which you explain your interest in our course. Course fee : 600 Euros The course fee includes the registration fee, course materials, access to library and IT facilities, coffee/tea, lunch, and a number of social activities. Accommodation is available for the course participants (additional charges apply). For details please see http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/practical-matters/housing/ Discounts : • 15% discount for students and PhD candidates from Radboud University and partner universities, • 10% Early bird discount deadline: 1 April 2015

Feb. 19, 2015

postdoc position ad

by Evelina Fedorenko

Please post. Thanks, Ev POSITION OPENING: We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher for a 1-year position (possibly extendable by another year), to work in an interdisciplinary project investigating the representation of semantic information in the brain and how it is used during sentence comprehension. The project is a collaborative effort across the labs of Ev Fedorenko (MGH/MIT) and Nancy Kanwisher (MIT), within a team in the IARPA Knowledge Representation in Neural Systems program, led by Francisco Pereira (Siemens). The ultimate goal of the team is to build a computational model of the process of language comprehension at the sentence and/or text level, and validate it with behavioral and brain imaging data. Target start date is as soon as possible. RESPONSIBILITIES: Leading one or more components of the project, including designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data (plus overseeing data collection / analyses carried out by graduate students / lab tech working on this project), presenting the results at conferences, and writing up the results for publication. The interdisciplinary nature of the project means that we will be carrying out experiments to inform the building of models of semantic representation of words and sentences from text corpora and curated resources. These will, in turn, be used to help design more informative experiments or carry out other analyses. This presents a unique opportunity for a postdoc to acquire new skills; for example, if the postdoc has a cognitive neuroscience background s/he will be expected to interact closely with the model developers in the team and learn about and leverage the techniques that they use. REQUIREMENTS: We are looking for individuals with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Computer Science, Psychology, Cognitive Science, or related fields. Strong quantitative skills are a must. Other desirable knowledge / skills include: i) machine learning, ii) natural language processing, and iii) collection, preprocessing and analysis of brain imaging data (using SPM, FSL or AFNI). SEND APPLICATIONS TO: Ev Fedorenko (evelina9(a)mit.edu) Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.

Feb. 18, 2015

Neural Coding, Computation and Dynamics (NCCD)

by Peter Latham

Neural Coding, Computation and Dynamics (NCCD) August 30 - September 2, 2015 Bilbao, Spain http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/nccd/nccd15/ The goal of this workshop is to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians who seek to understand how circuit dynamics underlies representation and function in the nervous system, and to foster real discussion. This year the workshop will focus on the interplay between excitation (E) and inhibition (I) in cortical circuits. The balance between E and I, an idea proposed twenty years ago to account for the stochastic nature of cortical activity, has been seminal in the understanding of basic principles of neural network dynamics. We are seeking talks that, building on this paradigm, present recent findings on topics such as neuronal variability and stochastic dynamics, the role of the different subtypes of interneurons, plasticity and structure in EI networks, brain state and network dynamics, etc. The workshop will be limited to about 70 people, the hope being to foster real interaction and discussion. Important dates: April 30: Abstracts due (there will be posters and contributed talks) May 31: Early registration due Confirmed invited speakers Dean Buonomano, University of California at Los Angeles Jess Cardin, Yale School of Medicine Brent Doiron, University of Pittsburgh Mike Hausser, UCL Carl Petersen, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Karel Svoboda, Janelia Farm Tim Vogels, University of Oxford Fred Wolf, University of Gottingen Best, Peter Latham Jaime de la Rocha Maneesh Sahani Co-organizers

Feb. 18, 2015

Application Deadline Thursday, February 26, 2015, NIMH Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience Research Program Chief

by Dennis Glanzman

Please see the following job announcement published on the USA Jobs website: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/394555400 Note that this is a blanket announcement, listing about 75 different positions, Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience is one of them. -- Dennis Glanzman

Feb. 18, 2015

PhD and Postdoc positions at the Kavli Institute in Trondheim

by Yasser Roudi

Postdoctoral and PhD positions are available at the Kavli Institute/Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. We ware interested in developing and studying statistical models of high-dimensional data, network inference and reconstruction techniques. We study both the statistical and computational aspects of the learning problem as well as the applications to biological networks for which the successful candidate will have access to a wealth of experimental data collected at the Kavli Institute. The group enjoys close ties with NORDITA- The Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, ICTP and the Department of Statistics at the City University of New York (group of Kamiar Rahnama Rad). Travel funds are available for collaborations and visits. Our work is highly quantitative and interdisciplinary; applicants should have a strong background in Statistics/Machine Learning, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computational Neuroscience or similar fields. Interested applicants should send a CV, a short description of past experiences/achievements and future research interests, and arrange for two letters of recommendation to be emailed directly to <yasser.roudi at ntnu dot no>. Questions about the position should also be sent to the same email address.

Feb. 17, 2015

joint postdoctoral position at the Kavli Institute & Nordita

by Yasser Roudi

A postdoctoral position jointly funded by NORDITA- The Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Stockholm and the Kavli Institue for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim is available for studying neural mechanisms of spatial navigation and space memory, and in particular the mechanisms of grid cell and place cell formation. Our work is highly quantitative and interdisciplinary; applicants should have a strong background in statistical/condensed matter physics, computational neuroscience or related fields. Interested applicants should send a CV, a short description of past experiences/achievements and future research interests, and arrange for two letters of recommendation to be emailed directly to Prof. Yasser Roudi < yasser.roudi at ntnu dot no > or Prof. Alexander Balatsky < balatsky at kth dot se >. Please also contact the same email addresses if you have any questions about the position.

Feb. 17, 2015

A Long Journey into Reproducible Computational Neuroscience

by Nicolas P. Rougier

Dear all, We've just published a short commentary on what we think is a recurrent problem in computational science concerning the reproducibility and accessibility of models in the literature. We think the case we report (in full cooperation with original authors) is not an isolated case but we would be interested in knowing how serious the problem is from your point of view. Nicolas Rougier --- Computational neuroscience is a powerful ally in our quest to understand the brain. Even the most simple model can shed light on the role of this or that structure and propose new hypothesis concerning the overall brain organization. However, any model in Science is doomed to be proved wrong or incomplete and replaced by a more accurate one. In the meantime, for such replacement to happen, we have first to make sure that models are actually reproducible such that they can be tested, evaluated, criticized and ultimately modified, replaced or even rejected. This is where the shoe pinches. If we cannot reproduce a model in the first place, we're doomed to re-invent the wheel again and again, preventing us from building an incremental computational knowledge of the brain. Full text at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncom.2015.00028/full

Feb. 17, 2015