- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

CfP, Special session - Hybrid Life II, ALife 2019
by Manuel Baltieri Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

[Apologies for cross-posting] ********** Call for Papers ********** Special session - Hybrid Life II: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-ii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-ii/> 2019 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Newcastle, UK, 29 July - 3 August 2019 - http://2019.alife.org/ <http://2019.alife.org/> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION: The main focus of ALife research is the study of natural systems with the goal of understanding what life is. More concretely, ALife defines ways to investigate processes that contribute to the formation and proliferation of living organisms. In this session we focus on three common approaches to tackle this investigation, proposing ways to integrate, extend and possibly improve them. More specifically we refer to: 1) the formalisation of the necessary properties for the definition of life, 2) the implementation of artificial agents, and 3) the study of the relation between life and cognition. For this special session we propose to start from these well-established Alife methodologies, and extend them through: a unified formal language for the description and modelling of living, as well as artificial and cognitive systems, e.g. control theory, Bayesian inference, dynamical systems theory, etc., the exploration of biological creatures enhanced by artificial systems (or artificial systems augmented with organic parts) in order to investigate the boundaries between living and nonliving organisms, and the evaluation of coupled biological-artificial systems that could shed light on the importance of interactions among systems for the study of living and cognitive organisms. This special sessions aims to invite contributions from the fields of psychology, computational neuroscience, HCI, theoretical biology, artificial intelligence, robotics and cognitive science to discuss current research on the formalisation, combination and interaction of artificial/living/cognitive systems from theoretical, modelling and implementational perspectives. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Formalisation of life and cognition (e.g. dynamical systems theory, stochastic optimal control, Bayesian inference, etc.) Cognitive robotics Autopoiesis Life-mind continuity thesis Systems biology Origins-of-life theories with relationships to artificial and cognitive systems Animal-robot interaction Bio-inspired robotics Bio-integrated robotics Human-machine interaction Augmented cognition Sensory substitution Interactive evolutionary computation Artificial perception Important Dates 8th March 2019 – Paper submission deadline 24th April 2019 – Paper acceptance notification 24th May 2019 – Camera-ready version 29th July - 3rd August 2019 – Artificial Life conference (ALife), Newcastle, UK Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the a-life community as well as from other areas key to our proposal, specifically chosen for this review process. If you are submitting to a special session you will be given the opportunity to select it during the submission process. Submissions to special sessions follow the same format, instructions and deadlines of regular ALife papers. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Hiryuki IIzuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan Olaf Witkowski, Earth-Life Science Institute - Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-ii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-ii/> or get in touch with m.baltieri(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:m.baltieri@sussex.ac.uk>. All the best, -- Manuel Baltieri PhD Candidate, EASy group, Sussex Neuroscience, Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, UK Twitter: @manuelbaltieri

1 0

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Whole Brain Modelling
by John Griffiths Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Whole Brain Modelling The Whole Brain Modelling Group (PI Dr. John Griffiths; www.grifflab.com) at the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Toronto, is looking to hire a Post-Doctoral Fellow with a strong background in computational neuroscience and/or neuroimaging. The successful candidate shall spearhead the group's efforts in computational modelling of large-scale brain dynamics, with a particular focus on brain stimulation (TMS, TDCS), EEG, neural plasticity, and macro-connectomics. The fellow will have the opportunity to shape the details of the project based on their specific interests, as well as to contribute to other ongoing projects on a range of topics, including: neuroinformatics of whole-brain modelling, mapping and modelling anatomical connectivity and microstructure with DWI in relation to ageing and stroke, and multi-scale modelling of the thalamocortical system in relation to sleep, pharmacological neuromodulation, and neuropsychiatric disease. The successful candidate will have a PhD in neuroscience, engineering, physics, psychology, or related area, a track record for independent research, and a strong publication record. Strong programming skills and familiarity with neuroimaging data analysis (s/d/fMRI and/or M/EEG) are required; experience with computational modelling using numerical simulations (particularly modelling of neural population activity with mean-field/neural mass/neural field techniques) would be advantageous. Full details of the position and application instructions can be found at www.grifflab.com/positions/ For informal inquiries, please email Dr. John Griffiths at john.griffiths(a)camh.ca with the title “Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Whole Brain Modelling” in the subject line. -- Dr. John D. Griffiths Independent Scientist @ Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, CAMH, Toronto Assistant Professor @ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto www.grifflab.com

1 0

PhD Available: Predicting Recovery from Stroke with Machine Learning
by Howard Bowman Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

PhD Available: Predicting Recovery from Stroke with Machine Learning Professor Howard Bowman (University of Kent and University of Birmingham) is looking to take on a PhD student to work on interpretable machine learning applied to data acquired from stroke patients (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ploras/) This work will be with Professor Cathy Price (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL), whose (PLORAS) team has collected one of the largest data sets of stroke patients (greater than 1,000), including structural MRI scans, behaviour and demographics. A key focus of Cathy Price's work is to predict the recovery trajectory of stroke patients from their structural MRI scans, particularly patients with language deficits (i.e. that are aphasic). Progress has been made on this using traditional and now deep learning methods. Critical to clinical uptake of machine learning in this area is the ability to interpret the predictions it provides in a fashion that can be communicated to clinicians, patients and carers. We seek to appoint a PhD student to work on this topic, using methods such as neural-symbolic techniques. The student will be located in the School of Computing at the University of Kent, but will regularly visit and work closely with Cathy Price's team at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging. Expertise in machine learning will be provided by Dr Thomas Hope (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL) and Dr Marek Grzes (School of Computing, University of Kent). The PhD being advertised will be one of a tranche of scholarships available in the School of Computing at the University of Kent at Canterbury. These will be competitively allocated across a range of topics. To be eligible for these scholarships, please contact Howard Bowman (H.Bowman(a)kent.ac.uk) before 31st March 2019. Relevant articles: Besold, T. R., Garcez, A. D. A., Bader, S., Bowman, H., Domingos, P., Hitzler, P., ... & de Penning, L. (2017). Neural-symbolic learning and reasoning: A survey and interpretation. arXiv preprint arXiv:1711.03902. Hope, T. M., Seghier, M. L., Leff, A. P., & Price, C. J. (2013). Predicting outcome and recovery after stroke with lesions extracted from MRI images. NeuroImage: clinical, 2, 424-433. Seghier, M. L., Patel, E., Prejawa, S., Ramsden, S., Selmer, A., Lim, L., ... & Price, C.J. (2016). The PLORAS database: a data repository for predicting language outcome and recovery after stroke. Neuroimage, 124, 1208-1212.

1 0

PhD position in computational neuroscience with Prof. Laurenz Wiskott in Bochum, Germany
by Laurenz Wiskott Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

Please forward this job advertisement to candidates who might be interested. Thanks, Laurenz Wiskott. ___________________________________________________________________________ Open position for a PhD student with Prof. Laurenz Wiskott at the Institute for Neural Computation, Bochum, Germany ___________________________________________________________________________ University: The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of the leading research universities. The university draws its strengths from both the diversity and the proximity of scientific and engineering disciplines on a single, coherent campus. This highly dynamic setting enables students and researchers to work across traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. Institute: Institute for Neural Computation Ruhr-University Bochum Universitaetsstr. 150 D-44801 Bochum, Germany, EU The Institute for Neural Computation is a central research institute at the Ruhr-University Bochum, see https://www.ini.rub.de/. It focuses on the dynamics and learning of perception and behavior on a functional level but is otherwise very diverse, ranging from neurophysiology and psychophysics over computational neuroscience to machine learning and technical applications. Research group: Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott, see https://www.ini.rub.de/research/groups/theory_of_neural_systems/ Research topics: We are looking for an outstanding candidate who will be working on a system-level model of spatial navigation with the hippocampus as one of its central areas. We use methods from neural networks and machine learning. It is also planned to simulate experiments done with rat and/or mice by our experimental partners. The position is part of a joint team with Prof. Sen Cheng working on developing a system-level model of hippocampal function for memory and navigation. This is being done in close interaction with a team working on similar questions from the machine learning perspective. Teaching: There is a teaching load of 3 hours per week during the semester, in particular for a programming course in python. Time: The appointment will be for three years and can then be extended for one more year if needed. Anticipated starting date is May 15th. Requirements: Candidates should have an education (equivalent to a MSc) in computer science, physics, mathematics, electrical engineering or any related field. Required are strong mathematical and programming skills (ideally in python) as well as the ability to communicate and work well in a team. Salary: Salary is 75% of salary scale TV-L E13. Inquiries: Informal inquiries can be addressed to Prof. Laurenz Wiskott <laurenz.wiskott(a)rub.de>. Application: Applications (CV, transcript of records for MSc and BSc, statement of purpose) should be sent as a single pdf file to Prof. Laurenz Wiskott <laurenz.wiskott(a)rub.de>. Ruhr-University Bochum is committed to equal opportunity in employment and gender equality in its working environment. We therefore look forward to applications from qualified women. Applications from appropriately qualified handicapped persons are also encouraged.

1 0

Reminder: XI. Dubrovnik Conference on Cognitive Science - Computational Rationality
by Gergo Orban Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

Dear all, This is a reminder that the deadline is approaching for submitting abstracts for the XI. Dubrovnik Conference on Cognitive Science, which is devoted to the topic of Computational Rationality. The conference will take place between 23-25 May 2019 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. You may submit your poster abstract here: http://www.cecog.eu/ducog/page_submission.php <http://www.cecog.eu/ducog/page_submission.php> Our invited speakers are: Ulrike Hahn (Birkbeck, University of London, UK) Quentin Huys (Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, UK) Julian Jara-Ettinger (Yale University, USA) Máté Lengyel (University of Cambridge, UK, and Central European University, Hungary) Azzurra Ruggeri (Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany) Laura Schulz (MIT, USA) Deadline for poster abstract submission is 28 February 2019. Authors will be notified of acceptance of their abstracts by 15 March 2019. For more information please visit: http://www.cecog.eu/ducog/page_invitation.php <http://www.cecog.eu/ducog/page_invitation.php> or email us: ducog(a)cogsci.bme.hu <mailto:ducog@cogsci.bme.hu> On behalf of the organisers, Oana Stanciu Gergő Orbán Programme chairs

1 0

student/postdoc/RA positions with Li Zhaoping in Tuebingen Germany on experimental/theoretical neuroscience
by Li Zhaoping Feb. 23, 2019

Feb. 23, 2019

I am recruiting for students/postdocs/research assitants for my group in Tuebingen, where we work in the University of Tuebingen and in the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, seehttps://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/sensory-and-sensorimotor-systems I will be at COSYNE workshop on March 4-5th, and would be happy to provide additional information, answer questions, and chat with interested people. Zhaoping

1 0

Conference Models of Consciousness, Oxford
by Johannes Kleiner Feb. 22, 2019

Feb. 22, 2019

Dear all, I'd like to point your attention to the following conference on formal approaches to the mind-matter relation: Models of Consciousness Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford September 9 - 12, 2019 https://models-of-consciousness.org/ With best wishes, Johannes

1 0

From Dagmar Sternad: Position for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Human Motor Control
by Marta Russo Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

On behalf of Prof. Dagmar Sternad *Position for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Human Motor Control* Dagmar Sternad Professor of Biology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics Northeastern University d.sternad(a)northeastern.edu We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to work in the area of computational neuroscience and physical human-robot interaction. The research of Prof. Sternad’s Action Lab’s at Northeastern University in Boston is on human motor control and learning with extensions to clinical populations and rehabilitation http://www.northeastern.edu/actionlab/. Ongoing projects are on complex object manipulation and on human walking on unstable support. Our research addresses fundamental questions on human motor control, with a view to human-robot interactions and also clinical applications. Several ongoing collaborations are with Prof. Neville Hogan at MIT. The Action Lab’s interdisciplinary research program addresses questions in motor control from the perspective of dynamical system, bridging disciplinary approaches from nonlinear dynamics, biomechanics and engineering, neuroscience and psychology. The overall goal of our research is to understand the generation of perceptually controlled behavior in human systems. Our lab is equipped with state-of-the-art experimental equipment, including 3D motion capture, three virtual reality set-ups with a robot manipulandum, force plates and wireless EMG. We also use brain measurement and stimulation techniques, such as EEG and TMS. Our laboratory is currently supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. For more information about ongoing projects please visit our website: http://www.northeastern.edu/actionlab/ Candidates should have graduate training in one of the following disciplines: Computational Motor Neuroscience, Physics, Mechanical, Electrical or Computer Engineering, the latter with an emphasis on robotics and interest in human motor control. The applicant should demonstrate an academic record of scientific excellence, independent research, and a strong interest in an interdisciplinary approach to human and robotic motor control. Experience in programming is expected (Matlab, C++, Statistics packages, etc.). He/she will get involved in existing research projects, but is also encouraged to bring to bear his/her expertise into the research project. The Action Lab is located in the Departments of Biology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics at Northeastern University as well as the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Complex Systems. Northeastern University is located in the heart of Boston, which provides a stimulating environment for interdisciplinary research. Applicants should submit a curriculum vita, including a list of publications, and two letters of recommendation to d.sternad(a)northeastern.edu. Hiring will start as soon as possible. -- <http://www.hsantalucia.it/5x1000-sostieni-la-nostra-ricerca> *Rispetta l'ambiente: se non ti è necessario, non stampare questo messaggio - **Please consider the environment before printing this email.*

1 0

Workshop: Spike Sorting and Reproducibility for Next Generation Electrophysiology
by Matthias Hennig Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

Spike Sorting and Reproducibility for Next Generation Electrophysiology 24. and 25. June 2019 Informatics Forum, University of Edinburgh The analysis of extracellular recordings is a computationally and conceptually complex task with multiple sources of error and bias that can affect subsequent data interpretation. The advent of high-density extracellular micro-electrode arrays (MEAs) now allows recording from hundreds to thousands of channels that poses significant challenges. Additionally, current analysis workflows lack standardisation, and few attempts have been made to make perform systematic comparisons between different solutions and approaches. This workshop will bring together electrophysiologists and developers of tools for the analysis of extracellular recordings, with the following goals: - to showcase new approaches to analyse large scale recordings - to discuss approaches for validation and quality control - to discuss how elements of reproducibility and provenance can be added - to typical analysis workflows Invited Speakers: Alessio Buccino, Oslo Espen Hagen, Oslo Felix Franke, ETHZ Samuel Garcia, CNRS James Jun, Flatiron Institute Jeremy Magland, Flatiron Institute André Marques Smith, UCL Olivier Marre, Institut de la vision Hernan G Rey, Leicester (tbc) Evelyne Sernagor, Newcastle Olivier Winter, Champalimaud Pierre Yger, Institut de la vision (more speakers tba) Registration is free (workshop dinner £30), spaces are limited. More info: http://workshops.inf.ed.ac.uk/ssnge/ Organisers: Matthias Hennig, Edinburgh Cole Hurwitz, Edinburgh Jeremy Magland, Flatiron Alessio Buccino, Oslo -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

1 0

EuroCogSci 2019: Invitation
by Laurenz Wiskott Feb. 20, 2019

Feb. 20, 2019

Sent in behalf of Prof. Albert Newen, Ruhr-University Bochum. Laurenz Wiskott. ========================================================================================== EuroCogSci 2019 SITUATED MINDS AND FLEXIBLE COGNITION Call for Papers, Posters and Contributed Symposia The conference EuroCogSci 2019 aims at providing a platform for discussing the most recent developments in Cognitive Science. It will feature contributed papers, symposia, and posters covering all subfields of cognitive science, bringing together a large number of experts from Europe and overseas. Venue: Ruhr-Universität Bochum Start: Monday, September 2nd, 2019 End: Wednesday, September 4th, 2019 Keynote Speaker: Lawrence Barsalou (University of Glasgow) Julia Fischer (Universität Göttingen) Patrick Haggard (UCL, London) Asifa Majid (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics) Brian McLaughlin (Rutgers University) Natalie Sebanz (CEU, Hungary) John Spencer (University of East Anglia) Invited Symposium I: Situated Robotics and its Applications Minoru Asada (Osaka University) and Etienne Burdet (Imperial College London) Invited Symposium II: Evolutionary Robotics Dario Floreano (EPFL) and Partica A. Vargas (Heriot-Watt University) Invited Symposium III: Theory of Mind and Its Developments Ágnes M. Kovács (CEU), Beate Priewasser (Salzburg), Albert Newen (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) Local organizing team: Albert Newen (main organizer), Sabrina Coninx, Onur Güntürkün, Dorothea Kolossa, Beate Krickel, Jonas Rose, Tobias Schlicht, Gregor Schöner, Alfredo Vernazzani, Markus Werning, Pascale Willemsen Call for Contributed Symposia We encourage the joint submission of thematically related papers of a key research topic as symposia. More information at: https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/EuroCogSci2019/call-for-contribut… The deadline for submission of symposia proposals: 28 February 2019 Call for Papers and Posters We invite contributions on recent research in any subfield of cognitive science. More information at: https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/EuroCogSci2019/call-for-papers-an… The deadline for submission of papers & posters: 31 March 2019 Call for Registration: a detailed call will be sent out later. Contact information: EuroCogSci2019(a)rub.de ________________________________ Dr.des. Alfredo Vernazzani Scientific Manager: EuroCogSci 2019 Ruhr-Universität Bochum Institut für Philosophie II GA 6/35, Universitätsstr. 150 44799 Bochum, Deutschland

1 0