- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Software Developer / Research Associate
by Stephanie Jones Sept. 24, 2018

Sept. 24, 2018

Applications are invited for a research software developer / research associate position in the lab of Dr. Stephanie Jones at Brown University in Providence, RI. The level of the hire depends on experience. Our group combines human electrophysiological recordings and computational neural modeling techniques to study the mechanisms and meaning of brain dynamics in health and disease. We collaborate extensively with animal electrophysiologists and clinicians to develop data constrained models that are translationally relevant. The software developer / research associate will work with a team of researchers at Brown, Mass General Hospital, and Yale, to help develop a new software tool for circuit level investigation of human magneto- and electro-encephalography (MEG/EEG) signals: Human Neocortical Neurosolver, HNN (https://hnn.brown.edu) <https://hnn.brown.edu)>. The goal of this software is to provide the community with a user friendly tool to develop and test hypotheses on the circuit origin of their data. The hired candidate will help support and expand HNN’s capabilities, including software development and working with researchers to apply HNN to specific neuroscience questions. Duties will also include development of tutorials, online resources, and participation in workshops aimed at training the community in the use and applicability of HNN. Candidates should have a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in computer science, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and/or related field. Strong Python programming skills are required, and experience with neural modeling, particularly NEURON, is preferred. Familiarity with MEG/EEG analysis methods and/or non-invasive brain stimulation is also beneficial. Candidates should be able to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and fun work environment. Interested candidates should send a cv and a brief description of qualifications and research interests to the Jones lab manager Dylan_S_Daniels(a)brown.edu <mailto:Dylan_S_Daniels@brown.edu>. ******************************************* Stephanie R. Jones, PhD Associate Professor Brown University Department of Neuroscience Stephanie_Jones(a)Brown.edu https://blogs.brown.edu/joneslab/ <https://blogs.brown.edu/joneslab/> Human Neocortical Neurosolver https://hnn.brown.edu <https://hnn.brown.edu/>

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Postdoctoral researchers - computational modeling, EEG, TMS
by Stephanie Jones Sept. 24, 2018

Sept. 24, 2018

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in the lab of Dr. Stephanie Jones at Brown University in Providence RI. Our group combines human electrophysiological recordings and computational neural modeling techniques to study the mechanisms and meaning of brain dynamics in health in disease. We collaborate extensively with animal electrophysiologists and clinicians to develop data constrained models that are translationally relevant. We are expanding our research efforts to including non-invasive brain stimulation. A postdoctoral position is available to integrate simultaneous human EEG and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in humans, with computational neural modeling developments. The postdoctoral researcher will help expand our new software tool Human Neocortical Neurosolver (https://hnn.brown.edu) <https://hnn.brown.edu)/> for circuit level interpretation of EEG/MEG signals to include TMS studies. She/he will also help with the design, implementation and analysis of our TMS/EEG experiments. Candidates should have a PhD in neuroscience, computational neuroscience, computer science, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, and/or related field. Strong quantitative and programming skills are required. The ideal candidate would have experience in computational neuroscience methods applied to human EEG and brain stimulation data. However, experience in all areas is not required. Candidates should be able to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary and fun work environment. Interested candidates should send a cv and a brief description of qualifications and research interests to the Jones lab manager Dylan_S_Daniels(a)brown.edu <mailto:Dylan_S_Daniels@brown.edu>. ******************************************* Stephanie R. Jones, PhD Associate Professor Brown University Department of Neuroscience Stephanie_Jones(a)Brown.edu https://blogs.brown.edu/joneslab/ <https://blogs.brown.edu/joneslab/> Human Neocortical Neurosolver https://hnn.brown.edu <https://hnn.brown.edu/>

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Workshop: High Performance Computing in Neuroscience
by Carnevale, Nicholas Sept. 24, 2018

Sept. 24, 2018

Does your research involve computationally intensive tasks such as large scale modeling or data analysis? Come to the workshop on High Performance Computing Resources for Parallel Simulations and Data Analysis: NSG and HPAC to share your experience with others who are dealing with similar challenges, and learn about resources that are currently available and/or being developed that may help accelerate your own research. This workshop will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at a location in downtown San Diego. Space is limited, and the registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 12, so you should act early. For the on-line registration form see https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nsg2018/nsg2018.html The workshop will include a combination of short presentations and discussions. Confirmed speakers and topics include: "The Neuroscience Gateway" Amit Majumdar, Subhashini Sivagnanam, Kenneth Yoshimoto, Ted Carnevale "Research Activities at the Human Brain Project's High Performance Analytics and Computing Platform" Alexander Peyser "Human Neocortical Neurosolver: A New Modeling Platform for Cellular and Circuit Level Interpretation of EEG/MEG" Samuel A Neymotin, Dylan S Daniels, Noam Peled, Robert A McDougal, Ted Carnevale, Christopher I Moore, Michael L Hines, Matti Hamalainen, Stephanie R Jones "Towards a Complete Description of the Hippocampal Circuitry Underlying Sharp Wave-Mediated Memory Replay" Ivan Soltesz "Neuroanatomical models beyond the spatial resolution of MRI require HPC: The Big Brain and fiber tracts" Karl Zilles, Nicola Palomero-Gallagher and Katrin Amunts "The Virtual Brain: personalized large-scale brain network modeling and its applications" Viktor Jirsa

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Neuro-Inspired Computational Elements (NICE) 2019 Abstract Submission Open!
by Aimone, James Bradley Sept. 24, 2018

Sept. 24, 2018

Dear Colleagues: The call for abstracts for NICE 2019 is open for submissions at https://easychair.org/cfp/NICE2019 As with past NICE workshops, we are seeking submissions describing advances at the intersection of theoretical neuroscience, neural computing hardware and algorithms, and applications of this brain-inspired computing technology. Preference will be given to unpublished results that bridge our community. For agendas and videos of talks from past meetings, please see http://niceworkshop.org Submissions are 2 page extended abstracts, which will be reviewed to select full and short talks, as well as posters. New for NICE this year we are looking at potential options for proceedings papers, to be invited from the top submissions this year. Abstracts are due on November 15th. Registration will open in a few weeks. ---------------- NICE 2019 will be taking place during March 26-29, 2019 in Albany CNSE Campus in Albany, NY Important dates: Abstract call: September 15, 2018 Abstract submission open: September 22, 2018 Abstracts due: November 15, 2018 Selection announcement: January 15, 2019 ----------------- Hope to see you in Albany! Brad Aimone NICE Program Chair -------------------------- James Bradley Aimone, Ph.D. Principal Member of Technical Staff Data-driven and Neural Computing Department Center for Computing Research Sandia National Laboratories Phone: (505) 284-3147 Fax: (505) 844-4728 http://neuroscience.sandia.gov

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BrainScaleS, SpiNNaker and NES: EITN workshop 'Are we building the right user-level documentation?'
by Martina Reske Sept. 24, 2018

Sept. 24, 2018

Dear users of BrainScaleS, SpiNNaker and NEST, Documentation is where we provide guidance for our users to successfully navigate, understand and use our software. But how do we ensure that the documentation we provide is achieving this goal? We want to hear from you! This EITN workshop 'Are we building the right user-level documentation?' is an opportunity for users to help steer documentation in the right direction and for us to better understand the needs of our communities. Join us November 21 to November 22 in Paris, France. Registration is now open! See program details and register at https://eitnconf-211118.sciencesconf.org/ -- Dr. Martina Reske Scientific Coordinator Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience & Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Jülich Research Centre and JARA Jülich, Germany Work +49.2461.611916 Work Cell +49.151.26156918 Fax +49.2461.619460 www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> Office hours: TU & FR 9.00-17, WE & TH 9.00-13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Assistant Professor positions at Keele University
by Peter Andras Sept. 23, 2018

Sept. 23, 2018

Two Assistant Professor (UK Lecturer) positions in Computer Science *Keele University *- Faculty of Natural Sciences - School of Computing and Mathematics *Closing date for applications: 21st October 2018* Keele University is renowned for its exciting approach to higher education, innovative research, beautiful campus, strong community spirit and excellent student experience. With a turnover in excess of £150 million, over 10,000 students and a total staff of approximately 2000, the University provides high quality teaching across a wide range of academic and vocational subjects and promotes world-class research. The University hosts the largest UK Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) with an associated Centre for Doctoral Training based in the School of Computing and Mathematics. Applications are welcome from dynamic and enthusiastic individuals committed to high quality teaching and research in any relevant field of Computer Science (e.g. software engineering, evolutionary systems, security, human-computer interaction, biological computation, machine learning, formal methods, distributed systems, smart energy, high-performance computing – but not restricted to these particular fields). Applicants will have interests that complement our existing research strengths while broadening the scope of our teaching expertise. The Assistant Professor (UK Lecturer) posts are part of continued growth and expansion of Computer Science at Keele, which presents many new opportunities for the development of synergies in both teaching and research. Candidates will be expected to develop an active research programme that both complements and extends our existing research profile in Computer Science. Candidates are also expected to develop research collaborations with colleagues at Keele and elsewhere in strategic research areas of the University, such as smart energy, AI, big data or digital health. Details of the research carried out in Computer Science at Keele can be found at: http://www.keele.ac.uk/scm/research/compsci/ The successful candidates will have a PhD in an appropriate area of Computer Science (or be very close to completion of his/her PhD) and will have a strong commitment to delivering high quality undergraduate teaching, including supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and the development and delivery of new modules. The post-holders will have the skills, enthusiasm and flexibility for teaching across a wide range of computer science topics and will also contribute to recruitment activities and administrative duties within our Computer Science programmes. Informal enquires can be made to Professor Peter Andras on 01782 733412 or p.andras(a)keele.ac.uk Keele University is committed to the principles of the Athena SWAN charter, and values equality and diversity across our workforce. We strive to ensure that our workforce is representative of broader society, and therefore, we would actively welcome applications from women for this role. Keele University values equality and diversity across our workforce and to ensuring our staff community is reflective of the diversity of our student population. In support of these commitments the University welcomes applications from individuals of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds for *all* roles. *For full post details please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies <http://www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies>* *Keele University employees wishing to apply should login to Employee Self Service and click on the 'View current vacancies' link.* *Closing date for applications: 21st October 2018* *Interviews will be held on: 16th November 2018* *Post reference: KU00000898*

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New, introductory, tutorial-based textbook
by Paul Miller Sept. 21, 2018

Sept. 21, 2018

Hi, Particularly if you teach introductory classes or mentor students with limited math/computational background, you may be interested in a new textbook "An Introductory Course in Computational Neuroscience" (http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/introductory-course-computational-neuroscience) The textbook contains numerous computer tutorials, with selected solutions, as well as over 100 codes used to simulate figures, all available online at https://github.com/primon23/Intro-Comp-Neuro or http://people.brandeis.edu/~pmiller/TEXTBOOK/ I hope you find it useful, Paul

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COSYNE 2019: Meeting announcement and Call for workshop proposals
by Tomas Hromadka Sept. 20, 2018

Sept. 20, 2018

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2019 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING 28 February - 03 March 2019 Lisbon, Portugal WORKSHOPS 04 March - 05 March 2019 Cascais, Portugal www.cosyne.org ==================================================== ---------------------------------------------------- MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT ---------------------------------------------------- The annual Cosyne meeting provides an inclusive forum for the exchange of empirical and theoretical approaches to problems in systems neuroscience, in order to understand how neural systems function. The MAIN MEETING is single-track. A set of invited talks is selected by the Executive Committee, and additional talks and posters are selected by the Program Committee, based on submitted abstracts. The WORKSHOPS feature in-depth discussion of current topics of interest, in a small group setting. For details on workshop proposals please see below or visit Cosyne.org -> Workshops. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: neural coding, natural scene statistics, dendritic computation, neural basis of persistent activity, nonlinear receptive field mapping, representations of time and sequence, reward systems, decision-making, synaptic plasticity, map formation and plasticity, population coding, attention, and computation with spiking networks. This year we would like to foster increased participation from experimental groups as well as computational ones. Please circulate widely and encourage your students and postdocs to apply. IMPORTANT DATES Abstract submission opens: 09 October 2018 Abstract submission deadline: 15 November 2018 Workshop pre-proposal deadline: 30 September 2018 Workshop proposal deadline: 31 October 2018 COSYNE SPEAKERS Bruno Averbeck (NIMH) Gwyneth Card (Janelia) Kathleen Cullen (John Hopkins) Kenji Doya (OIST) Ken Harris (UCL) Sonja Hofer (Sainsbury Wellcome Centre) Yann LeCun (NYU) Edvard Moser (NTNU) Yiota Poirazi (IMBB-FORTH) Maneesh Sahani (Gatsby-UCL) Eric Shea-Brown (U Washington) Sara Solla (Northwestern) Karel Svoboda (Janelia) Ilana Witten (Princeton) When preparing an abstract, authors should be aware that not all abstracts can be accepted for the meeting, due to space constraints. Abstracts will be selected based on the clarity with which they convey the substance, significance, and originality of the work to be presented. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Linda Wilbrecht (Berkeley) and Brent Doiron (U Pittsburgh) Program Chairs: Eugenia Chiappe (Champalimaud) and Christian Machens (Champalimaud) Workshop Chairs: Catherine Hartley (NYU) and Ralf Haefner (U Rochester) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Angela Langdon (Princeton) and Robert Wilson (U Arizona) Publicity Chair: Il Memming Park (Stony Brook) Development Chair: Michael Long (NYU) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) CONTACT meeting [at] cosyne.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PRE-PROPOSAL DEADLINE: 30 September 2018 FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: 31 October 2018 PRE-PROPOSALS In an effort to coordinate submissions, the organizers are encouraged to submit a pre-proposal by *30 September 2018.* Pre-proposals will be shared among submitters. Pre-proposals are not mandatory, but are strongly encouraged. The organizers may submit the full proposal by its deadline. A series of workshops will be held after the main Cosyne meeting. The goal is to provide an informal forum for the discussion of important research questions and challenges. Controversial issues, open problems, comparisons of competing approaches, and alternative viewpoints are encouraged. The overarching goal of all workshops should be the integration of empirical and theoretical approaches, in an environment that fosters collegial discussion and debate. Preference will be given to proposals that differ substantially in content, scope, and/or approach from workshops of recent years (examples available at Cosyne.org -> Workshops). Relevant topics include, but are not limited to: sensory processing; motor planning and control; functional neural circuits; motivation, reward and decision making; learning and memory; adaptation and plasticity; neural coding; neural circuitry and network models; and methods in computational or systems neuroscience. In order to foster discussion within Workshops and reduce overlap between workshops, organizers should inform invited speakers that a single person should not speak in more than one of the Workshops taking place on the same day. WORKSHOP DETAILS - There will be 4-8 workshops/day, running in parallel. - Each workshop is expected to draw between 15 and 80 people. - The workshops will be split into morning (8.00-11.00 AM) and afternoon (4.30-7.30 PM) sessions. - Workshops will be held at Cascais, a coastal village ~34 km west of Lisbon. Buses from the main conference will be provided. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Submission instructions for workshop (pre)-proposals are available at Cosyne.org -> Workshops. PRE-PROPOSALS should include: - Name(s) and email address(es) of the organizers (no more than 2 organizers per session, please). The first author on the list becomes the contact author for the proposal. - A title. - A brief description of 1) what the workshop will address and accomplish, 2) why the topic is of interest, 3) who is the targeted group of participants. - Names, affiliations, and expected topics of talks of potential invitees, with indication of confirmed speakers. Preference will be given to workshops with the most confirmed speakers. - A brief summary of relevant prior experiences and publications of the organizers (about half a page total). - Proposed workshop length (1 or 2 days). Most workshops will be limited to a single day. If you think your workshop needs two days, please explain why. FULL PROPOSALS should include the list of confirmed speakers in addition to components required for a pre-proposal. Workshop organizer responsibilities include coordinating workshop participation and content, scheduling all speakers and submitting a final schedule for the workshop program, and moderating the discussion. Organizers can be speakers but need not speak depending on scheduling constraints. SUGGESTIONS Experience has shown that the best discussions during a workshop are those that arise spontaneously. A good way to foster these is to have short talks and long question periods (e.g. 30+15 minutes), and have plenty of breaks. We recommend fewer than 10 talks. When preparing pre-proposals and full proposals, the organizers are encouraged to: - address timeliness of workshop in the proposal: what new insights have been generated (new papers, data, techniques, whatever) over the past few years that make now the right time for discussing them and for presenting them to the wider community? - directly describe how speakers address the central topic, e.g. which are the big question(s), which speakers represent different viewpoints on the same question, which experimentalist addresses the theories addressed by which theoretician (and vice versa); - address controversies and bring together speakers from different “camps” in the same field, or from different fields that---according to the organizers---should talk more to each other for whatever reason; WORKSHOP COSTS Detailed registration costs, etc, will be available at www.cosyne.org. Please note: Cosyne does NOT provide travel funding for workshop speakers. All workshop speakers are expected to pay for workshop registration fees. Participants are encouraged to register early, in order to qualify for discounted registration rates. One complementary (free) organizer registration is provided per workshop. For workshops with 2 organizers, the free registration can be given to one of the organizers or split evenly between them. COSYNE 2019 WORKSHOP CHAIRS Catherine Hartley (NYU) and Ralf Haefner (University of Rochester) QUESTIONS email: workshops [at] cosyne.org COSYNE MAILING LISTS Please consider adding yourself to Cosyne mailing lists (groups) to receive email updates with various Cosyne-related information and join in helpful discussions. See Cosyne.org -> Mailing lists for details.

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LACONEU 2019 - last days to apply
by Patricio Orio Sept. 20, 2018

Sept. 20, 2018

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 30th!! Only few more days to apply! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- We have the pleasure to invite Graduate and Undergraduate students to participate in: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LACONEU 2019 V Latin American Summer School in Computational Neuroscience Special Topic: Complex Systems and Network Connectivity January 7-25th, 2019 Valparaíso - CHILE http://www.laconeu.cl ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The principal aims of LACONEU 2019 Summer School are to disseminate and to develop Computational Neuroscience in Latin America, gathering researchers and students with common interests in the beautiful and historical city of Valparaiso, in Chile. LACONEU 2019 expects to foster a collaborative exchange between the attendees, researchers and students, based on fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge, and thus, to help the establishment of strong, long-term collaborations. This version also includes a WORKSHOP on January 16th, 2019 CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: - Demian Battaglia, Theoretical Neuroscience Group, INS, France - Joana Cabral, University of Oxford, UK - Bruno Cessac, INRIA Sophia-Antipolis, France - Dante Chialvo, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina - Rodrigo Cofré, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile - Mauro Copelli, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil - Maxime Descoteaux, Université de Sherbrook, Canada - Wael El-Deredy, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile - Pamela Guevara, Universidad de Concepción, Chile - María-José Escobar, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile - Henrik Jensen, Imperial College London, UK - Thierry Mora, École Normale Superiéure, France - Patricio Orio, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile - Adrián Palacios, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile - Tomás Pérez Acle, Fundación Ciencia y Vida, Chile - Peter Robinson, The University of Sydney, Australia - Fernando Rosas, Imperial College London, UK - Inés Samengo, Centro Atómico Bariloche e Instituto Balseiro, Argentina IMPORTANT DATES - Call for Applications: June 8th, 2018 - Application submission deadline: September 30th, 2018 (visit the webpage to see the details) - Acceptance notification: October 31st, 2018 TRAVEL GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDENTS Looking forward to see you in January! *Prof. Patricio Orio* Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias de Valparaíso *CINV* Facultad de Ciencias, *Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile* +56 32 299 5538 / 32 250 8040

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AMAM 2019, Adaptive motion in animals and machines, Aug 19-23 2019, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
by Auke Ijspeert Sept. 20, 2018

Sept. 20, 2018

AMAM 2019, Adaptive Motion in Animals and Machines, Aug 19-23 2019, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland https://amam2019.epfl.ch/ Mark the date and first call for abstracts Investigating how animals and humans excel at adaptive movements can help engineers to improve the adaptive capabilities of robots. In return, robots can serve as scientific tools to explore the basic principles of biological systems, in particular the neuromechanical mechanisms underlying their fascinating motor abilities. AMAM 2019 is the 9th international symposium dedicated to stimulate fruitful interactions among biologists and engineers interested in adaptive motion. It aims at bringing together researchers in robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience, sports science, and other fields related to motor behavior in biological and artificial systems. Previous symposia were held in Montreal, Canada (2000); Kyoto, Japan (2003); Ilmenau, Germany (2005); Cleveland, USA (2008); Awaji, Japan (2011); Darmstadt, Germany (2013); Cambridge, USA (2015); and Sapporo, Japan (2017). Abstract contributions are invited from all areas pertaining to adaptive motion in animals and machines. Accepted abstracts are presented in either oral or poster sessions based on assessed suitability by the program committee. Invited talks and some selected speakers will be presented in oral sessions in a single track. We also encourage participants to contribute hardware demonstrations, as part of the ‘Robot Zoo’@AMAM2019. Important dates: * Jan 18th, 2019 Opening of the extended abstract submission * March 8th, 2019 Deadline of extended abstracts submission * April 12th, 2019 Notification of acceptance for extended abstracts * May 31st, 2019 Deadline of submission for Robot Zoo (Robot Demos) * August 19-23, 2019 Conference Program Committee: * Hitoshi Aonuma, Hokkaido University, Japan * Jordan Boyle, Leeds University, UK * Monica Daley, Royal Veterinary College, UK * Koh Hosoda, Osaka University, Japan * Fumiya Iida, Cambridge, UK * Auke Ijspeert, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland * Akio Ishiguro, Tohoku University, Japan * Masato Ishikawa, Osaka University, Japan * Takeshi Kano, Tohoku University, Japan * Sangbae Kim, MIT, USA * Jun Nishii, Yamaguchi University, Japan * Dai Owaki, Tohoku University, Japan * Andre Seyfarth, TU Darmstadt, Germany * Emily Standen, University of Ottawa, Canada * Dagmar Sternad, Northeastern University, USA * Barry Trimmer, Tufts University, USA * Eric Tytell, Tufts University, USA * Hartmut Witte, TU Ilmenau, Germany General Chair: * Auke Ijspeert, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Prof Auke Jan Ijspeert Biorobotics Laboratory EPFL-STI-IBI-BIOROB, ME D1 1226, Station 9 EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne CH 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Office: ME D1 1226 Tel: +41 21 693 2658 Fax: +41 21 693 3705 www:http://biorob.epfl.ch Email:Auke.Ijspeert@epfl.ch -----------------------------------------------------------------

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Postdoctoral researchers - multimodal fMRI
by Alessandro Gozzi Sept. 20, 2018

Sept. 20, 2018

The Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy, is seeking postdoctoral researchers interested in studying the neural basis of connectivity disruption in brain disorders. Our research, funded by the European Research Council (ERC - project "DisConn"), is aimed at identifying the general neural and cellular principles governing the assembly of spontaneous neural activity, and its breakdown in developmental disorders. We address these questions at the level of identified cell types by combining cutting-edge functional MRI methods with neural manipulations in the living mouse. This research sits at the intersection of computational neuroscience, neurobiology and neuroimaging. The successful candidate will have a PhD in neuroscience, biotechnology, computer science, physics, or equivalent. Training in experimental neuroscience is desirable, but not mandatory. The IIT center in Rovereto (http://cncs.iit.it/) is actively expanding its infrastructure and space for system-level neuroscience research. The center is inserted both in the vibrant community of the IIT (http://www.iit.it) and of the CIMeC center of the University of Trento (http://www.cimec.unitn.it) which specializes in cognitive neuroscience. Rovereto is conveniently located near Trento and Verona, two of the most important "Citta d'Arte" in Italy. The Trentino area is a region of Northern Italy nestled in the Dolomite Mountains, offering spectacular natural beauty, vibrant culture and exceptional quality of life. Please send your application (full CV, research statement, and names of 2 referees) by email to mailto:alessandro.gozzi@iit.it. Applications will be examined until the positions are filled. https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/846-postdoctoral-positions-in-n… Alessandro Gozzi, PhD Senior Scientist, Group Leadel Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @ UNITN Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy Tel: +39 0464 808 701

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PhD studentship in "Computational modelling of cryopreservation"
by roman bauer Sept. 19, 2018

Sept. 19, 2018

*We are seeking a PhD student with excellent programming skills and an interest in biology. The studentship will be based at Newcastle University (UK) and benefit from collaboration with CERN.* Interested in computers as well as biology? Then this project might be what you are looking for! The aim is to use novel software and high-performance computers to model how biological tissue, including neural tissue, behaves during freezing and thawing. Cryopreservation of biological tissue is in its infancy. State-of-the-art freezing and thawing techniques lead to tissue damage in anything larger than 1-3 mm3. Above-freezing storage times of human organs range from approximately 3 to 24 hours - depending on organ - before becoming unviable. This lack of preservation capacity results in 2/3 of donor hearts and 4/5 of lungs being rejected for transplant for logistical reasons. By improving our knowledge of how cryogenic processing affects biological/neural tissue, new methodologies for cryogenic processing will be studied. To this end, you will work together with experts in the field, learn to incorporate the results in detailed 3D computer simulations, and produce novel hypotheses that will generate better methodologies. For informal enquiries please contact Dr Roman Bauer (roman.bauer(a)ncl.ac.uk ). Further details on this PhD studentship and how to apply can be found via this link: *https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=100152 <https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=100152>*

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Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Computational Neuroscience - Ref 80046
by Chris Miall Sept. 19, 2018

Sept. 19, 2018

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Computational Neuroscience - Ref. 80046 The School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham wishes to strengthen our School with the appointment of a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer with specific expertise in computational modelling. The School is continuing to recruit as a result of outstanding performance in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) and major investment provided to the School by the University. The School The School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/psychology/index.aspx) is one of the largest and most successful in the UK, currently ranked in the top 5 Schools in the country (REF 2014). The University of Birmingham is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from currently under-represented groups. The School of Psychology has a Bronze Athena SWAN award and strives to maintain a flexible and supportive environment that enables its staff to flourish. Role purpose We welcome applicants whose research expertise will complement and extend any of our existing four Research Themes: Perception, Cognition, and Action; Mental Health and Wellbeing; Language, Interaction, and Social Cognition; Memory and Attention. One strategic objective for the School is to build on the strength of our Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, and so we particularly welcome applicants with strength in computational science approaches, including machine learning, Bayesian modelling, and computational models of perception, categorisation and attention. We will consider a joint appointment with the School of Computer Science, which has staff whose research expertise complement and extend those of Psychology. Closing Date: 28 Oct 2018 A full job description is available in PDF format here: http://www.download.bham.ac.uk/vacancies/jd/80046.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Professor R.C. Miall Hills Building Tel +44 121 414 2867 School of Psychology, Fax +44 121 414 4897 University of Birmingham, Mobile: 07709 586997 Edgbaston, Email: r.c.miall(a)bham.ac.uk<mailto:r.c.miall@bham.ac.uk> Birmingham B15 2TT UK Web: http://prism.bham.ac.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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NEURON Course at SFN 2018
by Ted Carnevale Sept. 18, 2018

Sept. 18, 2018

The registration deadline for the NEURON course at the SFN 2018 meeting is Friday, October 12--less than a month from now. The online registration form is at https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/sd2018/sd2018.html This course is suitable for applicants with a wide range of interests and expertise, ranging from experimentalists who have never done any computational modeling, to advanced modelers who want to know the latest tips for using NEURON with Python. Topics that will be covered include: --using Python and NEURON's graphical tools to build and work with models of individual cells --using the Import3d tool to import detailed anatomical neuronal data from NeuroLucida and SWC files --using the CellBuilder to specify the biophysical properties of model cells with detailed anatomical structure --expanding NEURON's library of ion channels and other biophysical mechanisms --analyzing models with the Model View tool --building network models --speeding up simulations on parallel hardware --Ted

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PhD student position in Decision Making, Sorbonne Universite, Paris (B. Girard, O. Davidenko)
by Benoît Girard Sept. 18, 2018

Sept. 18, 2018

Fully funded PhD: Cognitive and computational neurosciences studies to decipher how the social context affects individual food decisions Institution: Sorbonne Université (Paris, France) Disciplins: Computational Neurosciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, Brain Imaging Hosting laboratory: ISIR, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (SU/CNRS) Thesis Supervisors: Benoît Girard (ISIR, UPMC/CNRS) , supervisor Olga Davidenko (INRA/AgroParisTech/UPSay PNCA), co-supervisor Starting date: fall 2018 Key Words: Reinforcement learning, Human eating behavior, Brain imaging Scientific environment of the project: Excessive intake of sugars and salt are linked to deleterious consequences on Human health. Current strategies to design and favor healthier options have limited effects due to their poor acceptability. SHIFT proposes a multidisciplinary approach, combining life, social and computer sciences to understand the determinants, mechanisms, and levers to modulate the acceptability of a meal option. This project will address precise alimentary situations where margins of improvement with respect to salt and sugar reduction are possible, ie. acceptability of (i) water or low energy beverages in substitution of sodas and (ii) sugar- or salt-reduced options at the end of main meals. Interdisciplinary research activities will be conducted at the populational, contextual and individual scales to decipher criteria driving the acceptability foods. SHIFT gathers 5 academic partners: The “Physiologie de la Nutrition et du Comportement Alimentaire” lab (UMR PNCA; INRA-AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Saclay, project leader), the “Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique” (ISIR, Sorbonne Université-CNRS-INSERM), the “Mathématiques et Informatique Appliquées” lab (UMR MIA; INRA-AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Saclay), the “Alimentation et Sciences Sociales” lab (ALISS; INRA), the School of Psychology of the University of Birmingham and an industrial partner: Danone Nutricia Research (Global Nutrition Department) Work Programme: In the selection of foods as in many other decision processes, individuals tend to conform to social norms (i.e. a collectively-established acceptable behaviour). For instance, when eating with others, if individuals are offered to choose between two foods, they will take the decision that conforms to the choices made by the others guests. In some cases, for instance when all guests need to make a choice within a very short time lapse, there might be an uncertainty on this social norm. Before making their decision, individuals infer the appropriate choice from the available information of the choices made by others and after taking their decision, subjects judge the appropriateness of their own decision the basis of the overall choices of commensals. The acceptability of a food option is modulated by whether or not it is imitated by the commensals. The aim of this thesis is to explore how the social context affects individual decisions. The student will study the question from the point of view of the individual: what are the contributions of various types of social modulation (imitation, conformity to a social norm) to food choices? Fundamental to every decision is the brain’s ability to internally evaluate subjective values. The theoretical framework of this thesis, the “value-based decision-making” (Pessiglione et al., 2006, Johnson & Ratcliff, 2014), suggests that, although from an external point of view, the outcome of a decision can be reduced to a binary phenomenon (acceptance or rejection) the underlying mental computation of the value is represented as a continuous function. Our working hypotheses are that the aforementioned social modulations to food choices can be integrated in an individual-centric modeling approach of decision-making (as has been shown in simpler contexts by Burke et al. (2010)), that the influences of these various types of modulations can be disentangled, so as to help identifying the possibly specific neural substrates. In this thesis, we will design a behavioural task dedicated to investigate the different causes of social modulations, and we will then explore which brain circuits are involved, using fMRI. We will use the theoretical tools of value-based decision-making to model the mechanisms by which social modulations affect decision. This will allow us to derive time series of internal variables of the model as regressors to refine the analysis of fMRI data. The student will work to establish a fully specified model of a decision task incorporating mathematical formalizations of the social modulations. The model will be based on the so-called model-free reinforcement learning algorithms (Sutton & Barto, 1998), to which additional value update modalities will be added in order to take into account the influence of commensals. Burke, C.J., Tobler, P.N., Baddeley, M., and Schultz, W. (2010). Neural mechanisms of observational learning. PNAS 201003111. Johnson, E.J., and Ratcliff, R. (2014). Chapter 3 - Computational and Process Models of Decision Making in Psychology and Behavioral Economics. In Neuroeconomics (Second Edition), P.W. Glimcher, and E. Fehr, eds. (San Diego: Academic Press), pp. 35–47. Pessiglione, M., Seymour, B., Flandin, G., Dolan, R.J., and Frith, C.D. (2006). Dopamine-dependent prediction errors underpin reward-seeking behaviour in humans. Nature 442, 1042–1045. Sutton, R. S., & Barto, A. G. (1998). Reinforcement learning: An introduction. MIT press. To apply Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and references via e-mail to benoit.girard(a)sorbonne-universite.fr and olga.davidenko(a)agroparistech.fr, with [SHIFT] in the subject of the mail. Review of applicants will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. The earliest start date is November 2018. -- Benoît Girard, ISIR, UPMC/CNRS Pyramide T55/65, CC 173 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex http://people.isir.upmc.fr/girard/ Submit your replications to ReScience: https://rescience.github.io/

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1-year position for an engineer to work in Parkinson, in the frontiers of imaging and machine learning (Bilbao, Spain)
by Jesus Cortes Sept. 18, 2018

Sept. 18, 2018

We are looking for an Engineer with skills in computer vision, programming and machine learning to collaborate in the research project entitled: "Study of the retina and the visual pathway by neuroimaging in genetic and aggressive idiopathic synucleinopathies as a model to identify phenotypes and prognostic biomarkers in idiopathic Parkinson's disease" (Principal Investigator: Iñigo Gabilondo, MD, PhD) led by the Neurodegenerative Diseases Group. The data to analyse are multimodal and longitudinal, with a sample size bigger than N=100 and consisting in retina OCT, neuroimaging (structural, functional, tensor tensor and spectroscopy), neuropsychology and clinical scales. The engineer also will work in close collaboration with the Computational Neuroimaging Group, led by Prof. Jesus M Cortes. For further information about the groups, visit: https://biocrucesbizkaia.org/web/biocruces/bc5.01and https://biocrucesbizkaia.org/bc5.08 Requirements: - Bachelor of Engineering - Good academic marks (average score higher than 7 over 10) - Experience in computer vision, programming j(Matlab, Python and / or R), machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques - Experience with the magnetic resonance imaging analysis packages SPM, FSL and Freesurfer - Advanced English level (demonstrable with official degree - C1) - Intention to develop a PhD in Biomedicine. The contract is for 1 year, but exists the possibility to extend it to finalize the PhD Working conditions: - Duration: 12 months (extendable) - Full working day (100%) (1592 annual hours) - Estimated annual gross salary: 23,004 euros per year - Expected start date: As soon as possible Interested candidates send 2 reference letters and updated CV to igabilon(a)gmail.com and/orjesus.m.cortes(a)gmail.com

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Postdoc position: Computational modelling & primate neurophysiology of multi-stable perception
by jobraun Sept. 17, 2018

Sept. 17, 2018

Postdoc position: Computational modelling & primate neurophysiology of multi-stable perception Applications are invited for a postdoctoral fellowship with Jochen Braun in Magdeburg, Germany, and in collaboration with Kristine Krug in Oxford, UK. The research will examine the neural basis of multi-stable perception, by comparing single- and multi-unit recordings from non-human primates with computational models of hierarchical neural dynamics. Candidates must have a degree in physics (or similar), a Ph.D. in a relevant field (e.g., neuroscience, physiology, physics), and strong quantitative and writing skills. Experience with single- or multi-unit recordings from behaving vertebrates is highly desirable. The initial appointment will be for two years with the possibility of renewal. Cognitive Biology is part of a large and vibrant neuroscience community (www.neuroscience-magdeburg.de/research/professor-jazz) Magdeburg is a lively university town with a beautiful historical centre around the river Elbe and with convenient transport links to Leipzig and Berlin. To apply, please send a PDF file with a CV, a statement of research interests, and names of two references to jochen.braun(a)ovgu.de. Prof. Jochen Braun, Ph.D. Cognitive Biology Group Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany www.kobi-ovgu.de Prof. Kristine Krug, D.Phil. Dept. Physiology Anatomy & Genetics University of Oxford Oxford, UK www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/research/krug-group

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PhD positions in machine learning/neuroimaging available at Charité - University Medicine Berlin
by Stefan Haufe Sept. 16, 2018

Sept. 16, 2018

Dear all, PhD positions for highly motivated graduate students are available in the ERC funded research group of Stefan Haufe at the Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging (BCAN) of the Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany. The group will develop machine learning and signal processing methods for the analysis of non-invasive brain signals (primarily EEG/MEG) and apply these methods to patient data with the aim of better understanding neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s disease. Appointments can be made for up to four years starting from January 2019 or later. Remuneration is based on the German pay scale TVL E13 (65% working time). Candidates are required to hold a very good MSc or equivalent degree in a relevant field and are expected to demonstrate extraordinary skills in at least one of the following core areas A: Mathematics and quantitative data analysis/modeling (machine learning, signal processing, statistics, numerical optimization, etc.). Experience with efficient algorithms and large data sets. B: Neuroscience (psychology, cognitive science). Knowledge of general research practices and experience in the design, execution, and statistical evaluation of studies. C: Computer science. Experience in software development, programming in Matlab/Python/C, system administration. Further required are excellent communication skills in English (written and spoken), and a genuine interest in interdisciplinary work. Prior experience with functional neuroimaging data is a plus. Successful candidates will work at Charité's historic Mitte campus in the center of Berlin, and will be embedded in a stimulating research environment. Applications should be sent by email to stefan.haufe(a)charite.de quoting the reference number DM.143.18b. In addition to cv and cover letter, applicants are encouraged to include further documentation such as references, transcripts, copies of bachelor/master theses/research papers (in English or German), links to github repositories, etc. . All documents should be contained in a single pdf.

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Postdoctoral Position in Visual & Computational Neuroscience
by Burge, Johannes Sept. 15, 2018

Sept. 15, 2018

A NIH-funded postdoctoral position is available in the lab of Johannes Burge at the University of Pennsylvania (http://burgelab.psych.upenn.edu) We use natural images, statistical learning tools, ideal observer analysis, and behavioral experiments to gain a precise understanding of the processes that support perception. We have ongoing projects across a range of topics in vision and computational neuroscience, but we tend to focus on projects directly or indirectly related to motion and depth perception. My lab is affiliated with the Computational Neuroscience Initiative at Penn, a community of top researchers working on an array of problems in sensation, perception, and cognition. Strong mathematical and programming skills are necessary, as well as strong communication skills and a record of research productivity. Familiarity designing and running psychophysical experiments via Matlab is also required. A solid background in computer graphics and knowledge of C/C++ and object oriented programming is also desirable. The lab has a high refresh-rate VPixx ProPixx projector, a haploscope driven by two high-resolution VPixx ViewPixx monitors, and a large suite of custom code for statistical learning and for the analysis of psychometric data. Applicants must have finished their Ph.D. in neuroscience, vision science, engineering, computer science, or related fields and have a demonstrated record of research productivity. The position is available immediately but the precise start date is flexible. Applicants should send a brief statement of interest, CV, and the names of three references to Johannes Burge (jburge(a)sas.upenn.edu<mailto:jburge@sas.upenn.edu>). Letters will be requested if your candidacy is being considered. Applications will be assessed as they arrive and the position will remain open until filled. Salary will be based on NIH post-doctoral rates and commensurate with experience. ======================== Johannes Burge, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Neuroscience Graduate Group University of Pennsylvania http://burgelab.psych.upenn.edu jburge(a)sas.upenn.edu (215) 573 6528

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Computer Models in 3R Research
by Peter Jedlicka Sept. 15, 2018

Sept. 15, 2018

Dear colleagues, The programme and further information for the Kick-off Symposium of the 3R Centre JLU Giessen are available online at ICAR3R.de. The minisymposium covers also the topic of computer models in 3R research. You can register on the event website or at www.xing-events.com/3R-Symposium-Giessen.html. Abstracts for the 3R poster session can be submitted until 20th September at ICAR3R(a)uni-giessen.de. 1st International Symposium: New Prospects in Interdisciplinary 3R Research Date 18th/19th October 2018 Venue Aula at Justus Liebig University Gießen Registration fee is 90 Euro. Eight hours of training are granted for the event. Best regards, Peter Jedlicka -- Peter Jedlicka, MD, PhD Professorship for Computer-Based Modelling in the field of 3R Animal Protection Faculty of Medicine Justus-Liebig-University Rudolf-Buchheim-Str. 6 D-35392 Giessen Fax: ++49 (0)641 9941359 Interdisciplinary Centre for 3Rs in Animal Research (ICAR3R) Frankfurter Straße 104 35392 Gießen www.ICAR3R.de

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PhD position: US-German Collaboration in Computational Neuroscience
by Peter Jedlicka Sept. 14, 2018

Sept. 14, 2018

Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD position in an NIH & BMBF funded US-Germany project aimed at creating biophysically realistic multi-scale computer models of TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)-induced changes of neuronal and synaptic properties. The position will be based at the Justus Liebig University (Giessen). This project is in collaboration with the University of Freiburg, the University of Minnesota and the Temple University (Philadelphia). The student will be using computer simulations to reproduce/predict data from electrophysiology and functional optical imaging experiments in hippocampal tissue cultures. Visits to Freiburg and to US for short-term and long-term periods of time to learn techniques and exchange information are part of the activities of this grant. The successful candidate should have a background in physics, mathematics, engineering, computational neuroscience or closely related field. Experience in scientific programming is highly desirable. The appointment will be starting in November/December 2018 or in 2019. Please submit a single pdf file including CV, list of publications, statement of research interests and names and email addresses of three references to: Prof. Dr. Peter Jedlicka; Peter.Jedlicka(a)informatik.med.uni-giessen.de The project is related to these recent publications: Lenz M, Galanis C, Müller-Dahlhaus F, Opitz A, Wierenga CJ, Szabó G, Ziemann U, Deller T, Funke K, Vlachos A (2016) Repetitive magnetic stimulation induces plasticity of inhibitory synapses. Nature Communications 7:10020 Beining M, Mongiat LA, Schwarzacher SW, Cuntz H, Jedlicka P (2017) T2N as a new tool for robust electrophysiological modeling demonstrated for mature and adult-born dentate granule cells. Elife 6:e26517 Lenz M, Platschek S, Priesemann V, Becker D, Willems LM, Ziemann U, Deller T, Müller-Dahlhaus F, Jedlicka P, Vlachos A (2015) Repetitive magnetic stimulation induces plasticity of excitatory postsynapses on proximal dendrites of cultured mouse CA1 pyramidal neurons. Brain Structure & Function 220:3323–3337. P.S. If you are interested and will be attending Bernstein Conference in Berlin (27, 28 September), feel free to send me an email so that we can meet for an in-person interview. -- Peter Jedlicka, MD, PhD Professorship for Computer-Based Modelling in the field of 3R Animal Protection Faculty of Medicine Justus-Liebig-University Rudolf-Buchheim-Str. 6 D-35392 Giessen Phone: ++49 (0)69 179 238 6269 Fax: ++49 (0)641 9941359 NeuroScience Center Clinical Neuroanatomy (Anatomy I) Goethe-University Theodor-Stern-Kai 7 D-60590 Frankfurt am Main Fax: ++49 (69) 6301 6425 Email: jedlicka(a)em.uni-frankfurt.de

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Post-doc at FIAS - Computational Modeling of Epilepsy: Conducting Interviews at the Bernstein Conference 2018
by Peter Jedlicka Sept. 14, 2018

Sept. 14, 2018

Dear Comp-Neuro community, I would like to inform you that a post-doc position will be available in 2019 in the context of Frankfurt's new Center for Personalized Translational Epilepsy Research (CePTER). The project focuses on better understanding circuit changes and neuroimmune interactions during the development of epilepsy and is jointly lead by Prof. Jochen Triesch and me. I am attending the Bernstein Conference in Berlin (September 27-28). If you are interested, contact me by email and attach your CV so that we can meet for an in-person interview. Best, Peter Jedlicka P.S. If you are not attending the Bernstein conference, you can send your applications (single pdf file including CV, list of publications, statement of research interests and names and email addresses of three references) to jedlicka(a)em.uni-frankfurt.de and triesch(a)fias.uni-frankfurt.de. The position will be based at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (https://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/en/) Frankfurt has a vibrant Neuroscience community and the successful candidates will work closely together with experimental labs. An ideal candidate will have obtained a PhD/Master Degree in Computational Neuroscience or closely related field and have a strong interest in applying their knowledge to problems of medical relevance. Prior experience with modeling spiking neural networks or compartmental modeling is highly desirable. Experience in modeling epilepsy, neural plasticity and neuro-immune interactions is a plus. -- Peter Jedlicka, MD, PhD Professorship for Computer-Based Modelling in the field of 3R Animal Protection Faculty of Medicine Justus-Liebig-University Rudolf-Buchheim-Str. 6 D-35392 Giessen Phone: ++49 (0)69 179 238 6269 Fax: ++49 (0)641 9941359 NeuroScience Center Clinical Neuroanatomy (Anatomy I) Goethe-University Theodor-Stern-Kai 7 D-60590 Frankfurt am Main Fax: ++49 (69) 6301 6425 Email: jedlicka(a)em.uni-frankfurt.de

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[meetings] Call for Participation : Workshop on Continual Unsupervised Sensorimotor Learning - Tokyo - September 17th
by Nguyen, Sao Mai Sept. 14, 2018

Sept. 14, 2018

*Call for Participation* Workshop on Continual Unsupervised Sensorimotor Learning at IEEE ICDL-Epirob 2018 - Tokyo - September 17th Website : http://conferences.au.dk/icdl-epirob-2018-workshop/ ============================================================ *Updated list of Invited Speakers* - Jochen Triesch, Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies, Germany Title: Active Efficient Coding - David Ha, Google Brain Title: Generative World Models - Kathryn Kasmarik, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW Canberra), Australia Title: Computational Motivation for Learning, Optimisation and Decision Making *Schedule* 09:50 – 10:10 Welcome and introduction 10:10 – 10:50 *Invited talk: **David Ha* Title: Generative World Models 10:50 – 11:10 Coffee break *Inference and Representations* 11:10 – 11:30 *Where do I move my sensors? Emergence of an internal representation from the sensorimotor flow*Valentin Marcel, Sylvain Argentieri and Bruno Gas 11:30 – 11:50 *Active inference in continual learning* Pablo Lanillos *Sensorimotor Learning* 11:50 – 12:10 *Towards Biological Plausibility of Sensorimotor Learning Models: a Short Review* Silvia Pagliarini, Arthur Leblois, and Xavier Hinaut 12:10 – 12:30 *A Computational Model For Action Prediction Development* Serkan Bugur, Yukie Nagai, Erhan Oztop, and Emre Ugur *Application/Tools* 12:30 – 12:50 *Flatland: a Lightweight First-Person 2-D Environment for Reinforcement Learning* Hugo Caselles-Dupré, Louis Annabi, Oksana Hagen, Michael Garcia-Ortiz, and David Filliat 12:50 – 14:10 Lunch break 14:10 – 14:50 *Invited talk. Jochen Triesch* Title: Active Efficient Coding *Intrinsic Motivation and alike* 14:50 – 15:10 *Learning Sequences of Policies by using an Intrinsically Motivated Learner and a Task Hierarchy* Nicolas Duminy, Alexandre Manoury, Sao Mai Nguyen, Cédric Buche, and Dominique Duhaut 15:10 – 15:30 *Emergent emotion as a regulatory mechanism for a cognitive task implemented on the iCub robot* Murat Kirtay, Lorenzo Vannucci, Egidio Falotico, Cecilia Laschi, and Erhan Oztop *Application/Tools* 15:30 – 15:50 *Towards Life Long Learning: Multimodal Learning of MNIST Handwritten Digits* Eli Sheppard, Hagen Lehmann, G. Rajendran, Peter E. McKenna, Oliver Lemon, and Katrin S. Lohan 15:50 – 16:10 Coffee break 16:10 – 16:40 *Invited talk: Kathryn Kasmarik* Title: Computational Motivation for Learning, Optimisation and Decision Making 16:40 – 17:40 Discussion 17:40 – 18:00 Conclusions and farewell ============================================================ *Scope* As the algorithms for learning single tasks in restricted environments are improving, new challenges have gained relevance. They include multi-task learning, multimodal sensorimotor learning in open worlds and lifelong adaptation to injury, growth and ageing. In this workshop we will discuss the developmental processes involved in the emergence of representations of action and perception in humans and artificial agents in continual learning. These processes include action-perception cycle, active perception, continual sensory-motor learning, environmental-driven scaffolding, and intrinsic motivation. The discussion will be strongly motivated by behavioural and neural data. We hope to provide a discussion friendly environment to connect with research with similar interest regardless of their area of expertise which could include robotics, computer science, psychology, neuroscience, etc. We would also like to devise a roadmap or strategies to develop mathematical and computational models to improve robot performance and/or to attempt to unveil the underlying mechanisms that lead to continual adaptation to changing environment or embodiment and continual learning in open-ended environments. The primary list of topics covers the following (but not limited to): - Emergence of representations via continual interaction - Continual sensory-motor learning - Action-perception cycle - Active perception - Environmental-driven scaffolding - Intrinsic motivation - Neural substrates, neural circuits and neural plasticity - Human and animal behaviour experiments and models - Reinforcement learning and deep reinforcement learning for life-long learning - Multisensory robot learning - Multimodal sensorimotor learning - Affordance learning - Prediction learning *Organizers:* Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Sao Mai Nguyen, IMT Atlantique, France Erhan Öztop, Özyeğin University, Turkey Junpei Zhong, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan ============================================================ Nguyen Sao Mai nguyensmai(a)gmail.com Researcher in Cognitive Developmental Robotics http://nguyensmai.free.fr

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PhD student position in neural data analysis, University of Edinburgh (Arno Onken)
by Arno Onken Sept. 14, 2018

Sept. 14, 2018

A fully funded PhD position is available in the group of Arno Onken at the University of Edinburgh, on the development and application of novel methods for analysing multi-modal and multi-scale neural recordings. The group collaborates closely with the experimental groups of Nathalie Rochefort (University of Edinburgh, joint EPSRC-funded project to start in March) and Shuzo Sakata (University of Strathclyde). Potential projects are interdisciplinary, bridging computational neuroscience, statistical modelling and machine learning. The successful applicant will join the Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation (http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/) which hosts strong research groups in the relevant fields. Applicants should have a strong quantitative background (e.g. math, statistics, computer science, physics, computational neuroscience), good programming skills and a keen interest in interdisciplinary research. A background in neuroscience is desirable, but not essential. The position is available to UK/EU applicants. Other excellent applicants may be eligible for international postgraduate scholarships - please get in touch. The start date is flexible. Interested applicants should submit their application to the Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation: https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/degrees/index.php?r=site/view&ed… For further information, please contact Arno Onken (aonken(a)inf.ed.ac.uk) -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

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Call for applications to participate in NSF funded Workshop on Future Frameworks of Theoretical Neuroscience
by Fidel Santamaria Sept. 13, 2018

Sept. 13, 2018

NSF Funded workshop - Future Frameworks of Theoretical Neuroscience, Feb 4-7, 2019, San Antonio, TX. Call for applications to participate: graduate students, postdoctoral fellows & junior assistant professors As it is widely known, the objective of the BRAIN initiative has been to develop novel neurotechnologies, which will provide vast streams of experimental data in the coming years. For the neuroscience community as a whole to benefit from these advances, theoretical frameworks that span across scales, systems, and species need to be developed. The main challenge for the theoretical neuroscience community is to design these frameworks with a long-term vision to anticipate and guide the development of new techniques and experiments. We view this as a collective effort. Another of our objectives is for the theoretical neuroscience community to identify leading areas of scientific inquiry, key theoretical questions, and to discuss methodological ways to address these questions. This will highly contribute to shape the future research endeavors towards the understanding of brain function across interacting levels of organization, scales, and range of species. This will also help the funding agencies to establish programs and priorities. The workshop will take place in San Antonio, TX from Feb 4-7, 2019. The NSF will cover the participant's transportation (up to $500, economy class, no upgrades) and lodging (up to 4 nights) for a selected group junior researchers. If interested, please submit a CV and two paragraphs describing the reason(s) to participate in the workshop (1 page maximum, divided into two paragraphs, one titled 'present work' and another one titled 'motivation'). While all the neuroscience community is encouraged to apply we are also looking for people outside neuroscience with fresh ideas that would like to participate. Please send your application to fidel.santamaria(a)utsa.edu<mailto:fidel.santamaria@utsa.edu> with the subject line [Framework Workshop] Application no later than October 10, 2018. As a participant, we would like you to contribute to (1) the description of the present framework(s) of theoretical neuroscience; and (2) the definition of a roadmap for the development of future theories of brain function across scales. In practice, we would like you to contribute to identifying key questions and organizing principles across scales of biological organization that share common theoretical foundations. We also would like you to interact with other participants to develop strategies to advance the field in order to "...transform our understanding of the linkages between neural activity and cognition and behavior across different systems, environments, and species." We would like to emphasize that the objective of the workshop is not to describe current projects but the ideas and theories that are yet to be developed and are needed to move the field forward. While the meeting will have a component of talks we will devote most of the time to organizing formal and informal discussions among the participants. We expect the participants to collectively produce a series of papers describing the identified fields, state of the art and present/future questions so these can reach the broader community and foster additional discussions and interactions. We will also generate a white paper to distribute to public and private funding agencies that describe our views of the future frameworks of theoretical neuroscience. More information available at http://www.utsa.edu/SantamariaLab/Workshop/ Horacio G. Rotstein (NJIT) & Fidel Santamaria (UTSA) Organizers _______________________________________________________________________________ Fidel Santamaria, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biology University of Texas at San Antonio www.utsa.edu/SantamariaLab Office: BSB 1.03.30 Tel +1(210) 458 6910

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