- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Two PhD Positions at The University of Melbourne and Monash University, Australia

by David Grayden

Creating subject-specific mathematical models to understand the brain The brain is a complex machine and brain function remains yet to be fully understood. This project works at the intersection of dynamical modelling, statistical signal processing, statistical inference and machine learning to develop subject specific mathematical models of the brain that can be used to infer brain states and monitor and image the brain. This work is centred around a neurophysiological variable estimation framework we have been developing that can be applied to all kinds of brain activity recordings. There are two projects to be completed under this program and we are looking for a different student for each of these projects. Project 1: specifically extend our neurophysiological variable estimation framework to different classes of neural population models validated from microscopic data. Project 2: specifically extend our neurophysiological estimation framework to coupled networks of neural population models applied to in vivo human recordings. These projects are critical for applications of our estimation framework to all kinds of neuroscientific studies (e.g. of rest, sensation, cognition, movement or abnormal behaviour) where different models and networks are more appropriate and parsimonious for different kinds of situations and will open new ways to understanding brain function. Please contact me directly if you are interested in applying. Regards, David Professor David B. Grayden Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering Dept of Biomedical Engineering Melbourne School of Engineering The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia http://www.bme.unimelb.edu.au<http://www.bme.unimelb.edu.au/> | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgrayden This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email.

Feb. 5, 2020

Two Research Fellow Positions at The University of Melbourne, Australia

by David Grayden

Two postdoctoral research fellow positions are available at The University of Melbourne, Australia. Research Fellow in Neural Modelling - 2 year position (may be extended) at Junior (Level A) or Senior (Level B) Postdoc Salary Applications close: 27 Feb 2020 11:55 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11) http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/902154/research-fellow-in-neural-mode… We are seeking a highly motivated Research Fellow to undertake a project aiming to develop mathematical frameworks bridging different scales of brain activities to provide a new tool for understanding the brain. This project will provide a framework to enable the creation of subject-specific neural circuit diagrams. The activities of microscopic neurons will be linked to macroscopic brain behaviour, providing a novel technique for neuroimaging. This technique will enable insights into brain function and provide potential benefits for understanding and treating neurological disorders as well as for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The outcomes will have a significant impact on the treatment of neurological conditions in the future through greater understanding of diseases, improved diagnostics, and subsequent treatments. Rejane Langlois Postdoctoral Fellowship - 3 year position at Junior (Level A) or Senior (Level B) Postdoc Salary Applications close: 20 Feb 2020 11:55 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11) http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/902038/rejane-langlois-postdoctoral-f… The Rejane Langlois Postdoctoral Fellowship seeks to further enhance Melbourne School of Engineering research at the interface of science, engineering and medicine. The Fellow will have the opportunity to undertake independent research as well as engage in broader collaborations within the Department of Biomedical Engineering. We are looking for outstanding candidates within one of our key research areas: biomaterials and tissue engineering; biomechanics and mechanobiology; bionics, biomedical imaging and neuroengineering or systems and synthetic biology. Regards, David Professor David B. Grayden Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering Dept of Biomedical Engineering Melbourne School of Engineering The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia http://www.bme.unimelb.edu.au<http://www.bme.unimelb.edu.au/> | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgrayden This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email.

Feb. 5, 2020

MBL Methods in Computational Neuroscience Course

by Stephen A. Baccus

Applications are open for the Methods in Computational Neuroscience course at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The course will run from August 2 to August 28, 2020, and the online application form can be found at: https://ws2.mbl.edu/studentapp/studentapp.asp?courseid=MCN The course application deadline is *March 16*. The course covers a range of topics in computational neuroscience including neuronal biophysics, neural coding & information processing, circuit dynamics, learning & memory, motor control, and cognitive processing & disease. In addition, numerous tutorials and problem sets will cover a broad range of computational and mathematical modeling methods. The course strongly emphasizes the collaboration between theory and experiment in solving neuroscience problems, and lectures will be given by a mixture of theorists and experimentalists. The final weeks of the course are primarily reserved for work on projects that students design in collaboration with the resident faculty. Further information can be found on the MCN website: http://www.mbl.edu/mcn/ 2020 Course Directors: Stephen Baccus, Stanford University Xiao Jing Wang, New York University 2020 Faculty: Larry Abbott, Columbia University Emery Brown, MIT Randy Buckner, Harvard University Dmitri Chklovskii, Simons Institute Claudia Clopath, Imperial College London Shaul Druckmann, Stanford University Uri Eden, Boston University Bard Ermentrout, U. of Pittsburgh Adrienne Fairhall, U. of Washington Ila Fiete, University of Texas Austin James Fitzgerald, Janelia Res., HHMI Loren Frank, UCSF Michale Fee, MIT Stefano Fusi, Columbia University Surya Ganguli, Stanford University Juliana Gjorgjieva, Max Planck Institute Mark Goldman, UC Davis Nancy Kopell, Boston University Eve Marder, Brandeis University Bartlett Mel, Univ. of Southern California David Redish, U. Minnesota Robb Rutledge, Yale University Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute Mike Shadlen, Columbia U. Reza Shadmehr, Johns Hopkins Univ. Sara Solla, Northwestern University Haim Sompolinsky, Hebrew University Nelson Spruston, Janelia Research Campus Josh Tenenbaum, MIT Nao Uchida, Harvard University David Van Essen, Washington University Greg Wayne, DeepMind

Feb. 4, 2020

Doctoral Position at the Institute for Neural Computation - Ruhr University Bochum

by Vinita Samarasinghe

Prof. Sen Cheng, Institute for Neural Computation at the Ruhr University Bochum, invites applications for a *Doctoral position (TV-L E13, 65%) in Computational Neuroscience. * The position starts as soon as possible and is funded for three years. *Job description* The research group is highly dynamic and uses diverse computationalmodeling approachesincludingbiological neural networks, cognitive modeling, and machine learning to investigatelearning and memory in humans and animals. For further information see www.rub.de/cns <http://www.rub.de/cns>. The successful candidate will develop and study computational models of episodic memory and spatial navigation. The models will be based on biologically plausible spiking neurons and will account for the generation and learning of complex behaviors. The research focus will be on modeling the influence of neuro- and psychopathologies on observable behavior. The candidate mayenrollin a doctoral program in neuroscience, psychology, physics, or electrical engineering – subject to enrollment requirements of the particular program. *Your Profile: * Candidates must have * an excellent university degreein neuroscience, psychology, physics, computer science, electrical/biomedical engineering or a related field, * relevant experience modeling biological neural networks, * excellent communication skills in English, and * the ability to work well in a team. Experience with research in neuro- and psychopathologieswould be a further asset. The Ruhr University Bochum is home to a vibrant research community in neuroscienceand cognitive science. The Institute for Neural Computation is an independent research unit and combines different areas of expertise ranging from experimental and theoretical neuroscienceto machine learning androbotics. Please send your application, including CV, transcripts and research statement electronically, as a single PDF file, to samarasinghe(a)ini.rub.de <mailto:samarasinghe@ini.rub.de>. In addition, at least two academic references mustbe sent independently to the above email address. The deadline for applications is February 29^th , 2020. The Ruhr University Bochum is committed to equal opportunity. We strongly encourage applications from qualified women and persons with disabilities. Contact person: Vinita Samarasinghe, samarasinghe(a)ini.rub.de <mailto:samarasinghe@ini.rub.de> -- Vinita Samarasinghe M.Sc., M.A. Science Manager Arbeitsgruppe Computational Neuroscience Institut für Neuroinformatik Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 3/26 Postfachnummer 110 Universitätstr. 150 D-44801 Bochum Tel: +49 (0)234 32 27316 Email: samarasinghe(a)ini.rub.de

Feb. 4, 2020

PhD opportunities in Bristol University

by Conor Houghton

The Bristol Computational Neuroscience Unit, University of Bristol is looking to recruit to a number of EPSRC-funded PhD studentships for a Sept/Oct 2020 start: the research areas considered include Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning. We have a vibrant Computational Neuroscience group with strong collaborative links with local and international groups working in experimental neuroscience, in machine learning and cognitive science. We have interesting projects to offer in the areas of synaptic plasticity, neural data analysis, neural coding, reinforcement learning, neurolinguistics, cortical circuit and credit assignment. More details here: https://bristolcnu.github.io/research/ http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/funding/sceem-studentship… Bristol is a great place to live and work and so we urge you to apply or to recommend this opportunity to suitable students. Anyone interested should contact one of us to discuss potential project and their application; there are notes on the application process below; the application would need to be submitted by 21st Feb 2020. All the best, Conor, Nathan, Cian, Rui and Laurence ___________ Note that unfortunately these studentships are subject to a UK residency requirement: (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/help/eligibility/) either home students, or EC nationals who have lived in the UK for three years prior to starting the PhD; if the three years have been spent in higher education, then they have to have been resident in the EEA or Switzerland immediately before this. Students should contact one of us before applying. The selection itself goes through a two step process, students are first accepted as PhD students and are then considered for funding. Applicants should apply via http://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/ and selecting "Computer Science PhD", ensuring they submit a short research proposal outlining the research question or area they intend to focus on and a CV by the deadline.

Feb. 3, 2020

Undergraduate computational neuroscience research position

by Neymotin, Samuel (NKI)

A new paid opportunity for an Army Research Office (ARO) sponsored undergraduate research apprenticeship program (URAP) position is available for the summer of 2020 at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, NY (https://www.nki.rfmh.org/) The research will be conducted under the mentorship of Samuel Neymotin, Haroon Anwar, and Salvador Dura-Bernal to help achieve the goals of an ARO grant (PI: Neymotin) that aims to train detailed thalamocortical circuit models to play video games using biologically-plausible learning rules, and to compare the models’ performance against commonly used deep reinforcement learning algorithms. Students will have the opportunity to learn cutting edge methods in computational neuroscience, machine learning, and Python software development, and potentially publish their research results. Candidates will be considered based on their experience in computational neuroscience, machine learning, and Python programming. Candidates must be located within commuting distance to Nathan Kline Institute during the apprenticeship period. To be considered, please click the link to “Apply Now” at https://www.usaeop.com/program/urap/ Make sure to use code U803 (Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research , NY). For questions, email Samuel.Neymotin(a)nki.rfmh.org<mailto:Samuel.Neymotin@nki.rfmh.org> For more information about the URAP visit: http://www.usaeop.com/<https://protect2.fireeye.com/v1/url?k=1b10bbdd-47344dbc-1b1242e8-0cc47a6d17…> ________________________________ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail is meant only for the use of the intended recipient. It may contain confidential information which is legally privileged or otherwise protected by law. If you received this e-mail in error or from someone who was not authorized to send it to you, you are strictly prohibited from reviewing, using, disseminating, distributing or copying the e-mail. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. Thank you for your cooperation.

Jan. 31, 2020

5th EADM Summer School: Learning and decision making, 8-15 July, 2020

by Hrvoje Stojic

SAVE THE DATE! Date: 8-15 July, 2020 Location: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain Theme: Learning and decision making Eligible: Early career researchers Applications open: 15 February, 2020 Further details available at: https://ldmss.org The 5th EADM Learning and Decision Making summer school will take place from the 8th to the 15th of July and will cover a wide range of topics related to learning and decision making, including reinforcement learning, sampling biases, decisions from experience, function learning, category learning and social learning. Participants will receive advanced training and hands-on tutoring on various computational modeling approaches in learning and decision making from experts in the field and will get feedback on their latest research ideas in poster sessions. The academic syllabus will be complemented with social activities in and around Barcelona. Applications will open on the 15th of February! Confirmed faculty include: Mirta Galesic (Santa Fe Institute) Maarten Speekenbrink (University College London) Johannes Müller-Trede (IESE Business School) Henrik Olsson (Santa Fe Institute) G. Elliot Wimmer (University College London) Mehdi Keramati (City University) Elizaveta Konovalova (Max Planck Institute for Human Development) More coming soon! The organization team: Gael Le Mens (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) Emmanouil Konstantinidis (University of Warwick) Hrvoje Stojic (University College London) Pantelis P. Analytis (University of Southern Denmark) Mikhail Spektor (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) Feel free to contact us at: ldmss(a)protonmail.com or on Twitter @ldmsschool ----------------------------- Hrvoje Stojic, PhD Postdoctoral researcher University College London Website: http://hstojic.re/

Jan. 31, 2020

3 Year PhD or Postdoc position in Computational Neuroscience, Charles University, Prague

by Jan Antolik

The newly formed Computational System Neuroscience Group is inviting applications for several fully funded PhD or Postdoc positions in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, starting September 2020 The studentships are ideal for students who want to apply their computational and analytical skills to problems in neuroscience and related fields. Successful candidates will have a strong background in numerical sciences, such as computer science, math or physics, and a keen interest in shaping the future of neuroscience. For the PhD positions no previous experience in neuroscience is required. A broad range of topics is available (see http://antolik.net/research) including but not limited to: large-scale spiking models of the early and higher visual system, machine learning techniques in visual neuroscience, developmental models of early sensory systems and development of tools for computational modelling. We encourage applicants to explore the work of the group <http://antolik.net/projects.html> by looking at its past and present projects. Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief description of their interest in this position to antolikjan(a)gmail.com, to initiate discussions about potential PhD or Postdoc projects of interest.

Jan. 31, 2020

Ten Years Reproducibility Challenge / June 22, 2020 in Bordeaux, France

by Nicolas Rougier

Dear all, There are two months left if you want to take up the "Ten Years Reproducibility Challenge” whose goal is to try to compile / run your old code (> 10 years) that accompanied one of your published article or preprint (see below). More information at: https://github.com/ReScience/ten-years/ Deadline: 01/04/2020 (https://github.com/ReScience/submissions) Workshop: 22/06/2020 (Bordeaux, France) List of declared participants: https://github.com/ReScience/ten-years/issues/1 Three papers already submitted (one published): https://github.com/ReScience/submissions/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+labe… Nicolas Rougier --- Did you ever try to run an old code that you wrote for a scientific article you published years ago? Did you encounter any problems? Were you successful? We are curious to hear your story. This is the reason why we are editing a special issue of ReScience to collect these stories. The ten years reproducibility challenge is an invitation for researchers to try to run the code they've created for a scientific publication that was published more than ten years ago. This code can be anything (statistical analysis, numerical simulation, data processing, etc.), can be written in any language and can address any scientific domain. The only mandatory condition to enter the challenge is to have published a scientific article before 2010, in a journal or a conference with proceedings, which contains results produced by code, irrespectively of whether this code was published in some form at the time or not. Note that we do not ask you to write a new version of your old code. We ask you instead to try to make your old code to run on modern hardware/software (with minimal modifications) in order to check if you can obtain the exact same results that were publised at least ten years ago. Sounds easy? We have good reasons to think this might be more difficult than you think. And maybe the first problem you'll have to solve is to find your own source code. More information at: https://github.com/ReScience/ten-years/

Jan. 31, 2020

NEURAL COMPUTATION - February 1, 2020

by Terry Sejnowski

Neural Computation - Volume 32, Number 2 - February 1, 2020 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/32/2 http://cognet.mit.edu/content/neural-computation ----- Article Face Representations via Tensorfaces of Various Complexities Sidney Lehky, Anh-Huy Phan, Andrzej Cichocki, and Keiji Tanaka Letters Transition Scale-spaces: A Computational Theory for the Discretized Entorhinal Cortex Nicolai Waniek From Synaptic Interactions to Collective Dynamics in Random Neuronal Networks Models: Critical Role of Eigenvectors and Transient Behavior Ewa Gudowska-Nowak, Maciej A Nowak, Dante Chialvo, Jeremi K Ochab, and Wojciech Mateusz Tarnowskic Synaptic Scaling Improves the Stability of Neural Mass Models Capable of Simulating Brain Plasticity Jure Demsar, Rob Forsyth Scaled Coupled Norms and Coupled Higher Order Tensor Completion Kishan wimalawarne, Makoto Yamada, and Hiroshi Mamitsuka Improving Generalization via Attribute Selection on Out-of-the-box Data Xiaofeng Xu, Ivor W. Tsang, and Chuancai Liu ------------ ON-LINE -- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp MIT Press Journals, One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209 Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-cs(a)mit.edu ------------

Jan. 29, 2020

NEURONUS 2020 IBRO Neuroscience Forum (24-26 April 2020, Krakow, Poland)

by Michał Zaręba

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS for NEURONUS 2020 IBRO Neuroscience Forum is open only UNTIL FEBRUARY 14! More information and registration forms can be found our website: http://neuronusforum.pl/. With prominent speakers and an unique atmosphere of one of the oldest and most beautiful Polish cities, NEURONUS IBRO Neuroscience Forums have established themselves in the European calendar of scientific events as a platform for communication between scientists from different fields of neuroscience. The program of the conference consists of numerous sessions on biological, cognitive, computational and medical aspects of neuroscience, creating a dynamic environment for sharing knowledge. The schedule of the meeting is further complemented with lectures by invited guests, and we invest a lot of effort to attract as influential neuroscientists as possible. This year’s keynote speakers include: - Karl Friston (University College London, the UK) - Pico Caroni (University of Basel, Switzerland) - Karin Roelofs (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands) - Alejandro Schinder (Leloir Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina) - Adam Hampshire (Imperial College London, the UK) - Dayu Lin (New York University School of Medicine, the USA) Furthermore, a special panel concerning the Future of Neuroscience will be held. We have confirmed participation of three pioneering researchers: - Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille University, France) - Panayiota Poirazi (Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Heraklion, Greece) - Dominik Paquet (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) During the upcoming 11th edition of the conference, we will traditionally continue to put emphasis on development of early-career researchers. The main purpose of this event is to provide means for both young and experienced neuroscientists to share the latest discoveries, knowledge and experience in neuroscience, as well as make valuable contacts with scientists representing various fields of neurobiology. We actively promote young scientists through preferentially allocating oral presentations of their experimental results. We strongly encourage you to join this special initiative, and hope to see you in the pleasant spring scenery of Krakow! On behalf of the Organising Committee, Michał Zaręba

Jan. 29, 2020

Call for submissions for the special issue on "Reaching and Grasping the Multisensory Side of Dexterous Manipulation"

by Ivan Camponogara

Dear List, In collaboration with the journal "Frontiers in Psychology", we are bringing together a selected group of international experts to contribute to an open-access article collection on: "Reaching and Grasping the Multisensory Side of Dexterous Manipulation" Guest Editors: Dr. Ivan Camponogara, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Dr. Luigi F. Cuturi, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genoa, Italy Dr. Simone Toma, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States Dr. Marco Santello, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States The submission deadline is 31 July 2020. Visit the collection homepage for the full description of the project: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/12640 Kind Regards, Ivan Camponogara Topic Editor, Cognition Section, Frontiers in Psychology On behalf of the Topic Editors. -- Ivan Camponogara Postdoctoral Associate New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Office Tel (UAE): +971 2 628 4960 New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Campus Computational Research Building (A2), desk 144-B P.O. Box 129188 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ᐧ

Jan. 29, 2020

Postdoc position in systems neuroscience

by Tania Rinaldi Barkat

Dear colleagues, The Brain and Sound Lab at Basel University is happy to announce a postdoc position in systems neuroscience for an ambitious, smart and self-driven scientist. A background in neuroscience, physics, computer science, mathematics or engineering is desirable. For more information , please check www.brainsoundlab.com<http://www.brainsoundlab.com> or contact tania.barkat(a)unibas.ch<mailto:tania.barkat@unibas.ch>. Best regards Tania. --------------------------- Tania Rinaldi Barkat Assistant Professor in Neurophysiology Basel University Department of Biomedicine, room 7001 Klingelbergstrasse 50-70 4056 Basel Switzerland +41 61 207 1638 www.brainsoundlab.com

Jan. 28, 2020

PostDoc position in Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at Freie Universität Berlin

by Moritz Köster

Dear colleagues, please find below the announcement for an open PostDoc Position on “visual perceptual processes and learning mechanisms in the infant brain” at Freie Universität Berlin. We would highly appreciate if you could forward this announcement to potentially interested candidates. With best regards, Moritz Köster --- Dr. Moritz Köster <https://www.ewi-psy.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/arbeitsbereiche/kulturvergl_…> Freie Universität Berlin *PostDoc position in Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at Freie Universität Berlin* We seek for a highly qualified PostDoc (3 years, 100%, TV-L 13) to join us in investigating the development of early visual perceptual processes and learning mechanisms in the infant brain. The position will focus on the application of state of the art analysis-methods from cognitive neuroscience (e.g., neural oscillatory analyses, SSVEP, MVPA, connectivity analyses) to infant EEG data, to understand the development of the visual system in the first year of life. The scope of the project is within the cognitive developmental neuroscience, a highly dynamic, multidisciplinary, and rapidly growing field. The position is part of a DFG-funded project led by Dr. Moritz Köster at the Freie Universität Berlin, in collaboration with Prof. Stefanie Höhl (Vienna University) and Dr. Radoslaw Martin Cichy (Freie Universität Berlin). The post holder will be affiliated with the “Neural Dynamics of Visual Cognition” group at the Freie Universität Berlin. The main responsibilities will be performing cutting-edge EEG data analyses, publishing articles in high-ranked peer-reviewed journals, the supervision of data assessments, and the training and co-supervision of a PhD student (based at Vienna University). The preferred starting date is the 1st of March 2020 (but this date is flexible). Interested candidates should send a CV, a brief motivation letter, and the names and contact details of two academic references to moritz.koester(a)fu-berlin.de. All applications will be considered until the official closing date (soon announced on the job site of the University <https://www.fu-berlin.de/universitaet/beruf-karriere/jobs>), but later applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Informal requests can be sent to moritz.koester(a)fu-berlin.de at any time. *Requirements:* - PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, Biology, or a related discipline (completed or submitted) - Very good programming skills (preferentially Matlab) and experience with time series analyses (preferentially on EEG/MEG data) - Excellent command of written and spoken English *Desired:* - First-authored publications in cognitive (developmental) neuroscience - Experience with programming and conducting neuroscience studies - Theoretical knowledge and interest in cognitive neuroscience and/or developmental psychology - Experience in student supervision (Bachelor/ Master’s theses)

Jan. 27, 2020

Postdoc for theoretician to collaborate with experimentalists on hippocampal oscillations

by Canavier, Carmen C.

A postdoctoral position is available in the lab of Carmen Canavier at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. This is an exciting opportunity to participate as a theoretician in a synergistic loop with John White's experimental group at Boston University on gamma oscillations in excitatory and inhibitory neural networks. The successful candidate must be creative and able to work as part of a team. Both network level and single cell modeling using NEURON will be utilized in concert with nonlinear dynamics and other analytical methods to develop and test neural signatures of different oscillatory mechanisms. Quantitative training in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or a related field is required, as well as some programming expertise. Some knowledge of neuroscience and familiarity with Linux is preferred. Please contact Dr. Canavier at ccanav(a)lsuhsc.edu if you are interested. The position is available immediately, but we are also interested in strong candidates who will graduate in the spring or summer.

Jan. 24, 2020

IMRF 2020 | CALL FOR ABSTRACTS | Deadline March 01, 2020

by Marc Ernst

**** IMRF 2020 | CALL FOR ABSTRACTS | Deadline March 01, 2020 **** IMRF - the International Multisensory Research Forum - is now accepting abstracts to be considered for poster and talk presentations at the IMRF 2020 Meeting. The IMRF 2020 is taking place in Ulm, Germany June 22-25, 2020. The IMRF hosts around 300 contributions from all over the world on topics of multisensory perception, ranging from neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, computer science, behavioral biology and its applications. With this it is the major conference in this field. Abstracts should be submitted through the IMRF 2020 web-page <https://cops.ifp.uni-ulm.de/imrf2020/index.php/imrf-2020/registration-submi…>. They should be no more than 300 words. Each individual may present only one contribution. Presenters should be first author. An author can be co-author on more than one contribution. Submission Deadline: March 1, 2020 Decisions will be made by end of March. Registration will open shortly. For more information see the IMRF 2020 web-page <https://cops.ifp.uni-ulm.de/imrf2020/index.php> You can submit your abstracts here <https://cops.ifp.uni-ulm.de/imrf2020/index.php/imrf-2020/registration-submi…>. Looking forward to see you in Ulm later this year, On behalf of the IMRF 2020 organizing team --------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Marc Ernst Appl. Cognitive Psychology Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology Ulm University Albert-Einstein-Allee 43 89081 Ulm room: 43.3.103 phone: +49-731-50 320 50 sekr: +49-731-50 320 51 fax: +49-731-50 320 59 mobile: +49-152-22 543 156 marc.ernst(a)uni-ulm.de <mailto:marc.ernst@uni-ulm.de>

Jan. 24, 2020

NeuroBridges 2020 School announcement

by Ahmed El Hady

*/NeuroBridges 2020 Summer school , Cluny, France/* */( September 6th - September 17th, 2020)/* *//* I would like to bring to your attention the NeuroBridges 2020 Summer School <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2020.html> <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2020.html> NeuroBridges <https://www.facebook.com/NeuroBridges/>is a one-of-a-kind series of scientific meetings in brain research, which brings together Mediterranean and Middle Eastern scientists, in order to promote international scientific cooperation in system and computational neuroscience. A major goal of this school is to serve as a bridge between experimental and theoretical neuroscientists, addressing system-level questions. This year the school will primarily focus on the neural basis and computational principles underlying decision making. *The forthcoming NeuroBridges 2020*will be a ten-day summer school. Students will attend lectures delivered by a group of leading neuroscientists, experimentalists as well as theoreticians, which will address the fundamental questions in the field of decision making. In addition to the lectures, the students will work in groups on small research projects. The school is intended for graduate students and postdocs, primarily (but not only) from the Middle East and the Mediterranean region either working in their home countries or abroad. We will consider applicants with some background in related fields in neuroscience or cognitive psychology. Through the online application system, you will be asked to provide personal details, academic background, a motivation letter that should include a paragraph about your quantitative skills and a CV. In addition, we request two recommendation letters. The school will take place between *September 6 and September 17, 2020* in Le Centre de Conferences Internationales de Cluny (CCIC) <http://www.ccic.eu/index.html>. Cluny is a small medieval town in Burgundy, France, located about 400km southeast of Paris (accessible by fast train, TGV). All costs of registration and accommodation will be covered by the organizers. A limited number of travel grants will also be available. *NeuroBridges* is co-organized by Ahmed El Hady <http://scholar.princeton.edu/ahmedelhady/home> (Princeton Neuroscience Institute, USA), Yonatan Loewenstein <http://elsc.huji.ac.il/loewenstein/home>(Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) and David Hansel <https://neurophys.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr/members/david-hansel/> (CNRS, Paris, France). Review of applications will end in May 2020. *2020 Faculty:* Carlos Brody (Princeton) <https://pni.princeton.edu/faculty/carlos-brody> Ahmed El Hady (Princeton) <http://scholar.princeton.edu/ahmedelhady/home> David Hansel (CNRS) <https://neurophys.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr/members/david-hansel/> Ifat Levy (Yale) <https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/ifat_levy> Yonatan Loewenstein (Hebrew U.) <https://elsc.huji.ac.il/faculty-staff/yonatan-loewenstein> Najib Majaj (NYU) <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Najib_Majaj> Mike Shadlen (Columbia U.) <https://neuroscience.columbia.edu/profile/michaelshadlen> Eyal Winter (Hebrew U.) <http://www.ma.huji.ac.il/%7Emseyal/> Yoram Yovell (Hadassah Hebrew U. Medical Center) <http://yovell.co.il/en/> The deadline for application is *April 1st, 2020 *and the following is the website including the link for the online application: http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2020.html <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2019.html> <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2019.html> For more information, please contact neurobridges2020(a)gmail.com <mailto:neurobridges2018@gmail.com>.

Jan. 24, 2020

[jobs] several positions in embodied computational models of body representations @CTU Prague

by Matej Hoffmann

** *Dear colleagues, * * there are several positions open in the humanoid, cognitive, neuro-, and collaborative robotics group coordinated by Dr. Matej Hoffmann (https://sites.google.com/site/matejhof/) at the Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague. The positions include PhD, post-doc, and tenure-track. Group webpage: https://cyber.felk.cvut.cz/research/groups-teams/humanoids/ The topics are in the context of the newly starting 5-year project entitled “Whole-body awareness for safe and natural interaction: from brains to collaborative robots” for excellence in fundamental research from the Czech Science Foundation (see https://cyber.felk.cvut.cz/news/new-gacr-expro-project <https://cyber.felk.cvut.cz/news/new-gacr-expro-project/>for more information) and include: * Employing humanoid robots with artificial skin to construct embodied computational models of body and peripersonal space representations * Neural network models of multisensory integration and peripersonal space * Physical human-robot interaction with special focus on tactile and proximity sensing * Social human-robot interaction focusing on touch and interpersonal distance Open positions: PhD student. The topic will be co-defined with the student depending on his skills and interests. The standard duration of the PhD study is 4 years. The funding corresponds to a gross salary of CZK 40 000 per month (approx. 1600 EUR), plus direct bonuses for scientific achievements such as top-tier publications. Postdoc. The postdoc will independently conduct research and will also be involved in shaping the research of the group and supervising students. The gross salary will be in the range of CZK 50 000-70 000 per month (approx. 2000-2700 EUR) depending on qualification, plus direct bonuses for scientific achievements such as top-tier publications. Tenure-track. This position is open in the humanoids group or in the broader context of Vision for Robotics and Autonomous Systems group (https://cyber.felk.cvut.cz/research/groups-teams/vras/) and the Research Center For Informatics (http://rci.cvut.cz/) Robots and infrastructure The humanoids group has at its disposal several humanoid robots (iCub - procurement being finalized, 2 Naos - 1 with whole-body sensitive skin) and collaborative or lightweight manipulators (KUKA LBR iiwa, UR10e with Airskin, Kinova Gen3). Additional infrastructure includes several robot hands (Barrett Hand BH8-282, QB Soft Hand) and grippers, a 3D Motion Capture System, Impact measuring devices (GTE), and integrated devices for collaborative robots (http://smartrobots.it/) The group has also access to the facilities of the Research Center for Informatics such as a high-performance computational cluster. International collaborations There is a large group of international experts who have agreed to act as collaborators/advisors on the project. These include experts in - developmental psychology: Dr. Kevin O’Regan (CNRS, Paris), Prof. Jeffrey J. Lockman (Tulane University, New Orleans) - cognitive psychology and neuroscience: Prof. Matthew Longo (Birkbeck University, London), Prof. Tobias Heed (Bielefeld), Prof. Andrea Serino (University of Lausanne), Dr. Jean-Paul Noel (Center for Neural Science at New York University), Drs. M.Gori and Giulia Cappagli (Italian Institute of Technology, Dr. S. Signorini (IRCSS Fondazione Mondino Pavia) - physical human-robot interaction: Prof. Sami Haddadin (TU Munich), Dr. Arash Ajoudani (Italian Institute of Technology), Dr. Michael Zillich (Blue Danube Robotics – manufacturer of Airskin) - social human-robot interaction: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti (Italian Institute of Technology), Dr. Hagen Lehmann (University of Macerata) How to apply. The application should include: ** -**Motivation letter (max. 1 page) ** - *CV (including 2 reference persons)* ** -***1 Letter of recommendation (can be from 1 of the reference persons above)*** Please send the applications or inquiries to matej.hoffmann(a)fel.cvut.cz <mailto:matej.hoffmann@fel.cvut.cz>with (“[PhD / Postdoc / tenure-track] application” in the subject). The positions are open until filled. Best regards, Matej Hoffmann * -- Matej Hoffmann, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Cybernetics Faculty of Electrical Engineering Czech Technical University in Prague https://sites.google.com/site/matejhof/home +420 224 357 387

Jan. 23, 2020

PhD and MSc Opportunities in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroimaging at the University of Toronto

by John Griffiths

The Whole Brain Modelling Group (PI Dr. John Griffiths; www.grifflab.com) at the CAMH Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics ( www.krembilneuroinformatics.ca) and University of Toronto is looking for PhD and MSc students with a strong background in computational neuroscience and/or neuroimaging. The focus of the Group’s work is computational models of large-scale brain activity, with particular emphases on neural dynamics as measured by M/EEG and fMRI, oscillations, brain stimulation (TMS, TDCS), neural plasticity, and macro-connectomics. The student shall conduct research in one or more of these areas. They 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 should have, minimally, an undergraduate degree in neuroscience, engineering, physics, mathematics, psychology, or related area, and a demonstrable track record of research experience and interest in computational neuroscience and/or neuroimaging. Expertise in one or more modern scientific computing programming language (Python, Matlab, Julia, R, C++) is essential. The candidate should also have familiarity with one or both of: i) neuroimaging data analysis (s/d/fMRI and/or M/EEG), and ii) computational modelling using numerical simulations (particularly modelling of neural population activity with mean-field/neural mass/neural field techniques, either with custom implementations or with tools such as The Virtual Brain Platform or Dynamic Causal Modelling). 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 “PhD in Whole Brain Modelling” in the subject line ( Note: students interested in a September 2020 start at the University of Toronto should get in touch immediately to leave time for approaching application deadlines ) -- Dr. John D. Griffiths Independent Scientist @ Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, CAMH, Toronto Assistant Professor @ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto www.grifflab.com

Jan. 23, 2020

[publication and call for dialog] IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems

by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer

Dear colleagues, we are happy to announce the release of the latest issue of the IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems (open access). This is an annual newsletter addressing the sciences of developmental and cognitive processes in natural and artificial organisms, from humans to robots, at the crossroads of cognitive science, developmental psychology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and neuroscience. It is available at: https://tiny.cc/2072iz <https://tiny.cc/2072iz> Featuring dialog: === "Leveraging Adaptive Games to Learn How to Help Children Learn Effectively" == Dialog initiated by Georges Kachergis with responses from: Jennifer Zosh, Roberta Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsch-Pasek, Rebecca Dore, Brenna Hassinger-Das, Benedict du Boulay and Ken Koedinger. == Topic: Fundamental research aiming to understand better how children learn and develop can have a major societal impact. One key example is education: in the last decades, several advances enabled to show how certain learning and teaching techniques could improve significantly comprehension and memorization in children. A major challenge consists in translating these advances into real classroom practices, a challenge at the core of “translational educational sciences”. In this newsletter, a dialog initiated by Georges Kachergis highlights how adaptive learning technologies, e.g. educational apps, can be both an efficient channel for this translation, and an opportunity for further understanding how to foster efficient learning in the class- room. Several experts of this domain provide their point of view and discuss various challenges to be addressed, ranging from establishing strong collaborations between developmentalists, app developers and teachers, to deploying large-scale ecologically valid experimentations. They also offer a perspective on how artificial intelligence can play a key role in impactful educational apps, enabling to implement per- sonalized and motivating learning strategies. Call for new dialog: === «How to Evaluate Open-ended Learning Agents? » == Dialog initiated by Clément Moulin-Frier == Topic: Then, a new dialog initiation is proposed by Clément Moulin-Frier on a fundamental question for the future of AI: How to evaluate open-ended learning agents? While impressive progress was made recently in reinforcement learning, as shown by performance in benchmarks with a set of pre-defined external objectives, a major challenge is now to build autonomous agents that can progressively discover and learn open repertoires of skills in open worlds. Several steps in this direction have been made in the last decade, such as algorithms enabling agents to imagine their own goals and self-organize their learning curriculum (initially in the CDS community, and recently extended in the machine learning community). Another related line of work is open-ended evolution in multi-agent systems with co-evolution. However, a key challenge is how to measure progress in this area, as traditional RL benchmarks were not constructed to address open-ended learning. I invite all readers interested to participate to this dialog to send me their response by June 30th, 2020. The length of each response must be between 600 and 800 words including references (contact pierre-yves.oudeyer(a)inria.fr <mailto:pierre-yves.oudeyer@inria.fr>). Let us remind you that all issues of the newsletter are all open-access and available at: https://goo.gl/ZjjZNz <https://goo.gl/ZjjZNz> I wish you a stimulating reading! Best regards, Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, Editor of the IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems Research director, Inria Head of Flowers project-team Inria, Univ. Bordeaux and Ensta ParisTech, France http://www.pyoudeyer.com <http://www.pyoudeyer.com/> Twitter: https://twitter.com/pyoudeyer <https://twitter.com/pyoudeyer> and Fabien Benureau, Editorial Assistant Cognitive NeuroRobotics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa Japan http://fabien.benureau.com <http://fabien.benureau.com/> Email: fabien.benureau [at] oist [dot] jp

Jan. 23, 2020

UK PhD opportunities in Computational/Mathematical Biology or Neuroscience (EPSRC funded, 3.5 yrs, Sept 2020 start)

by James Rankin

*PhD in Computational/Mathematical Biology or Neuroscience (EPSRC funded, 3.5 yrs, Sept 2020 start) * There are a number projects proposed in Computational and Mathematical Biology or Neuroscience in the following call (follow Research Theme link to Mathematical biology and medicine). General information & apply (funding is primarily targeted at currently UK-based students): http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/index.php?id=3830 Deadline is soon: 30th January. Contact: j.a.rankin(a)exeter.ac.uk or m.goodfellow(a)exeter.ac.uk

Jan. 23, 2020

postdoc position in reinforcement learning and decision making

by Gershman, Samuel Joseph

The Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Harvard University (Director: Sam Gershman) is seeking 1-2 postdoctoral fellows to work in the area of reinforcement learning and decision making. The start date is on or after October 1, 2020. The position is for 3 years. Requirements for this position are: (1) Experience with fMRI and/or human behavioral experiments. (2) A strong technical background in Bayesian and reinforcement learning models. Interested applicants should e-mail gershman(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:gershman@fas.harvard.edu> with a CV, statement of interest (not to exceed 2 pages), and a link to a publications page. For more information on the lab's research, please visit http://gershmanlab.webfactional.com/ Harvard is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Jan. 22, 2020

Phd position in perceptual decision making @ TU Darmstadt

by Jäkel, Frank

The Models of Higher Cognition group (PI: Frank Jaekel) at the TU Darmstadt Centre for Cognitive Science is looking for a PhD student in the area of perceptual decision making. In a joint DFG-project with the Neurophysiology group at the University of Mainz (PI: Maik Stuettgen) we are investigating neural and cognitive processes underlying criterion learning. We are looking for candidates who are interested in theory and modeling (signal detection theory, probabilistic models, reinforcement learning, neural networks) as well as psychophysical experiments in humans. Informal inquiries can be sent to jaekel(a)psychologie.tu-darmstadt.de<mailto:jaekel@psychologie.tu-darmstadt.de>. More information on the Models of Higher Cognition group can be found here: https://www.psychologie.tu-darmstadt.de/mhc and the full job ad is here: https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/universitaet/karriere_an_der_tu/stellenangebote…

Jan. 22, 2020

Two fully-funded PhD positions on infant neuroimaging and computational modelling at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

by Lorijn Zaadnoordijk

Join us! Two PhD fully-funded scholarships are available to study the foundations of cognition using infant neuroimaging and computational modelling. Apply before Jan 31 for China Scholarship Council funding, or before Mar 1 for funding from our ERC FOUNDCOG project. How does the human mind develop? The FOUNDCOG team will address this question using neuroimaging of infants, in their critical first year after birth, to capture the development of the brain and its functions. We will interpret the results by comparing them to computational models of learning from artificial intelligence. In addition to characterising the development of the human mind, we aim to understand how it is disrupted by brain injury and to produce new diagnostic tools for neonatologists. 1) PhD Scholarship in Infant Neuroimaging, to start in September 2020 2) PhD Scholarship in Computational Modelling, to start in September 2020 · Includes fees, stipend and travel for 4 years, with funding from the ERC FOUNDCOG project · Excellent candidates from outside of the EU will also be considered · Selection will begin in March 2020, and the position will remain open until filled For more information, see: http://cusacklab.org/vacancies.html

Jan. 22, 2020

study abroad programs in Budapest

by Balazs Ujfalussy

Dear All: BSCS-US announces its two programs in Budapest for 2020. 1. Our regular program: BSCS - BUDAPEST SEMESTER IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE: FROM PHILOSOPHY TO NEUROSCIENCE will be held in the Fall of 2020, see http://www.bscs-us.org/ <http://www.bscs-us.org/>. Program start/end dates August 31 - December 4, 2020. Inquiry: bscs(a)bscs-us.org <mailto:bscs@bscs-us.org> 2. We have also a summer program Systems Neuroscience: a study abroad summer program http://www.sysneuro-semester.org/ <http://www.sysneuro-semester.org/> Program start/end dates June 15 - Aug 7, 2020 The BSCS Systems Neuroscience Program takes place at and academically supervised by the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest Inquiry: Péter Érdi (SysNeuro Director; BSCS Co-Director) perdi(a)kzoo.edu <mailto:perdi@kzoo.edu> bscs(a)bscs-us.org <mailto:bscs@bscs-us.org>

Jan. 22, 2020