- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

DynaSim: A MATLAB/GNU Octave Toolbox for Neural Modeling and Simulation
by Jason Sherfey 20 Mar '18

20 Mar '18

Dear Colleagues, We are happy to announce the release of DynaSim, an open-source MATLAB/GNU Octave toolbox for rapid prototyping of neural models and batch simulation management. It was designed to speed up and simplify the process of generating, sharing, and exploring network models of neurons with one or more compartments; it is the first, comprehensive neural modeling and simulation platform developed in MATLAB. It provides C compilation, optimized vector calculations, multi-core processing, and support for compute clusters to overcome the traditionally slow simulation speeds of MATLAB. It is also available for high performance computing via the Neuroscience Gateway web portal. A paper introducing DynaSim was recently published in Frontiers in Neuroinformatics: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2018.00010/full. Documentation is available online at http://dynasimtoolbox.org. We hope this tool reduces barriers for investigating dynamics in neural models, facilitates collaborative modeling, and complements other tools being developed in the neuroinformatics community. Most of all, we hope you find this toolbox useful! Please direct questions to the lead developer, Jason Sherfey < sherfey(a)mit.edu> or the user mailing list: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/dynasim-users. Best regards, Jason Dr. Jason Sherfey Postdoctoral Research Fellow Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory http://JasonSherfey.com

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PhD/postdoc in Sensory and Behavioral Neuroscience, Gjorgjieva and Grunwald Kadow Labs in Frankfurt/Munich
by Gjorgjieva, Julijana 20 Mar '18

20 Mar '18

Reminder and deadline extension: The labs of Julijana Gjorgjieva (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany) and Ilona Grunwald Kadow at the TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Germany invite applications for a fully-funded position (Postdoc or PhD student). We are looking for highly-motivated individuals with a strong quantitative background (in mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, or related fields), experience in programming and data analysis, and a desire to develop cutting-edge experimental techniques. Previous background in neuroscience, imaging or behavioral analysis is a plus! The project will examine the neural basis of need and effort-based decision-making in a collaboration between the Gjorgjieva lab, which develops theoretical models of neural circuit processing, and the Grunwald Kadow lab, which studies neural circuits underlying sensory processing and decision making in animal models. The project aims to uncover circuit principles and behavioral readouts of motivation, persistence, and value perception as a function of internal state or experience (e.g. hunger). In particular, the Grunwald Kadow lab is collecting rich data sets of behavioral trajectories of single Drosophila flies as well as functional imaging data (i.e. multiphoton and light-sheet) of neuronal populations (e.g. modulatory neurons). The project will aim to develop advanced analysis techniques that extract key statistical features of the behavioral trajectories and imaging data, and build mathematical models that reproduce the data and make new predictions to be further tested experimentally. By combining behaviour, genetics and imaging, we will also develop neural circuit models that involve several brain areas, including sensory brain areas and higher cognitive regions of the fly brain (i.e. mushroom body). References: S. Sayin J. Gjorgjieva, I. C. Grunwald Kadow (2018). A neural circuit arbitrates between perseverance and reward in hungry Drosophila. BioRxiv doi.org/10.1101/259119<http://doi.org/10.1101/259119> J. Gjorgjieva, G. Drion and E. Marder (2016). Computational implications of biophysical diversity and multiple timescales in neurons and synapses for circuit performance. Curr Opin Neurobiol 37:44-52. Lewis L, Siju KP, Aso Y, Friedrich AB, Bulteel AJB, Rubin GM, Grunwald Kadow IC (2015). A higher brain circuit for immediate integration of conflicting sensory information in Drosophila. Current Biology PMID: 26299514, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.015 Application: The position will be based at the Technical University of Munich, with frequent visits to the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, two of the most exciting and international cities in Germany. The application deadline has been extended to: April 15, 2018. Applicants will be considered until the position is filled. For further information please visit: http://www.cns.wzw.tum.de and http://www.neuro.wzw.tum.de or email gjorgjieva(a)brain.mpg.de and ilona.grunwald(a)tum.de. To apply, please email the following to: neuro(a)wzw.tum.de (ref. GGK application) 1. A curriculum vitae 2. A letter of motivation explaining your scientific interests, your strengths when working on a problem, why us etc. 3. Contact details for 2 referees 4. A written sample of scientific research, e.g. a manuscript, thesis, or code etc. ----------------------------------------- Julijana Gjorgjieva, PhD Research Group Leader Max Planck Institute for Brain Research Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, Frankfurt Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience Technical University of Munich, WZW Freising office: +49 69 850033 3600 http://cns.wzw.tum.de

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Cajal Course in Computational Neuroscience -- Deadline April 2
by Jakob Macke 20 Mar '18

20 Mar '18

Dear colleagues, final reminder and line-up for the Cajal Computational Neuroscience Course in Lisbon this summer. We extended the deadline to April 2, so there is still time to apply! Best, Jakob Macke CAJAL COURSE IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE 12 August - 1 September 2018, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal http://www.cccn.pt Applications deadline: 2 April 2018 (midnight, CET time) DIRECTORS • Joe Paton (Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Portugal) • Jakob Macke (TU Darmstadt & Research Center Caesar Bonn, Germany) • Christian Machens (Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Portugal) Computational Neuroscience is a rapidly evolving field whose methods and techniques are critical for understanding and modelling the brain, and also for designing and interpreting experiments. Mathematical modeling is an essential tool to cut through the vast complexity of neurobiological systems and their many interacting elements. This three-weeks school teaches the central ideas, methods, and practice of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. Each morning is devoted to lectures given by distinguished international faculty on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. During the rest of the day, students work on research projects in teams of 2-3 people under the close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Research projects will be proposed by faculty before the course, and will include the modeling of neurons, neural systems, and behavior, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data (behavioral data, multi-electrode recordings, calcium imaging data, connectomics data, etc.), and the development of theories to explain experimental observations. The course is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and psychology. Students are expected to have a keen interest and basic background in neurobiology, a solid foundation in mathematics, as well as some computer experience. A four-day pre-school in mathematics and programming is offered for students that want to catch up on their math and programming skills. A maximum of 24 students will be accepted. Students of any nationality can apply. We specifically encourage applications from researchers who work in the developing world. Stipends are available. More information on the course website, http://www.cccn.pt Apply here: http://www.fens.org/Training/CAJAL-programme/CAJAL-courses-2018/CCCN-2018/A… Contact address: Simone Zacarias, simone.zacarias(a)research.fchampalimaud.org Confirmed faculty: Matthias Bethge, University of Tübingen Kevin Briggman, Research Center Caesar, Bonn, Germany Megan Carey, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Portugal Claudia Clopath, Imperial College London, UK Sophie Deneve, ENS Paris, France Rainer Engelken, Columbia University, US Julijana Gjorgjieva, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany Pedro Goncalves, Research Center Caesar, Bonn, Germany Michael Häusser, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, UK Andreas Herz, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Munich, Germany Simon Laughlin, University of Cambridge, UK Gilles Laurent, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany Máté Lengyel, University of Cambridge, UK Jennifer Linden, UCL Ear Institute, UK Elliot Ludvig, Warwick University, UK Anthony Movshon, New York University, USA Maneesh Sahani, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL, UK Cristina Savin, New York University, USA Jeffrey Taube, Dartmouth College, USA Eero Simoncelli, New York University, USA Tim Vogels, Oxford University, UK Byron Yu, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Jakob Macke www.mackelab.org

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postdoctoral positions in theoretical neuroscience at the Kavli Institute in Trondheim
by Yasser Roudi 19 Mar '18

19 Mar '18

Postdoctoral positions in theoretical/computational neuroscience are available at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience/Centre for Neural Computation in Trondheim, Norway. The position(s) is a part of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience. The Centre for Neural Computation is a recently established centre of excellence funded for 10 years by the Norwegian Research Council. We offer an international and multidisciplinary environment in which creativity and scientific discourse is valued and stimulated. Through our widespread network of international collaborations, unique career possibilities are offered. See http://www.ntnu.no/cbm/ for detailed information. The position will be part of the group headed by Professor Yasser Roudi. The position/s will be for 2 years. The successful applicant will take part in mainly independent research in theoretical neuroscience and statistical inference within the Roudi group. The specifics of the projects are up to agreement and discussion and new and novel ideas are highly welcome. Developing models of grid cells and their interactions with hippocampus as well as analysis of neural data from these areas will be one possible directions of research that can be taken during the tenure of the position. For more Information and details about how to apply please see https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/149615/post-doc-kavli-i…

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FENS Satellite Meeting on "Receptive Fields: Analysis, Models and Applications": 6 July 2018 - applications open
by Anthony Burkitt 18 Mar '18

18 Mar '18

Dear Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the FENS Satellite Meeting on "Receptive Fields: Analysis, Models and Applications", to be held on 6th July 2018. Applications are open at the Workshop website: fenscibf2018.eventbrite.com.au<http://fenscibf2018.eventbrite.com.au> RECEPTIVE FIELDS: ANALYSIS, MODELS AND APPLICATIONS At this FENS satellite meeting, eight world-leading researchers will discuss the latest advances on the formation and analysis of visual receptive fields and place maps, bringing together insights and discoveries from around the world. Topics will include state-of-the-art experimental and computational approaches to receptive field analysis, visual pathways, place maps and adaptation to the statistics of the visual environment. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: • Tatyana Sharpee SALK Institute, USA • Michael Ibbotson National Vision Research Institute, Australia • Yves Fragnac CNRS, France • Jose-Manuel Alonso State University of New York, USA • TR Vidyasagar University of Melbourne, Australia • Dirk Jancke Ruhr University, Germany • Elizabeth Zavitz Monash University, Australia • Simon Schultz Imperial College, UK MEETING DETAILS DATE: Friday, 6 July 2018 TIME: 9am – 5pm CEST / Germany (Berlin) Time VENUE: Hotel NH Collection Berlin Friedrichstraße, Friedrichstraße 96, 10117 Berlin, Germany COST: Early bird fee by 6 April 2018 - €30 ; Standard fee by 22 June 2018 - €50 ; Registration includes refreshments, lunch and snacks. REGISTER HERE URL: fenscibf2018.eventbrite.com.au<http://fenscibf2018.eventbrite.com.au> CONTACT Email: Tenille Ryan (tryan(a)aco.org.au<mailto:tryan@aco.org.au>)

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Failures of adaptively timed hippocampal learning during memory consolidation and Fragile X syndrome
by Grossberg, Stephen 17 Mar '18

17 Mar '18

The following two articles model how failures of adaptively timed learning and incentive motivational support by hippocampus (i.e., failure of “time cells”) can cause clinical problems in memory consolidation and Fragile X syndrome: ***************** Franklin, D. J., and Grossberg, S. (2017). A neural model of normal and abnormal learning and memory consolidation: Adaptively timed conditioning, hippocampus, amnesia, neurotrophins, and consciousness. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 24-76. http://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-016-0463-y This article explains and simulates the kinds of data that many cognitive neuroscientists have reported after the famous case of the amnesic patient HM; namely, how, after some learning occurs, early vs. late lesions of amygdala, hippocampus, or orbitofrontal cortex can cause very different memory consolidation problems. ***************** Grossberg, S., and Kishnan, D. (2018). Neural dynamics of autistic repetitive behaviors and Fragile X syndrome: Basal ganglia movement gating and mGluR-modulated adaptively timed learning. Frontiers in Psychology, Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00269. This article explains how Fragile X syndrome can be caused when mGluR-mediated adaptively timed hippocampal learning and support of motivated attention fail.

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Call for papers - Special issue on Operations Research for Neuroscience II
by Ruben A. Tikidji-Hamburyan 15 Mar '18

15 Mar '18

Dear Colleagues, ~~~ Apologies for cross-posting ~~~ We are happy to announce a second special issue on Operations Research for Neuroscience. The special issue will be published in the journal Annals of Operations Research, Springer. We strongly encourage the submission of manuscripts which propose further developments of modern formal theories (such as the free-energy principle, integrated information, Bayesian inference, etc). The use of methods from modern operations research in neuroscience is a prerequisite for any paper submitted to this special issue to enter the reviewing process. Submission deadline: December 1, 2018 Please find the CfP as plain text below or as a pdf file here: CfP - ANOR SI OR for Neuroscience <https://sites.google.com/site/rubentikidjihamburyan/research/CfP-ANOR_SI_OR…> Best, Ruben ____________________________________________________ ― Call for Papers ― Annals of Operations Research Special Issue Operations Research for Neuroscience II ____________________________________________________ After the positive and encouraging response from the scientific and wider community to the special issue Operations Research for Neuroscience, the journal Annals of Operations Research (Springer) now invites submissions of papers to a second special issue on the same subject, called Operations Research for Neuroscience II. Neuroscience, a multidisciplinary science, is concerned with the study of the structure and functions of the nervous system. It comprises aspects of physiology, cellular and molecular biology, as well as behavioral and cognitive science. Recent technological and theoretical advances offer promising opportunities for better understanding of the nervous system at the quantitative level. New optogenetic, in vitro and in vivo multielectrode recording, neuroimaging, brain imaging, and other modern techniques provide high-quality data that can be used in elucidating the fundamental mechanisms of information processing in the nervous system. The rapidly growing pool of experimental data has triggered the development of new mathematical models that can provide new insights into the functioning of the nervous system at various scales, ranging from that of molecular biology to that of the organizational principles of behavior and cognition. Sophisticated analyses of intracellular signaling or dynamics in heterogeneous neural networks, conditional behavior, or connections of brain regions in decision-making lead to theoretical problems, addressed by operations research. Although, operations research is actively used in bottom-up approaches--from experimental observation to consistent theory-- it also widely overlaps modern and rapidly developing formal theories, for example the free-energy principle, integrated information theory, and may others. The special issue will cover a broad range of topics in the field of neuroscience using operations research approaches, methods, and theories. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following areas and methodologies of neuroscience: o intracellular signaling and regulation o synaptic plasticity o dynamics in heterogeneous neural networks o intelligent systems and control o perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral functions o learning and memory o spatio-temporal network analysis o behavioral economics and finance o linguistics and cognition o combinatorial optimization o signal and information processing o neuroimaging and functional brain imaging processing o computational modeling and simulation o formal theoretical approaches: the free-energy principle, integrated information, Bayesian inference, etc. The use of methods from modern operations research in neuroscience is a prerequisite for any paper submitted to this special issue to enter the reviewing process. Annals of Operations Research is abstracted and indexed in the following databases: Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded (SciSearch), Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, SCOPUS, INSPEC, Zentralblatt Math, Google Scholar, EBSCO, CSA, ProQuest, ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide, Academic OneFile, Academic Search, Computer Abstracts International Database, Computer Science Index, CSA Environmental Sciences, Current Contents/Engineering, Computing and Technology, DBLP, ECONIS, Expanded Academic, International Abstracts in Operations Research, Mathematical Reviews, OCLC, SCImago, STMA-Z, Summon by ProQuest. The Special Issue is officially endorsed by EURO Conference 2018, Valencia. Guest Editors: Erik Kropat, Ruben A. Tikidji-Hamburyan, Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber Important Date: Submission deadline of full papers: December 1, 2018. Submission Details: The format of manuscripts for the Annals of Operations Research as well as guidelines can be found on the web page of Springer, the publisher of the journal: http://www.springer.com/journal/10479/submission. Authors should submit a cover letter mentioning that the paper is for a special issue and a manuscript via the journal's online submission site: http://www.editorialmanager.com/anor. When prompted, please select the article type “S.I.: OR in Neuroscience II”. All papers submitted for publication will be carefully refereed. In case of any question please contact by e-mail one of the following guest editors: Dr. Erik Kropat Department of Computer Science Universität der Bundeswehr München Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39 85577 Neubiberg, Germany E-mail: erik.kropat(a)gmx.de Dr. Ruben A. Tikidji-Hamburyan Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA E-mail: rtikid(a)lsuhsc.edu Prof. Dr. Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber Faculty of Engineering Management Chair of Marketing and Economic Engineering Poznan University of Technology ul. Strzelecka 11 60-965 Poznan, Poland E-mail: gerhard.weber(a)put.poznan.pl

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ACT-R Summer School application deadline approaching
by db30＠andrew.cmu.edu 15 Mar '18

15 Mar '18

The deadline for applications, April 15th, is now only one month away. 2018 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class Carnegie Mellon University July 9-13, 2018 ACT-R is a unified theory of cognition that has been implemented in a software system called a cognitive architecture that can be used to develop computational cognitive models. It has been applied to modeling tasks that range from experimental tasks like simple reaction time and list learning, to real world tasks like driving a car and air traffic control. The 2018 ACT-R Summer School will take place at CMU in Pittsburgh from July 9-13. It consists of both a Summer School for beginning users and a Master Class for more experienced users. The Summer School will train researchers in the use of ACT-R for cognitive modeling using the ACT-R tutorial. Each day will consist of a morning theory lecture covering one or two tutorial units, an afternoon discussion session on the topics of the day, and modeling assignments which participants are expected to complete during the day and evening. The Master Class is organized in parallel with the Summer School. The Master Class offers the opportunity for ACT-R modelers to work on their own projects with guidance from experienced ACT-R researchers. There is no curriculum for the Master Class, but Master Class students are welcome to attend the Summer School lectures and discussion sessions. To provide an optimal learning environment, admission to the Summer School and Master Class will be limited. To apply for the Summer School, please email a curriculum vitae and a statement of purpose to db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu. Demonstrated experience with a modeling formalism similar to ACT-R will strengthen a Summer School application. To apply for the Master Class please email a curriculum vitae along with some information about your level of experience with ACT-R and some details on the project you expect to work on during the Master Class. Applications are due by April 15th and applicants will be notified of admission by April 30th. Admission to the Summer School and Master Class is free. Housing will be available in the CMU dormitories for approximately $65/day (single) or $50/day (shared). More information about ACT-R, including papers published by the ACT-R community, can be found on the ACT-R web site: <http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu/>. For more information on the Summer School and Master Class you can email Dan Bothell at db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu.

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Call for papers - Special issue on Brain-Computer Interfaces for Human Augmentation
by Davide Valeriani 15 Mar '18

15 Mar '18

Dear all, I thought some of you might be interested in contributing to this special issue of Brain Sciences about BCI for human augmentation. The deadline for manuscript submissions is *30 April 2018*. Please do get in touch if you are interested. More info at: *http://bit.ly/bcihuman <http://bit.ly/bcihuman> *or http://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/special_issues/Brain_Computer_Interface P.S. Apologies for cross-posting. Best regards, Davide -- *Dr Davide Valeriani* Senior Research Officer BCI-NE Lab University of Essex *E* dvaler(a)essex.ac.uk *W* www.davidevaleriani.it

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CFP: The OMG-Emotion Recognition Challenge
by Pablo Barros 15 Mar '18

15 Mar '18

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION The One-Minute Gradual-Emotion Recognition (OMG-Emotion) held in partnership with the WCCI/IJCNN 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. https://www2.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/wtm/OMG-EmotionChallenge/ I. Aim and Scope Our One-Minute-Gradual Emotion Dataset (OMG-Emotion Dataset) is composed of 420 relatively long emotion videos with an average length of 1 minute, collected from a variety of Youtube channels. The videos were selected automatically based on specific search terms related to the term ``monologue''. Using monologue videos allowed for different emotional behaviors to be presented in one context and that changes gradually over time. Videos were separated into clips based on utterances, and each utterance was annotated by at least five independent subjects using the Amazon Mechanical Turk tool. To maintain the contextual information for each video, each annotator watched the clips of a video in sequence and had to annotate each video using an arousal/valence scale and a categorical emotion based on the universal emotions from Ekman. We release the dataset with the gold standar for arousal and valence as well the invidivual annotations for each reviewer, which can help the development of different models. We will calculate the final Congruence Correlation Coefficient against the gold standard for each video. We also distribute the transcripts of what was spoken in each of the videos, as the contextual information is important to determine gradual emotional change through the utterances. The participants are encouraged to use crossmodal information in their models, as the videos were labeled by humans without distinction of any modality. We also will let available to the participant teams a set of scripts which will help them to pre-process the dataset and evaluate their model during in the training phase. We encourage the use of neural-computation models based on deep learning, sel-organization and recurrent neural networks, just to mention some of them, as they present the sate-of-the-art performance in such tasks. II. How to Participate To participate, please send us an email to barros(a)informatik.uni-hamburg.de with the title "OMG-Emotion Recognition Team Registration". This e-mail must contain the following information: Team Name Team Members Affiliation Each team can have a maximum of 5 participants. You will receive from us the access to the dataset and all the important information about how to train and evaluate your models. For the final submission, each team will have to send us a .csv file containing the final arousal/valence values for each of the utterances on the test dataset. We also request a link to a GitHub repository where your solution must be stored, and a link to an ArXiv paper with 4-6 pages describing your model and results. The best papers will be invited to submit their detailed research to a journal yet to be specified. Also, the best participating teams will hold an oral presentation about their solution during the WCCI/IJCNN 2018 conference. III. Important Dates Publishing of training and validation data with annotations: March 14, 2018. Publishing of the test data, and an opening of the online submission: April 11, 2018. Closing of the submission portal: April 13, 2018. Announcement of the winner through the submission portal: April 18, 2018. IV. Organization Pablo Barros, University of Hamburg, Germany Egor Lakomkin, University of Hamburg, Germany Henrique Siqueira, Hamburg University, Germany Alexander Sutherland, Hamburg University, Germany Stefan Wermter, Hamburg University, Germany -- Dr.rer.nat. Pablo Barros Postdoctoral Research Associate - Crossmodal Learning Project (CML) Knowledge Technology Department of Informatics University of Hamburg Vogt-Koelln-Str. 30 22527 Hamburg, Germany Phone: +49 40 42883 2535 Fax: +49 40 42883 2515 barros at informatik.uni-hamburg.de https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm/people/barros.html https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm/

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Faculty position in Math Biology at NJIT
by Victor Matveev 14 Mar '18

14 Mar '18

Dear comp-neuro list members, The Department of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) invites applications for a tenure-track position at the assistant professor level in mathematical biology. A second DMS tenure-track assistant professor position in the broader area of applied mathematics is advertised separately (links provided below). The appointment is to start in Fall 2018. Candidates should have a Ph.D. in mathematics, applied mathematics or a related discipline, with an established record of independent research, strong potential for seeking external research support, and a commitment to teaching at graduate and undergraduate levels. Candidates working in any subfield of mathematical biology will be given consideration. Currently, members of the DMS mathematical biology group are engaged in research in computational neuroscience, biological rhythms, biofluids and mechanosensing. To apply, please visit https://njit.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?site=1&id=35 The second position in applied mathematics is advertised separately at https://njit.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?site=1&id=30 Submissions must include (a) cover letter, (b) resume/CV, (c) research statement, (d) teaching statement, and (e) names and contact information for at least four references. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Please direct any questions to the search committee chair, Victor Matveev, at matveev(a)njit.edu. DMS is recognized for its strong program in applied mathematics, which offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees, with Ph.D. program tracks in applied mathematics as well as in applied probability and statistics. NJIT is in the University Heights neighborhood next to vibrant downtown Newark, about 12 miles west of New York City. The NJIT campus is adjacent to the campus of Rutgers-Newark, with which it shares several academic programs. DMS has close collaborative ties to the Department of Biological Sciences at NJIT. Excellent potential for outside collaboration is also afforded by the close geographic proximity of NJIT to other prominent centers for biological research such as the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark, New Jersey Medical School, NYU, Columbia University, and Rockefeller University. Apart from mathematical biology, DMS faculty work in diverse fields of applied mathematics including fluid dynamics, granular matter, nonlinear waves, applied analysis, scientific computing, dynamical systems, and probability and statistics. NJIT is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to apply. -- ___________________________________ Victor Matveev, Professor Applied Math, Biophysics & Neuroscience Department of Mathematical Sciences Graduate Faculty, Dept of Biological Sciences New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ 07102-1982 Office: Cullimore Hall 616 E-mail: matveev(a)njit.edu http://web.njit.edu/~matveev/

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Call for contributions: Grenoble Workshop on Models and Analysis of Eye Movements, June 06-08 2018
by Simon Barthelmé 14 Mar '18

14 Mar '18

Grenoble workshop on models and analysis of eye movements: June 06-08 2018 Eye movements are easy to acquire and highly valuable for the study of cognitive processing. Their analysis presents interesting statistical challenges: scanpaths are complex spatiotemporal signals with relevant information at different spatial and temporal scales, from microsaccades to fixation patterns. The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers who develop and use models to understand eye-movement data. We welcome contributions on all aspects of eye movement modelling and analysis, from saliency prediction to latent state models. Possible forms of contribution are: oral presentation, poster or demonstration. Deadline for abstract submission: April 22 2018 Deadline for registration: May 13 2018 Invited speakers: - Antje Nuthmann, University of Kiel - Yulia Sandamirskaya, University of Zurich & ETH - Jean Lorenceau, CNRS, LSP, ENS - Jean-Michel Boucheix, LEAD-CNRS, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté Location: Grenoble is the largest city in the French Alps, with a large and vibrant academic community. It is easy to get to, with two major airports (Lyon & Geneva) in the vicinity and a TGV connection to Paris. More information and registration at: eyemovements.sciencesconf.org

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Bernstein Conference 2018 - Call for Workshops - New Deadline: March 28, 2018, 3 pm CET
by Kerstin Schwarzwaelder 14 Mar '18

14 Mar '18

The Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience invites proposals for Satellite Workshops directly preceding the Bernstein Conference 2018 in Berlin. ************************************************************** Important Dates: Satellite Workshops: September 25 - 26, 2018 Main Bernstein Conference: September 26 - 28, 2018 New Deadline for Satellite Workshop proposal submission: March 28, 2018, 3 pm CET Notification of Workshop acceptance: April 2018 ************************************************************** Since 2013, the Bernstein Conference hosts pre-conference workshops which provide a stage to discuss topical research questions, novel scientific approaches and challenges in Computational Neuroscience and related fields. Workshops addressing controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing approaches are encouraged. The format should be designed to foster debate, rather than a mere series of talks. The selection criteria for Workshop proposals will include scientific excellence, topical relevance and gender diversity. The Bernstein Conference started out as the annual meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and has become the largest annual single-track Computational Neuroscience conference in Europe in recent years. Satellite Workshop schedule: September 25, 2018, 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm September 26, 2018, 8:30 am - noon Workshop proposals are welcome for either half-day or full-day workshops. Workshop costs – FINANCIAL SUPPORT: All organizers and speakers of accepted workshops will receive a waiver for the workshop fee. Organizers of accepted workshops additionally receive a waiver for the main conference. Up to 10 selected workshops can receive financial support up to 1.500,00 € each. Coffee break catering will be provided. For further information about the conference, please visit the conference website http://www.bernstein-conference.de. INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSAL PREPARATION Workshop proposals must contain: 1) Workshop Title 2) Concise description of workshop topic 3) List of potential speakers indicating speaker commitment 4) Optional: a comment on how the organizers plan to achieve gender diversity among speakers Please use the Workshop Proposal Form that can be downloaded here: http://www.nncn.de/de/bernstein-conference/2018/satellite-workshops New Deadline for submission of Workshop proposals: March 28, 2018, 3 pm CET CONTACT: bernstein.network(at)fz-juelich.de We are looking forward to seeing you in Berlin! WORKSHOP SELECTION COMMITTEE: Jakob Macke (Workshop Chair) Tatjana Tchumatchenko (Workshop Vice Chair) Axel Borst Nicolas Brunel Anne Churchland Claudia Clopath Gaute Einevoll Adrienne Fairhall Gilles Laurent (Program Chair) Mate Lengyel Elad Schneidman Susanne Schreiber (Program Vice Chair) Terry Sejnowski Henning Sprekeler (Conference Host) Fred Wolf -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzwälder Scientific Coordination / Management Officer Please note: Our email addresses have changed. Please use k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) Branch Office of the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9A | 79104 Freiburg, Germany phone: (+49) 0761 203 9589 mail: k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> web: www.nncn.de<http://www.nncn.de> Twitter: NNCN_Germany<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany> YouTube: Bernstein TV<https://www.youtube.com/user/BernsteinNetwork> Facebook: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.facebook.com/BernsteinNetwork/> LinkedIn: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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University of Melbourne - LECTURER (5 Positions; Female Applicants Only)
by Uwe Aickelin 14 Mar '18

14 Mar '18

Dear Colleagues, International Women’s Day provided us with the opportunity to reflect upon the diversity within our School. The Melbourne School of Engineering has 182 women academic staff, but this represents just 22 per cent of our total academic numbers. We are committed to remedying this imbalance and lifting the representation of women to 30 per cent by 2022. To help enact this change, I’m pleased to announce five new continuing positions that we are making available to women of exceptional calibre, in all fields of engineering, computing and information systems. The five positions are across the School and we are accepting applications from all related areas. To view complete position descriptions, click here<http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/894257/lecturer-5-positions-female-ap…>. These positions are a key component of a broad suite of programs we have implemented at MSE that are aimed at increasing the recruitment, retention and promotion of women. Successful appointees will be given the opportunity to play a significant role in realising the industry engagement targets of MSE 2025, develop internationally recognised research portfolios, establish funding streams to support these portfolios, and to enhance interdisciplinary research within and outside the University, whilst contributing to teaching and curriculum development within MSE. Applications for part-time or other flexible working arrangements will be welcomed and will be fully considered subject to meeting the inherent requirements of the position. Close date: 8 Apr 2018 Uwe Aickelin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Professor Uwe Aickelin – Head of School School of Computing and Information Systems Melbourne School of Engineering Level 8, Doug McDonell Building University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia T. +613 8344 3635 E: uwe.aickelin(a)unimelb.edu.au <mailto:uwe.aickelin@unimelb.edu.au> W: http://aickelin.com<http://aickelin.com/>

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Translational Neurophysiology - RA, Postdoc, or Staff Scientist
by Platt, Jo Ann 13 Mar '18

13 Mar '18

The Translational Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, headed by Assistant Professor Stavros Zanos MD PhD, focuses on physiological and translational research and development of bioelectronic devices and therapies in small (rodents) and large animal (swine) models. The lab utilizes a variety of techniques from neurophysiology and cardiovascular physiology, acute and chronic implants, experimental surgical and interventional techniques and bioelectronic systems for closed-loop neural recording and stimulation, both in health and in disease models. The ultimate goal is to develop neuromodulation therapies that will observe the state of the organism and the organ system that is targeted, to deliver individualized treatment of diseases in real-time. The successful candidate will be involved in the development of novel paradigms to record from and adaptively modulate the function of the central and peripheral nervous system (brain, spinal cord, ganglia, peripheral nerves) in rodents, in healthy animals and in disease models. Mouse and rat stereotaxic brain surgery Extracellular and/or intracellular in vivo neurophysiology Histology, tract tracing Optogenetics Optical imaging Autonomic physiology Keywords : neurophysiology, small animal, rodent, recording, stimulation, brain, peripheral nerves, chronic implants, surgery, optogenetics, optical imaging, autonomic nervous system Qualifications : Doctorate degree (Ph.D, M.D. or D.V.M.), required (MSc for research associate candidates) Authored/co-authored research papers and/or scientific abstracts, required. Research experience in rodent neurophysiology, required. In vivo optical imaging and optogenetic stimulation experience, preferred. Knowledge of data analysis software (e.g. Matlab), preferred. Send email including cover letter, CV and publications to: jojoplatt(a)theplattassociates.com The information contained in this electronic e-mail transmission and any attachments are intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom or to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering this communication to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying or disclosure of this communication and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone and electronic mail, and delete the original communication and any attachment from any computer, server or other electronic recording or storage device or medium. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipient is not a waiver of any attorney-client, physician-patient or other privilege.

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M-GATE School: Under the Surface of Memory Phenomena
by Alessandro Treves 12 Mar '18

12 Mar '18

TEX2018, the Cognitive Neuroscience summer activity at SISSA, Trieste will host this year "Under the Surface of Memory Phenomena", a school https://indico.sissa.it/e/tex2018/ organized by the M-GATE Innovative Training Network (https://www.mgate.eu/) open to other participants, from June 25 to July 3 2018. Apply now for 10-night accommodation, at cost (340 Euro), or register for self-organized participation (within space constraints), and join us also for the in-set symposium Remembering Daniel Amit, and Beyond! Deadline for applications April 2. Clever inquiries from tex(a)sissa.it -- Alessandro Treves http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html SISSA - Cognitive Neuroscience, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy +39-040-3787623 Ambassador (BlaBlaCar) +39-349-2504602

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MBL Methods in Computational Neuroscience Course - deadline March 20
by Stephen A. Baccus 12 Mar '18

12 Mar '18

Applications are open for the Methods in Computational Neuroscience course at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The course will run from July 29 to August 24, 2018, and the online application form can be found at: https://ws2.mbl.edu/studentapp/studentapp.asp?courseid=MCN The course application deadline is *March 20*. 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/ 2018 Course Directors: Stephen Baccus, Stanford University Xiao-Jing Wang, New York University 2018 Confirmed Faculty: Larry Abbott, Columbia University Carlos Brody, Princeton University Emery Brown, MIT Dmitri Chklovskii, Simons Institute Claudia Clopath, Imperial Col. London Kenji Doya, Okinawa Inst. Sci. Tech. 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 Mark Goldman, UC Davis Kenneth Harris, U. College London James Haxby, Dartmouth University Nancy Kopell, Boston University Eve Marder, Brandeis University Bartlett Mel, Univ. of Southern California Jonathan Pillow, Princeton University David Redish, U. Minnesota Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute Reza Shadmehr, Johns Hopkins Univ. Sara Solla, Northwestern University Haim Sompolinsky, Hebrew University Josh Tenenbaum, MIT Nao Uchida, Harvard University Greg Wayne, DeepMind Hongkui Zeng, Allen Institute

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New NSF funding opportunity
by Tuller, Betty K. 12 Mar '18

12 Mar '18

APOLOGIES FOR MULTIPLE POSTINGS A new solicitation has been posted that might be of interest. It’s called The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier: Advancing Cognitive and Physical Capabilities” (https://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505528&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&fro…) and is one of NSF’s “Ten Big Ideas.” For FY2018, there are two main themes: 1) Foundations for Augmenting Human Cognition 2) Embodied Intelligent Cognitive Assistants Letters of Intent are due April 16 and Full proposals are due June 4. Please take a look at the solicitation. Our sciences have a lot to say in this domain. Betty Tuller, Ph.D. Director, Program in Perception, Action, and Cognition National Science Foundation 2415 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 22314 Tel: 703.292.7238 Fax: 703.292.9068 The PAC program has additional requirements for submission: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5686. A new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide is now available at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18001<http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf16001>

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PhD position in neuroscience available immediately (Italy/USA)
by Carlos Andres Mendez Guerrero 12 Mar '18

12 Mar '18

*PhD Position in neuroscience available immediately* A new European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant starts at the University of Torino, Italy, for 5 years (~ 2 million euros). The grant “LIGHTUP – Turning the cortically blind brain to see” is awarded to prof. Marco Tamietto (www.marcotamietto.com) The project investigates the neural correlates of visual awareness and of non-conscious vision in patients with *blindsight* and in non-human primates (macaques) with V1 destruction. To this aim, a broad range of methods will be used, including 3T and 7T (f)MRI, neurophysiological recordings and brain stimulation (TMS). The project is embedded in an outstanding international and interdisciplinary context, including the University of Oxford, UK, Tilburg University (NL) and NIH (USA), with granted access to their excellent facilities. We offer a full-time PhD Student post for 4 years. Applications of highly motivated candidates with interests in systems neuroscience, vision sciences and neuroimaging are welcomed. The successful applicant will be appointed by the University of Torino (Ita), but he/she will be expected to spend a significant amount of time at the NIH in Bethesda (USA). For more details (salary, requirements, contact..) please visit the laboratory website: http://www.marcotamietto.com

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Two open positions in circadian patterning of neural activity
by Meredith, Andrea 06 Mar '18

06 Mar '18

Postdoctoral Positions Available in Electrophysiology and Imaging Two positions are available in the lab of Dr. Andrea Meredith, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, to study the circadian patterning of neuronal activity. We are seeking a highly motivated team-players to contribute to our studies of the circadian regulation of intrinsic excitability and intracellular signaling in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, the brain's intrinsic 'clock.' One project is an NIH BRAIN Initiative<https://www.braininitiative.nih.gov/>-funded study involving high resolution imaging with novel FRET-based sensors to record rhythmic signals in SCN neurons and the circuit. Other projects involve deciphering the biophysical mechanisms that contribute to circadian regulation of membrane excitability by the large conductance Ca2+-activated BK channel and other ion channels (see Nature Neuroscience 9:1041<https://www.nature.com/articles/nn1740>, 2006; Nature Communications 7:10837<https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10837>, 2016; and Journal of General Physiology 15:259<http://jgp.rupress.org/content/150/2/259.long>, 2018). The Meredith Lab (http://meredithlab.org) is focused on understanding the mechanisms that contribute to circadian regulation of membrane excitability and daily oscillations in action potential activity in the SCN circuit, using techniques such as voltage- and current-clamp, multi-electrode array recordings, imaging, molecular biology, transgenics, and in vivo telemetry. Requirements: We are seeking candidates with a PhD in neuroscience, biophysics, physiology, or other relevant field. Experience with electrophysiological recordings or imaging is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills (fluent in English) required. To apply: Please send by email to Dr. Andrea Meredith (ameredith(a)som.umaryland.edu<mailto:ameredith@som.umaryland.edu>) with: - your CV - a letter describing your research accomplishments, expertise, and career goals - contact information for three references The Department of Physiology (http://medschool.umaryland.edu/physiology) offers outstanding research and NIH-funded postdoctoral training opportunities. The University of Maryland School of Medicine, located in downtown Baltimore, is the oldest public medical school in the U.S. and the founding campus of the University of Maryland system. The School of Medicine ranks 6th among all 76 public medical schools. ___________________________________________________________ Andrea Meredith, PhD Associate Professor Dept. of Physiology and Program in Neuroscience University of Maryland School of Medicine 655 W. Baltimore Str. BRB 5-002 Baltimore, MD 21201 410-706-5991<tel:410-706-5991> office ameredith(a)som.umaryland.edu<mailto:ameredith@som.umaryland.edu> http://meredithlab.org<http://meredithlab.org/>

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6th Baltic-Nordic Summer School on Neuroinformatics (BNNI 2018)
by Marja-Leena Linne 06 Mar '18

06 Mar '18

6th Baltic-Nordic Summer School on Neuroinformatics (BNNI 2018) Understanding the Brain: from Neuroscience to Deep Learning Place: Ventspils University of Applied Sciences Inženieru 101, Ventspils Latvia Time: 11-13 June 2018 More information and applications at: web.lsmuni.lt/bnni2018/en<http://web.lsmuni.lt/bnni2018/en> Important dates: 2 April 2018: Application deadline 15 April 2018: Acceptance notification 11-13 June 2018: School We invite advanced master students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral researchers to participate in the BNNI 2018 to be held at the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Ventspils, Latvia in 11-13 June 2018. The course is interdisciplinary and covers modeling at different levels of organization of the brain. Additionally this year's training course is planned more diverse and will include also EEG/SEEG signal processing techniques, forward and inverse modeling of the brain and various aspects of deep learning algorithms. This school is the sixth in the series of the Baltic-Nordic Courses on Neuroinformatics (BNNI 2013 in Kaunas, Lithuania; BNNI 2014 in Tampere, Finland; BNNI 2015 in Tartu, Estonia; BNNI 2016 in Warsaw, Poland, BNNI 2017 in Kaunas, Lithuania). The target audience of the course will be advanced master students, doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in biomedical and technology sciences, from medicine, biology, psychology, to mathematics, informatics, information technology, physics, chemistry, who would like to get an introduction to neuroinformatics and computational neuroscience. Some experience with programming and quantitative reasoning as well as strong interest in computational and mathematical modeling of the brain will be desirable but not necessary to benefit from the school. Last year we had participants from 14 countries all over the world! Faculty includes: Marja-Leena Linne, Tampere University of Technology, Finland; The Human Brain Project Ausra Saudargiene, Neuroscience Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania Bruce Graham, University of Stirling, UK Daniel Wojcik, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland Arnd Roth, University College London, UK Peter Jedlicka, NeuroScience Center, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany Gaute Einevoll, UiO Department of Physics The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Norway Radu Ranta, CRAN, University of Lorraine, France Louis Maillard, CHRU Hôpital central - Nancy, CRAN, University of Lorraine, France Janis Hofmanis, Smart Technology Research Center, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Ventspils, Latvia and others. Venue The lectures will be held at the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Inženieru 101, Ventspils, Latvia. Practical arrangements There is a small tuition fee of 50 euros. The organizers will provide teaching materials, meals and coffee during the course. The participants are expected to cover their travel and health insurance expenses as well as lodging. Although Student accommodation will be available at a reduced cost. Ventspils University of Applied Sciences can provide a student dormitory rooms - 2 students per room, 2 rooms per block. One block costs 51 EUR (12,75 EUR for one person per night). We are looking forward to welcome you at the BNNI 2018 in Ventspils, Latvia!

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CFP- Special issue on Robots and Smart Environments
by Amir Aly 06 Mar '18

06 Mar '18

*Cognitive Systems Research (CSR) Journal* CALL FOR PAPERS **Apologies for cross posting ** We are happy to call for papers for the journal special issue: "*Social Cognitive Systems in Smart Environments: Approaches for Learning, Reasoning, and Adaptation*" *Webpage: **https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cognitive-systems-research/call-for-papers/special-issue-social-cognitive-systems-in-smart-environment <https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cognitive-systems-research/call-for-paper…> * <http://cognitive-mirroring.org/en/events/hai2017_workshop/> *I. Aim and Scope * A “smart” environment incorporates intelligent systems (e.g., smart home, smart factory, smart city, smart car etc.) employing heterogeneous devices, such as: sensors, actuators, cameras, networks, and screens. Within such a smart environment, autonomous agents can take on an important mediating role between human users and the environment. This is particularly true if high-level cognitive functions and computational intelligence are employed to handle the uncertainty of the complex environment so as to allow agents to act appropriately within different contexts of interaction. Using robotic systems in smart environments opens the door to several socio-cognitive applications, such as: reducing cognitive load for individuals interacting with a smart environment, assisting the elderly and people with cognitive disabilities in mobility and daily tasks (which requires robots to learn the multimodal characteristics of human behavior and to spatially perceive the environment containing other smart objects to decide the best way to employ/manipulate them in order to successfully perform tasks), and developing a cloud-connected robot system to incrementally share knowledge between robots in different smart environments about the behavioral characteristics of human users in order to interact with them adaptively. To meet the requirements of these target applications, robots need to be able to learn how to use the capabilities of their smart environments to better address the needs of the human users. Industrial applications of such technologies include factories of the future and the digital eco-system within an autonomous car. This special issue aims to shed light on cutting edge lines of interdisciplinary research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and robotics covering basic research and applications. Recent advances and possible future research avenues on smart robots and environments would be discussed in detail in this journal special issue. *II. Potential Topics* Topics relevant to this special issue include, but are not limited to: - Cyber-physical systems in smart environments - Multimodal human robot interaction - Cognitive modeling of human behavior - Cognitive architectures and strategies for intelligent interaction with the environment - AI and machine learning approaches applied to human-robot-environment interaction - Internet of things - Ambient assisted living - Infotainment in smart vehicles - Natural user interface design - Cloud robotics - Ubiquitous computing *III. Submission* Submissions to the special issue must include original research that has not been published nor submitted to other journals. Authors should prepare their manuscript according to the "Guide for Authors" available at the journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.c om/cognitive-systems-research/. Papers should be submitted through the EVISE system: https://www.evise.com/evise/jrnl/cogsys. Authors should select "*VSI:Smart Environments"* as the article type during the submission process. *IV. Timline (Submission portal will be open on March 1, 2018)* - Deadline for paper submission: April 30, 2018 - First notification for authors: July 31, 2018 - Deadline for revised papers submission: September 30, 2018 - Final notification for authors: November 30, 2018 - Deadline for submission of camera-ready manuscripts: January 15, 2019 *V. Guest editors* Dr. Amir Aly, Ritsumeikan University, Japan (amir.aly(a)em.ci.ritsumei.ac.jp) Dr. Shashank Pathak,Visteon Corporation, Germany ( shashank.pathak(a)visteon.com) Dr. Sean Andrist, Microsoft Research, USA (sandrist(a)microsoft.com) Prof. Armando Tacchella, University of Genoa, Italy ( armando.tacchella(a)unige.it) ------ *Amir Aly, Ph.D.* Senior Researcher Emergent Systems Laboratory College of Information Science and Engineering Ritsumeikan University 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577 Japan

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NeuroBridges 2018 announcement
by Ahmed El Hady 06 Mar '18

06 Mar '18

*/NeuroBridges 2018 Summer school , Cluny, France/* */( October 2nd - October 12th, 2017 )/* I would like to bring to your attention the *NeuroBridges 2018 Computational Neuroscience School*. <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2018.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. The organizers of NeuroBridges also believe that these scientific collaborations can lead to personal relations, which eventually may help alleviate the political distress in the Middle East. Following the success of NeuroBridges 2017 <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2017.html> school, NeuroBridges 2018 <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2018.html> will be a nine day summer school <http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2018.html>, which will take place in Cluny, France. The school is organized by Ahmed El Hady (Princeton), David Hansel (CNRS) and Yonatan Loewenstein (Hebrew University). It will be comprised of lectures delivered by a group of leading neuroscientists, experimentalists as well as theoreticians, which will address the fundamental questions in contemporary neuroscience. 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 from the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, either working in their home countries or abroad. We will consider applicants with some background in applied mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering or physics, interested in theoretical brain and cognitive sciences. We will also consider those with biological or medical background given that they show proof of basic mathematical knowledge. The school will take place between October 2 and October 12, 2018 in Le Centre de Conférences Internationales de Cluny (CCIC). Cluny is a small medieval town in Burgundy, France, located about 400km southeast of Paris (accessible by fast train, TGV). The deadline for application is *May 31st, 2018 *and the following is the website including the link for the online application: http://decision-making-lab.com/NeuroBridges/neurobridges2018.html For more information, please contact neurobridges2018(a)gmail.com <mailto:neurobridges2018@gmail.com>.

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4th FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF MEMORY (FAM) CONFERENCE
by Laura Montero 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

*Dates May 23rd, 2018 to May 25th, 2018 * *Place LEIBNIZ INSTITUT FOR NEUROBIOLOGY, Magdeburg, Germany * About the Event The Fourth international conference on the FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF MEMORY May 23th to 25th 2018 (Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg - Germany) is organized by Prof. Dr. M. Sauvage. The FAM conference aims at bringing new insights on today's major controversies in recognition memory by bridging human and animal memory function. Twenty of the world-leading experts on the medial temporal lobe and memory function will discuss findings obtained using behavioral, imaging, electrophysiological, mutagenesis and computational techniques. The conference will start by a 5min blitz session that attendants are welcome to contribute to, and a “speakers/students-only brainstorming session” takes place each day. The number of participants is limited to 100 (first-come first-served basis) and registration can be made at https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/famconference/# FAM conference Speakers: Jozsef Csicsvari (IST, Austria) Emrah Düzel (DZNE, Germany) Paul Frankland (Sickkids Toronto, Canada) James Knierim (Johns Hopkins Univ., USA) Pierre Lavenex (Lauzanne univ., Switzerland) Stefan Leutgeb (UC San Diego, USA) Thomas McHugh (RIKEN, Japan) Shane OMara (Trinity College, Ireland) Charan Ranganath (UC Davis, USA) Magdalena Sauvage (LIN, Germany) Steven Siegelbaum (Columbia U, USA) Wendy Suzuki (New York University, USA) Clea Warburton (Bristol University, UK) Thomas Wolbers (DZNE, Germany) Menno Witter (Kavli Institute, Norway) Motoharu Yoshida (DZNE, Germany) Contact Laura Montero Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology Functional Architecture of Memory Dpt Brenneckestrasse, 6 39118 Magdeburg Germany Phone: +49-391-6263-94531 Email: <http://www.fens.org/News-Activities/Calendar/Meetings/2018/05/4th-FUNCTIONA…> 4thfamconference(a)gmail.com Website: https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/famconference/#

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Computational & Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN) Summer School -- DEADLINE EXTENSION TO MARCH 14
by Murray, John 05 Mar '18

05 Mar '18

*** APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 14, 2018. *** We are pleased to announce the 8th Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN) Summer School which will take place June 26 — July 19, 2018, at Cold Spring Harbor Asia (CSHA) in Suzhou, China. Please distribute this announcement to your department and colleagues. The CCN summer school is a unique international summer school focusing on systems neuroscience and cognition from a computational and theoretical perspective. Lectures from leading international faculty in experimental, computational and theoretical neuroscience are tightly coupled with computational tutorials in a series of modules. Each module covers a core area, integrating experimental, theoretical and computational perspectives. The course aims to train talented and highly motivated graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from around the world. Applicants with quantitative (including Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science) or experimental backgrounds are welcome. The summer school also has the mission of training and integrating students from diverse academic, cultural and geographic backgrounds. The practical training includes learning Python-based approaches to programming, data analysis and modeling. Students work through tutorials designed with the faculty and then design, plan and complete a series of open-ended projects for each module. Course information is available on the CCN official website: http://www.ccnss.org/ Applications are being accepted now through the CSHA website: https://www.csh-asia.org/2018meetings/S-COSYNE.html The application deadline is March 14th, 2018. Course Directors: Xiao-Jing Wang (New York University) Zach Mainen (Champalimaud Neuroscience Program) Si Wu (Beijing Normal University) John D. Murray (Yale University) Eric DeWitt (Champalimaud Neuroscience Program) CCN 2018 Lecturers: Eric DeWitt (Champalimaud Research) Shaul Druckmann (Stanford) Jeff Erlich (NYU Shanghai) Birte Forstmann (U Amsterdam) David Foster (UC Berkeley) Julijana Gjorgjieva (MPI Brain Research) Michael Hausser (UCL) Alex Huth (UT Austin) Chris Honey (Johns Hopkins) Sukbin Lim (NYU Shanghai) Zach Mainen (Champalimaud Research) John Murray (Yale) Peggy Series (U Edinburgh) Maurice Smith (Harvard) Xiao-Jing Wang (NYU) Si Wu (Beijing Normal) Byron Yu (Carnegie Mellon) + more! Best regards, CCN SS Directors: Xiao-Jing Wang, Zach Mainen, Si Wu, John Murray, Eric DeWitt John D. Murray ----------------------------------------------- Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine murraylab.yale.edu<http://murraylab.yale.edu/> -----------------------------------------------

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