- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

🎉 Applications Now Open for Neuromatch and Climatematch Academy! 🧪
by Courtney Dean Feb. 28, 2025

Feb. 28, 2025

Hello! We're thrilled to announce our lineup of immersive courses at Neuromatch & Climatematch Academy <https://neuromatch.io/courses/>! Whether you're a student eager to dive into cutting-edge topics or a seasoned researcher looking to contribute as a Teaching Assistant, we have opportunities tailored for you. *Please forward this email to folks you think would be interested!* *3-week Courses (July 7-25):* - *Computational Neuroscience <https://neuromatch.io/computational-neuroscience-course/>:* Explore the intricacies of the brain's computational processes and join an engaging community of learners. - *Deep Learning <https://neuromatch.io/deep-learning-course/>:* Delve into the world of artificial intelligence to uncover the principles and applications of deep learning. *2-week Courses (July 14-25):* - *Computational Tools for Climate Science <https://neuromatch.io/computational-tools-for-climate-science-course/>*: Uncover the tools and techniques driving climate science research in this dynamic two-week course. - *NeuroAI <https://neuromatch.io/neuroai-course/>:* Explore the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence through the lens of generalization. *Application Info:* - *Close:* Sunday, March 23rd, at midnight in your local time zone - *Decisions:* Mid-April - *Requirements:* - *Students* are expected to be familiar with Python and have foundational science skills in math/science. See course specific prerequisites here <https://portal.neuromatchacademy.org/>. - *Teaching Assistants* should have strong Python skills and a background in the relevant topic. See the course pages for more information. - *Link:* Apply Here <https://portal.neuromatchacademy.org/> *Additional Information:* - All courses are synchronous but will be conducted exclusively online, providing flexibility and accessibility. - Tuition fees are lower than those of other courses to make education affordable to everybody, no matter their financial background. They are also adjusted for national economic factors. Detailed information about course fees can be found here <https://neuromatchacademy.github.io/widgets/cola.html>. - Teaching Assistants will lead small groups of students, fostering collaborative learning. *TA positions offer financial compensation*; detailed rates can be found here <https://neuromatchacademy.github.io/widgets/ta_cola.html>. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to expand your knowledge, connect with experts in the field, and contribute to the success of our courses. Apply today and join us on a journey of discovery! Should you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out to us at nma(a)neuromatch.io. We look forward to welcoming you to the Neuromatch Academy family! *You can find flyers and outreach materials here <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ghq9Mgt1DjdRDKOFRsgX0Q6K2BRtMjfI?us…>. Post a flyer! Share on social media! Forward this email! Support our efforts to democratize science.* Cheers, Courtney & The Academy Teams -- *Courtney Dean (she, her) * Program Director Schedule a meeting with me! <https://calendly.com/courtney-s-dean> c. 720.371.6559

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Final call: Spring School on Control Theory and Reinforcement Learning (March 17-21, 2025) at CWI, Amsterdam, NL
by Aditya Gilra Feb. 28, 2025

Feb. 28, 2025

Dear all, Final call to register for the Spring School on Control Theory and Reinforcement Learning for starting PhD / advanced Master's students:Dates: March 17-21, 2025.Venue: CWI (Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science), Amsterdam, Netherlandshttps://www.cwi.nl/en/events/cwi-research-semester-programmes/spring-school-control-theory-and-reinforcement-learning/ Control theory and reinforcement learning share similar objectives, but have differed in their assumptions and approaches. This spring school emphasises connections across control theory, reinforcement learning and stochastic approximation, enabling students to access these broader themes and start to work on cross-cutting projects. The school will be at a preparatory PhD level, suitable for advanced Master's and starting PhD students in these areas. Distinguished Lecturers:Bert Kappen, Radboud Univ, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDebabrota Basu, Inria, Lille, FranceFrans Oliehoek, TU Delft, NetherlandsMaryam Kamgarpour, EPFL, Lausanne, SwitzerlandSean Meyn, Univ. of Florida, USA This school is part of a research semester programme on Control Theory and Reinforcement Learning at CWI, Amsterdam, NL, which comprises this Spring School (17-21 March), a Workshop on Themes (24-25 March), a Workshop on Modern Applications (20-21 May), and an upcoming one on Theory (19-20 June). Download and advertise the poster. Looking forward to seeing you!On behalf of the organizers.https://www.cwi.nl/en/events/cwi-research-semester-programs/control-theory-and-reinforcement/

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Workshop: "Collective Dynamics and Information Processing in Neural Systems" - Venice, Italy | June 30 - July 02
by Fabrizio Lombardi Feb. 28, 2025

Feb. 28, 2025

Dear All, We invite applications to the workshop "Collective Dynamics and Information Processing in Neural Systems <https://liphlab.github.io/NeuroStatPhys_Satellite/>". The workshop will take place* in Venice, Italy, on 30 June - 02 July 2025* at the European Center for Living Technology (ECLT). Application deadline: *April 15, 2025*. *About the workshop* A longstanding question is how populations of neurons cooperate and coordinate to perform function and maintain an “optimal” state for information processing and computation. While electrophysiological recordings in behaving animals have provided considerable information about what the firing patterns of single neurons encode in isolation, it remains largely a mystery how populations of neurons interact to perform brain functions. How do emergent collective behaviors, such as neuronal oscillations, waves, or avalanches, support function? And what is the nature of the brain’s internal state and how that affects function? With the aim of further strengthening the connection between neuroscience and statistical physics, this satellite workshop is intended to gather neuroscientists, physicists, and mathematicians who work on collective dynamics, cognition and behavior, and provide an interdisciplinary stage to discuss recent theoretical/computational and experimental advances on the role of neural ensembles for brain function. The workshop will be carefully planned to foster discussion and interaction between attendees, and to encourage the establishment of professional relationships. Particular emphasis will be given to participation of young PI’s and scholars and to the diversity in the pool of participants, with a good balance between physicists, mathematicians, theoretical and experimental neuroscientists. *Topics that will be covered in this workshop include (but are not limited to):* - Dynamics of neuronal ensembles: theory and models - Encoding and decoding of neural ensembles - Learning and memory - Control theory and behavior - Statistical inference - Modeling of brain dynamics in health and disease - Criticality in neural systems *Confirmed invited speakers:* - Stefano Fusi (Columbia University) - Gašper Tkačik (IST Austria) - Dietmar Plenz (NIH) - Gianluigi Mongillo (Institut de la Vision) - Raffaella Burioni (University of Parma) - Henrik J. Jensen (Imperial College) - Francesca Mastrogiuseppe (Champalimaud Foundation) - Gaia Tavoni (Washington University in St Louis) - Luca Mazzucato (University of Oregon) - Carlotta Martelli (University Mainz) - Athena Akrami (University College London) - Federico Stella (Donders Institute) - Johannes Felsenberg (FMI Basel) - Ana Paula Millán Vidal (University of Granada) - Michele Allegra (University of Padova) For further information please check the workshop website https://liphlab.github.io/NeuroStatPhys_Satellite/ We hope to see you in Venice! The organizing committee, Fabrizio Lombardi, Lucilla de Arcangelis, Serena Di Santo, Samir Suweis, Ulisse Ferrari, Achille Giacometti, Guido Caldarelli, Elisa Tentori

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Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Neuroscience
by Fleur Zeldenrust Feb. 27, 2025

Feb. 27, 2025

*My lab is looking for a computational neuroscience postdoctoral researcher:* http://ru.nl/en/working-at/job-opportunities/postdoctoral-researcher-in-com… For the Vidi project ‘Top-down neuromodulation and bottom-up network computation,’ we seek a postdoc to study neuromodulators in efficient spike-coding networks. Using our lab’s data on dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin from the mouse barrel cortex, you’ll derive models connecting single cells, networks, and behavior. The aim of this project is to explain the effects of neuromodulation on task performance in biologically realistic spiking recurrent neural networks (SRNNs). You will use the efficient spike coding framework <https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003…>, in which a network is not trained by a learning paradigm but deduced using mathematically rigorous rules that enforce efficient coding <https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008…>(i.e. maximally informative spikes). You will study how the network’s structural properties such as neural heterogeneity influence decoding performance and efficiency. You will incorporate realistic network properties of the (barrel) cortex based on our lab’s measurements <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12021-022-09576-5> and incorporate the cellular effects of dopamine, acetylcholine and serotonin <https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://doi.org/10.1101…>we have measured <https://academic.oup.com/gigascience/article/7/12/giy147/5232232> over the past years into the network, to investigate their effects on representations, network activity measures such as dimensionality, and decoding performance. You will build on the single cell data, network models and analysis methods available in our group, and your results will be incorporated into our group’s further research to develop and validate efficient coding models of (somatosensory) perception. Therefore, we are looking for a team player who is willing to learn from the other group members and to share their knowledge with them. *Profile* - You hold a PhD in computational neuroscience, mathematics, physics, computer science, AI or a similar computational field. - You have experience working with coding models in computational neuroscience and can perform network simulations, analytical derivations and advanced data analysis. - You are a highly motivated, independent, critical and creative researcher who wants to bridge the gap between real data and abstract theoretical models. - You are a team player, ready to collaborate in a diverse, multidisciplinary research group. - You have an excellent command of spoken and written English. - You have coding experience (in Python and/or Matlab) You will be appointed at the Biophysics of Neural Computation group <https://www.ru.nl/en/departments/donders-centre-for-neuroscience/biophysics…> , Donders Center for Neuroscience <https://www.ru.nl/en/donders-centre-for-neuroscience>, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour <https://www.ru.nl/en/donders-institute>. This vibrant and multidisciplinary institute studies the organisation and function of neural circuits across scales and techniques, from genes and proteins to behaviour and from in vitro and in vivo experiments to computational modelling. It is an open and international environment, where young scientists from different backgrounds share a fascination for the interaction between brain structure and function. There is a lively community <https://www.ru.nl/en/donders-institute/talent-development/postdoc-support> of postdoctoral researchers who are provided with specialised support. *We offer* - We will give you a temporary employment contract of 26 months. - Your salary within salary scale 10 <https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://www.ru.nl/en/st…>depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week. - You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. - You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days <https://www.ru.nl/en/staff/services/employment-conditions/working-time/flex…> of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. Fleur Zeldenrust -- Fleur Zeldenrust Associate Professor Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Donders Centre for Neuroscience Faculty of Science, Radboud University Heyendaalseweg 135, room HG 00.111 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands tel +31 24 36 53195 fleurzeldenrust.nl *Due to my own family/work balance, you may receive emails from me outside of normal working hours. I do not expect a response from you outside of your own working pattern, nor do I expect an immediate response when you are working.*

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Launching Heidelberg Open Lab
by Mateusz Kostecki Feb. 27, 2025

Feb. 27, 2025

Hello! I am very happy to announce that we are launching a German node of the Nencki Open Lab (www.nenckiopenlab.org) project. Our goal is to create a local community of neuroscientists, organize workshops on topics ranging from programming and data analysis, through electronics, 3D printing, Arduino to optics and microscopy, symposia,a and summer schools. We will be operating in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Frabkfurt. We organize a kick-off meeting on March 18th at COS, Heidelberg Uni - https://openlabhd.org/2025/02/19/heidelberg-open-lab-kick-off-meeting/. Scientists from all levels of academic career are welcome to join us! Best, Mateusz Kostecki -- --- Mateusz Kostecki PhD Student Knapska Laboratory Nencki Institute 02-093 Warsaw, Pasteura 3, Poland https://twitter.com/mtkostecki https://evolvingbehavior.blog/

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GEM 2025 - Abstract submission deadline 15.03.25
by Vinita Samarasinghe Feb. 27, 2025

Feb. 27, 2025

*REMINDER*: Abstract submission deadline for *GEM 2025* is on *15.03.25*. Please have your submissions in by the deadline. https://www.conftool.net/gem202 <https://www.conftool.net/gem2023/>5/ <https://www.conftool.net/gem2023/>. The DFG-funded research consortium “FOR 2812 – Constructing scenarios of the past” is proud to announce a *call for abstracts* for its biennial conference “/Generative Episodic Memory: Interdisciplinary persepectives from neuroscience, psychology and philosophy/” *GEM 202**5.* It will be held *in person* at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany from 2^nd to 4^th June, 2025. For more information please visit https://for2812.rub.de/gem2025. Episodic memories are widely regarded as memories of personally experienced events. Early concepts about episodic memory were based on the storage model, according to which experiential content is preserved in memory and later retrieved. However, overwhelming empirical evidence suggests that the content of episodic memory is – at least to a certain degree – constructed in the act of remembering. Even though very few contemporary researchers would oppose this view of episodic memory as a generative process, it has not become the standard paradigm of empirical memory research. This is particularly true for studies of the neural correlates of episodic memory. Further hindering progress are large conceptual differences regarding episodic memory across different fields, such as neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. This interdisciplinary conference therefore aims to bring together researchers from all relevant fields to advance the state of the art in the research on generative episodic memory. *Keynote speakers: * Ali Boyle (LSE); Neil Burgess (UCL); Iris Engelhard (U. Utrecht); Johannes Mahr (York U.); Jeremy Manning (Dartmouth) *Funding for early career researchers is available *(visit our ECR page <https://for2812.rub.de/gem2025/early_career_researcher_programs> for more details). *Abstract* submission deadline: 15.03.2025 Submission guidelines: Abstracts must be submitted in English and be no longer than 500 words. Submitted work must be original and unpublished and submitted electronically at https://www.conftool.net/gem202 <https://www.conftool.net/gem2023/>5/ <https://www.conftool.net/gem2023/>. Types of submissions: * Talk * Symposium: Must comprise 3 talks and be interdisciplinary in nature, i.e., talks must cover at least two of the following disciplines: computational neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience. * Poster /*For more information please visit https://for2812.rub.de or contact Vinita Samarasinghe at for2812(a)rub.de */ Follow us on bluesky @for2812.bsky.social/* */ <https://bsky.app/for2812.bsky.social> Kind regards, Vinita Vinita Samarasinghe M.Sc., M.A. Science Manager Arbeitsgruppe Computational Neuroscience <https://rub.de/cns> Institut für Neuroinformatik Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 3/73 Postfachnummer 110 Universitätstr. 150 44801 Bochum Tel: +49 (0)234 32 27996 Email: samarasinghe(a)ini.rub.de

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Conference Invitation GRS - inhibition in the CNS!
by Vissers, Nicole Feb. 27, 2025

Feb. 27, 2025

Join Us for the 2025 GRC and GRS on Inhibition in the CNS! The 2025 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Inhibition in the Central Nervous System (CNS) this year is taking place July 5–6, 2025 (GRS) and July 6–11, 2025 (GRC). The GRC will explore inhibition's role in neural circuits related to behavior, focusing on interneuron subtypes, inhibitory synapse organization, sensory processing, memory, and computational approaches. It will also cover inhibition in the adult neurogenic niche, model organisms like mice and primates, and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders. The GRS, for early-career researchers, will focus on subcortical GABAergic neurons, glial and neuromodulatory inhibition, and computational analyses. It offers networking, mentorship, and presentation opportunities, promoting collaboration before the main GRC event. Both events aim to foster idea exchange and scientific collaboration. We look forward to seeing you in Maine for a week of science, collaboration, and community. Don't miss this chance to connect with global leaders in the field of inhibitory neuroscience! For more information, visit: GRS: https://www.grc.org/inhibition-in-the-cns-grs-conference/2025/ GRC: https://www.grc.org/inhibition-in-the-cns-conference/2025/ Or feel free to contact GRS Chair, Nicole Vissers: n.vissers(a)ucl.ac.uk

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Global Research & Entrepreneurship Summit on Open Problems for AI. Tokyo, Japan, 9-11th April 2025 at the Miraikan Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.
by Ruairidh Battleday Feb. 27, 2025

Feb. 27, 2025

Global Summit on Open Problems for AI. Miraikan Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo, Japan, 9-11th April 2025. What are the next set of challenges for AI algorithms? What are the open problems in regulation & application? We are most excited to announce the Algorithmic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Summit on Open Problems for AI <http://www.algopreneurship.ai>. Miraikan Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo, Japan, 9-11th April 2025. Join world-leading AI researchers, policy makers, and entrepreneurs in this global Summit over three days of keynote talks, panels, and breakout sessions. Day 1 - Algorithms We ask what the fundamental challenges for developing AI algorithms are, as well as promising avenues for overcoming them. We’ll be hearing from Dr Shane Gu (Google DeepMind), Dr Taro Toyoizumi (Riken CBS), Dr Kai Arulkumaran (Araya Inc.), Dr Emityaz Khan (Riken AIP), Professor Masanori Koyama (University of Tokyo), Dr James Whittington (Stanford & Oxford University & Zyphra), Dr Lucy Lai (Harvard University), Dr Yusuke Iwasawa (University of Tokyo) Panel on “Is this the end of Scale?” Panel on “How should we fund AI research?” Day 2 - Ethics We ask what the fundamental ethical challenges and opportunities are for AI. Keynotes: Professor Yuko Harayam (Tohoku University; GPAI), Professor Arisa Ema (University of Tokyo & RIKEN CAIP), Dr Colin Rowat (Rakuten, Cambridge), Dr Joe Ledsam (Google Health), Kenny Song (Citadel AI) Panel: Micro Ethics - What Can Individual Researchers Do for Ethical AI? Chair: Nicolay Hagen (NTNU) Panel: Meso Ethics - What Can Organizations Do for Ethical AI? Chair: Professor Skyler Wang (McGill) Panel: Macro Ethics - If AI is the answer, what is the question? Chair: Dr Collin Conwell (Johns Hopkins) Day 3 - Applications and entrepreneurship We ask what the fundamental challenges and opportunities are in applications for social good and entrepreneurship. Keynotes: Professor Yukie Nagai (University of Tokyo), Professor Dan V. Nicolau Jr (Kings College London), Dr Ruairidh McLennan Battleday (Harvard & MIT), Dr Aran Komatsuzaki (Eleuther AI), Dr Conglong Li (Google Deepmind), Takahiro Matsumoto (Cisco / Robust Intelligence), Dr Jungo Kasai (Kotoba Tech) This should be an exciting and productive event, and we expect an audience of 400 of the world’s best AI researchers and entrepreneurs at student, early-stage, and full career levels. Student tickets: $20 for all three days Scientist & Entrepreneur tickets: $20 per day Corporate tickets: $100 per day Reserve your place now! <http://www.algopreneurship.ai> Ruairidh <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruairidh-battleday-648a2b65/>, <https://www.jcrwhittington.com/>Lucy <https://lucylai.com/>, James <https://www.jcrwhittington.com/>, and Dan <https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dan-nicolau> Thinking About Thinking <https://www.thinkingaboutthinking.org/>

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Deadline extended: Transatlantic Behavioural Neuroscience School, Argentina, Aug 11-22 2025
by Mateusz Kostecki Feb. 25, 2025

Feb. 25, 2025

Hello! We are happy to announce that we have extended the deadline for application to Transatlantic Behavioral Neuroscience School till March 2nd! During our school you will learn how to deliver stimuli or modify the environment in which the animal is embedded with Arduino-based devices and Bonsai code; you will design and 3D-print cases and holders for your instruments. And then you will apply cutting-edge tools (like Deeplabcut or CEBRA) – to extract as much information as possible from your data. But that’s not everything. At TBNS you will listen to fascinating lectures and interact with speakers, who explored bold ideas and made their unique career paths. You will look at what behavior is through many lenses. Most importantly though, you will meet people with similar interests and goals. And you may become a part of our global Open Lab community, and help us to spread the knowledge further! More information and the application form can be found here - https://nenckiopenlab.org/tbns2025/. The deadline for application is Feb 25th, the fee is EUR 1500 but we have secured funding for fee waivers and travel grants if needed. With best wishes, TBNS Team -- --- Mateusz Kostecki PhD Student Knapska Laboratory Nencki Institute 02-093 Warsaw, Pasteura 3, Poland https://twitter.com/mtkostecki https://evolvingbehavior.blog/

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6th International Conference on Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI (Split, Croatia, 27-30 May 2025) - abstract submission extended to 16th March
by Ruairidh Battleday Feb. 25, 2025

Feb. 25, 2025

We are extending abstract submissions for this year’s Conference on Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI to March 16th AOE: www.neuromonster.org In this high-profile conference we hear about new computational theories of the brain and mind, as well as data that challenges old theories. We then take findings and theory back into the creation of robust, generalizable, and scalable AI. We hear from leading researchers over four days, spanning biocomputation, neural theory, cognitive science, and machine learning & artificial intelligence (AI): Keynote Speakers Professor Wolfgang Maas (Graz), Professor Eve Marder (Brandeis), Professor Jay McClelland (Stanford), Professor Christine Constantinople (NYU), Dr Kim Stachenfeld (DeepMind), Professor Kanaka Rajan (Harvard), Dr Ida Momennejad (Microsoft Research), Professor Jacob Foerster (Oxford / Meta). Session Chairs Dr Valeria Fascianelli (Columbia; Biocomputation) Dr Francesca Mignacco (CUNY & Princeton; Biocomputation) Yasmine Ayman (Harvard; Neural theory) Dr James Whittington (Oxford & Stanford; Neural theory) Professor Bill Thompson (UC Berkeley; Cognitive science) Dr Maria Eckstein (DeepMind; Cognitive science) Mikey Lepori (Brown & DeepMind; Machine learning & AI) Professor Ilia Sucholutsky (NYU; Machine learning & AI) Invited Speakers Professor Alex Cayco-Gajic (ENS) Dr Jenelle Feather (Flatiron Institute) Dr Joao Barbosa (Institute for Neuromodulation) Tejas Ramdas (Harvard) Professor Vijay Namdoodiri (UCSF) Professor Annegret Falkner (Princeton) Dr Chen Sun (Mila) Dr Chris Hillar (New Theory AI) Professor Bonan Zhao (Edinburgh) Professor Lisa-Marie Vortmann (Groningen) Dr Felix Sosa (Harvard) Dr Lio Wong (MIT) Location The conference will be held at Croatia’s National Opera Theatre in Split, 10 minutes walk from the ancient harbour. Split is served by two nearby international airports (Split and Dubrovnik) with low-price carriers as well as several ferry lines from the wider Mediterranean. Submissions The submission format is an abstract of 250 words, and we invite submissions for each session via the following Google form: https://forms.gle/a9JDH5B4Z5otS69Y7 These will be accepted for poster, with the best 6 papers in each session category given an additional spotlight talk. Submission deadline is 16th March AOE. We have a very open acceptance policy, and are happy to hear about relevant work that has been submitted to other events. Early bird tickets A limited number of early-bird registrations have been posted on our website! Normal registration will follow after the submission deadline. Come and join the fun! Dr Ruairidh McLennan Battleday (Harvard & MIT) Dr James Whittington (Oxford & Stanford) Dr Ivana Kaljc (DeepMind) Professor Dan V. Nicolau Jr (Kings College London) The Organizing Committee. -- Dr Ruairidh McLennan Battleday BMBCh (Oxon) PhD President Thinking About Thinking (www.thinkingaboutthinking.org) Postdoctoral Research Fellow Center for Brain Science, Harvard University Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, MIT

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Qualia Structure - Integrated Information Theory Summer School 2025
by Larissa Albantakis Feb. 24, 2025

Feb. 24, 2025

*Deadline of application: Mar 14, 2025 * The QStr (Qualia Structure) - IIT (Integrated Information Theory) Summer School offers an exciting opportunity for students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty scholars from around the world to explore the intersection of qualitative aspects of consciousness (or qualia) and scientific objectivity. This event is scheduled to take place in Venice and Bertinoro, Italy from October 5 to 17, 2025. Here is the link to the overview homepage, from which one can apply for it. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hFmabi5KJQRfocvwhXAehIkwFxrCp_Touxp9-Sn… <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hFmabi5KJQR…> Participating faculty Larissa Albantakis Melanie Boly Matteo Grasso Yuko Ishihara Christof Koch William Marshall Lucia Melloni Hedda Hassel Mørch Masafumi Oizumi Steve Philliips Hayato Saigo Giulio Tononi Naotsugu Tsuchiya Makiko Yamada

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Apply Now: FRCCS 2025 Awards for Early-Career Researchers in Complex Systems
by Hocine Cherifi Feb. 24, 2025

Feb. 24, 2025

CSS France invites applications for the *Bertalanffy Doctoral Student Award* and the *Thom Young Researcher Award*, recognizing outstanding early-career researchers in *Complex Systems*. 🏆 *Bertalanffy Doctoral Student Award* (for Ph.D. candidates under 30) 🔗 Details & Application <https://iutdijon.u-bourgogne.fr/ccs-france/call-doctoral-student-award/> 🏆 *Thom Young Researcher Award* (for researchers ≤5 years post-Ph.D., under 35) 🔗 Details & Application <https://iutdijon.u-bourgogne.fr/ccs-france/call-young-resarcher-award/> 📅 *Deadline:* March 11, 2025 💰 *Prizes:* €500 (Doctoral) / €1,000 (Young Researcher) + FRCCS 2025 presentation opportunity 🚀 *Don’t miss this chance to showcase your research in Complex Systems at FRCCS 2025—apply now!* Best, HC Join us at COMPLEX NETWORKS 2025 <https://complexnetworks.org/> *-------------------------* Hocine CHERIFI University of Burgundy Franche-Comté Laboratoire* I*nterdisciplinaire *C*arnot de *B*ourgogne - ICB UMR 6303 CNRS Editor in Chief Applied Network Science <https://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/> Plos Complex Systems <https://plos.org/complex-systems-research-journal/#:~:text=PLOS%20Complex%2….> Editorial Board member PLOS One <https://journals.plos.org/plosone/>, IEEE ACCESS <https://ieeeaccess.ieee.org/?http%3A%2F%2Fieeeaccess_ieee_org%2F>, Scientific Reports <https://www.nature.com/srep/>, Journal of Imaging <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jimaging>, Quality and Quantity <https://www.springer.com/journal/11135/>, Computational Social Networks <https://computationalsocialnetworks.springeropen.com/>, Complex Systems <https://www.complex-systems.com/>

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World wide VVTNS series (fifth season): Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Songting Li, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
by David Hansel Feb. 23, 2025

Feb. 23, 2025

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Songting Li Shanghai Jiao Tong University Timescale localization and signal propagation in the large-scale cortical network The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * In the brain, while early sensory areas encode and process external inputs rapidly, higher-association areas are endowed with slow dynamics to benefit information accumulation over time. This property raises the question of why diverse timescales are well localized rather than being mixed up across the cortex, despite high connection density and an abundance of feedback loops that support reliable signal propagation. In this talk, we will address this question by analyzing a large-scale network model of the primate cortex, and we identify a novel dynamical regime termed "interference-free propagation". In this regime, the mean components of the synaptic currents to each downstream area are imbalanced to ensure signals to propagate reliably, while the temporally fluctuating components of the synaptic inputs governed by upstream areas' timescales are largely canceled out, leading to the localization of its own timescale in each downstream area. Our result provides new insights into the operational regime of the cortex, leading to the coexistence of hierarchical timescale localization and reliable signal propagation. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*

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Two postdoctoral research positions in Active Inference at the University of Cape Town
by Jonathan Shock Feb. 23, 2025

Feb. 23, 2025

Postdoctoral Positions in Active InferenceUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa The Shocklab research group in conjunction with the Neuropsychology research group at the University of Cape Town (UCT) is seeking two postdoctoral researchers to join our dynamic team working on Active Inference in relation to affective consciousness. This position offers an exciting opportunity to work at the intersection of computational, cognitive and affective neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, in collaboration with leading researchers in the field including Dr Ryan Smith at the Laureate Institute and lr Charel Van Hoof MBA at TU Delft. About the Position - Duration: One year with possibility of one- or two-year extension - Start Date: Immediate availability - Salary: R540,000 per year, tax free (equivalent to around R740,000 per annum, taxed) - Location: University of Cape Town, South Africa Research Environment Our research group combines expertise in consciousness studies, Active Inference, and Reinforcement Learning, with leads: - Associate Professor Jonathan Shock, Director of the UCT AI Initiative, head of Shocklab and Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. - Professor Mark Solms, Professor in Neuropsychology, author of "The Hidden Spring" and collaborator with Karl Friston on consciousness and Active Inference. The group currently includes two Masters students, one PhD student and one postdoc, all working on Active Inference in foraging environments in the presence of competing needs. The Shocklab group also has a large number of graduate students working on Reinforcement Learning. Graduate student supervision would be an important part of the postdoctoral role. The work is jointly located in the UCT Neuroscience Institute and the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Project Description The research focuses on studying single and multi-agent Active Inference agents in dynamic environments in which agents must learn to satisfy competing ‘survival’ needs. This programme has a sophisticated inference/sophisticated learning/tree-search focus. The overarching aim is to gain insights into affective consciousness, attention, and need prioritization. This work is supported by donor funding from Conscium, UK. Computing Resources - Access to UCT High Performance Computing cluster - Dedicated Shocklab cluster featuring two RTX 4090 GPUs Required Qualifications - PhD, preferably obtained within the last five years - Strong research background in Active Inference - Programming expertise, particularly in JAX (preferred) Benefits - Competitive salary (R540,000 tax free per year) - Funding for at least one international conference per year, and potential extended research visit at the Laureate Institiute - Opportunity to work in one of the world's most beautiful cities About UCT and Cape Town The University of Cape Town is Africa's leading university, situated at the foot of Table Mountain. The institution has a rich research history and is currently accelerating its research initiatives in AI. Cape Town offers an exceptional quality of life with incredible natural beauty and a flourishing scientific environment. A living costs calculator can be found here: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Cape-Town Application Process Please submit the following materials: - Cover letter and CV - Research history - Future research plans on Active Inference - Three letters of reference Application Deadline: March 15th, 2025 Interviews: late March/early April 2025 Contact: jonathan.shock(a)uct.ac.za with Subject: "ActInf postdoc"

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Postdoctoral Research Fellow: EEG Brain-computer Interface, University of Birmingham
by Howard Bowman Feb. 22, 2025

Feb. 22, 2025

Postdoctoral Research Fellow: EEG Brain-computer Interface, a Brainwave-based Visual Acuity Test Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology and School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham Closes: 6th March 2025 JOB-DESCRIPTION: The Fringe-P3 method (Bowman et al, 2013; Alsufyani et al, 2019) developed out of a line of theoretical work focussed on temporal attention and perception on the fringe of awareness (Bowman & Wyble, 2007; Craston et al, 2009; Avilés et al, 2020). The method provides a means to present a large number of visual stimuli very rapidly to a participant's brain and then determine with EEG, which of those stimuli the participant finds salient. The method has been proposed as a deception detector, specifically, a (countermeasures-resistant) concealed-knowledge test (Bowman et al, 2013, 2014; Alsufyani et al, 2019; Harris et al, 2021; see https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/2077487/) Previous projects with the company Visionmetric (https://visionmetric.com/) used the Fringe-P3 method to develop a system for extracting the memory of a face. This is done by generating a facial morph that is a weighted average of the faces presented in rapid serial visual presentation, with weight determined by the strength of the P3 that face generated. The Research Fellow being advertised will be employed on a recently awarded MRC Impact Acceleration account at the University of Birmingham, with two companies: Visionmetric and Advanced Ophthalmic Systems (https://aos-hub.com/) This will take the Fringe-P3 method and develop it as an objective visual-acuity test, called the Acuity-P3. Many groups, such as young children, those with learning difficulties and dementia patients find it hard to follow the instructions required to complete a standard visual-acuity test (such as a Snellen chart). As a result, clinical decisions, such as whether to perform cataract surgery, often have to be made without a reliable assessment of vision. We will develop a system by which a brain response (the P3) can be used as an objective measure that a letter has been read. This will provide an objective visual-acuity test, not dependent upon a subjective response. We will also improve the efficiency with which P3s are detected with machine learning and will explore alternative detection modalities, such as pupil dilation. At the University of Birmingham, the work will be undertaken within the School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, with involvement from the School of Computer Science (where the PI, Bowman, also has an appointment). PERSON SPECIFICATION: Batchelors (and potentially also Masters) degree, as well as a PhD or equivalent qualification in Computer Science, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), Psychology, Neuroscience, or related subjects. Candidates with equivalent industrial experience would also be within scope. Strong programming skills, with experience of or the capacity to learn how to program in Python and C++. Experience of neuroimaging, including data collection, or the capacity to learn such methods. Fluency or capacity to become fluent in relevant models, techniques and methods, e.g. Fieldtrip, Statistical Parametric Mapping, EEG-lab, and ability to contribute to developing new methods. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Howard Bowman and H.Bowman(a)bham.ac.uk. Full application details can be found here: https://edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_6… Alsufyani, A., Hajilou, O., Zoumpoulaki, A., Filetti, M., Alsufyani, H., Solomon, C. J., ... & Bowman, H. (2019). Breakthrough percepts of famous faces. Psychophysiology, 56(1). Avilés, A., Bowman, H., & Wyble, B. (2020). On the limits of evidence accumulation of the preconscious percept. Cognition, 195, 104080. Bowman, H., Filetti, M., Janssen, D., Su, L., Alsufyani, A., & Wyble, B. (2013). Subliminal salience search illustrated: EEG identity and deception detection on the fringe of awareness. PLoS One, 8(1). Bowman, H., Filetti, M., Alsufyani, A., Janssen, D., & Su, L. (2014). Countering countermeasures: Detecting identity lies by detecting conscious breakthrough. PloS one, 9(3), e90595. Bowman, H., & Wyble, B. (2007). The simultaneous type, serial token model of temporal attention and working memory. Psychological review, 114(1), 38. Craston, P., Wyble, B., Chennu, S. & Bowman, H. "The attentional blink reveals serial working memory encoding: Evidence from virtual & human event-related potentials." Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(3):550-566, March 2009. Harris, K., Miller, C., Jose, B., Beech, A., Woodhams, J., & Bowman, H. (2021). Breakthrough percepts of online identity: Detecting recognition of email addresses on the fringe of awareness. European Journal of Neuroscience, 53(3), 895-901. -------------------------------------------- Howard Bowman (PhD) Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in Psychology and Computer Science at the University of Birmingham Honorary Professor of Imaging Neuroscience at Functional Imaging Lab, University College London email: H.Bowman(a)bham.ac.uk<mailto:H.Bowman@bham.ac.uk> WWW: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/bowman-howard ?Howard Bowman - ?Google Scholar<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pcKQix4AAAAJ&hl=en> School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Research Groups: Neuroimaging Methods and AI, Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham Perception, Language and Action, Computer Science, University of Birmingham PLORAS (Predicting Language Outcomes and Recovery After Stroke), Functional Imaging Lab, University College London

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Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] Summer School NeuroBridges2025 | In partnership with VVTNS series
by David Hansel Feb. 20, 2025

Feb. 20, 2025

* NeuroBridges 2025* *A Mediterranean, Middle Eastern Summer School in Neuroscience* *Deadline to apply: April 15, 2025* NeuroBridges 2025 is a summer school which will take place between September 7 and September 18, 2025 in Le Centre de Conferences Internationales de Cluny, France (CCIC) <https://streaklinks.com/B3KEKFd397UPDx5n8gyfD1BJ/https%3A%2F%2Fcollegecluny…> . The school will provide an overview of theoretical and experimental frameworks used to study a variety of decision making processes. It will cover different model systems from rodents to humans and a plethora of decision making mechanisms. Another objective of NeuroBridges is to bring together Mediterranean and Middle Eastern scientists, in order to promote scientific cooperation between young researchers from these countries. The organizers of NeuroBridges are convinced that such scientific collaborations can lead to personal relations, which eventually may alleviate the political distress in the Middle East. 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. Applicants should have some background in related fields in neuroscience or cognitive psychology. All costs of registration and accommodation will be covered by the organizers. A limited number of travel grants will also be available. *Faculty:* - Alaa Ahmed (U. Colorado) <https://www.colorado.edu/mechanical/alaa-ahmed> - Rava Azeredo da Silveira (IOB) <https://www.silveira-lab.com/rava-azeredo-da-silveira> - Ahmed El Hady (Max Planck Institute) <https://www.ab.mpg.de/person/111828> - David Hansel (CNRS) <https://incc-paris.fr/people/david-hansel/> - Mehdi Khamassi (CNRS) <https://pages.isir.upmc.fr/mkhamassi/> - Carole Levenes (CNRS) <https://incc-paris.fr/people/carole-levenes/> - Yonatan Loewenstein (Hebrew U.) <https://elsc.huji.ac.il/people-directory/faculty-members/yonatan-loewenstei…> - Zach Mainen (Champalimaud), TBC <https://mainenlab.org/> - Israel Nelken (Hebrew U.) <https://elsc.huji.ac.il/people-directory/faculty-members/israel-nelken/> - Drazen Prelec (MIT) <https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/drazen-prelec> - Reza Shadmehr (John Hopkins U.) <https://www.shadmehrlab.org/> NeuroBridges is co-organized by Ahmed El Hady (Max Planck Institute), David Hansel (CNRS, Paris), Yonatan Loewenstein (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Carole Levenes (CNRS, Paris), Shir Shapira (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). NeuroBridges 2025 is supported by the Simons Foundation, the Cyril Taylor Charitable FoundationELSC, and is in partnership with VVTNS ( https://www.wwtns.online/) For more information and application, visit our website: https://neurobridges.net/

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Registration open for the NSF-Simons NITMB MathBio Convergence Conference 11-14 August 2025 Chicago IL
by William L. Kath Feb. 19, 2025

Feb. 19, 2025

*The NSF-Simons NITMB MathBio Convergence Conference 11-14 August 2025 Chicago, IL Registration, Abstract Submission and Travel Award Applications now open!* More details at https://www.nitmb.org/nitmb-mathbio-convergence-conference We are calling for talks and posters discussing challenging problems in biology that are inspiring new mathematics, statistics, theory and computation, and mathematics that is generating important new insights into biology. If you are a mathematician working on biology or a biologist using mathematics, or just someone who would like to learn more about research at the interface between mathematics and biology, we encourage you to attend. * *Registration:* The number of attendees at the conference is finite. We are asking participants to pay a small fee ($100) to hold their place. * *Abstracts:* Register before 15 April if you would like to submit an abstract. * *Travel Awards:* We are proud to offer travel award to students and early career researchers. A brief application is required for consideration - deadline April 15. * Travel awards fund up to $650 for domestic travel and $800 for intercontinental travel, plus reimbursement for local hotel costs and for meals not provided by the conference (gsa.gov rates apply). Award recipients must lodge at The Drake Hotel (140 East Walton Place Chicago, IL 60611) to receive reimbursement. *Registration/submission steps:* 1. Register at https://www.nitmb.org/nitmb-mathbio-convergence-conference 2. Upon entering your information, you will be directed to a payment site. 3. After confirmation of payment (please note your confirmation number), you will be sent links with which to submit an abstract and/or apply for a travel award. If you have questions, please email nitmb(a)nitmb.org I_mportant Dates:_ Abstract Submission April 15, 2025 Travel Award Application April 15, 2025 Early Registration (to be considered for a presentation) ($100) February 15 - April 15, 2025 Notification of selection for an Oral Talk or a Poster Late May Regular Registration (no presentation) ($100) February 15 - July 14, 2025 Late Registration ($200) July 15 - August 4, 2025 Hotel Registration (at the Drake) Mid-April - July 15, 2025 *Confirmed plenary speakers:* *Alexander Auhlela, The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)* Dr. Aulehla uses dynamical systems to study how a vertebrate embryo forms the unique number of body segments that make up the vertebrae. *Carina Curto, Brown University* Dr. Curto combines mathematical tools from algebra, geometry, topology and dynamical systems to elucidate complex patterns of activity in networks of neurons. *Lorin Crawford, Microsoft Research and Brown University* Dr. Crawford uses machine learning and statistical tools to study the genotype-to-phenotype map for complex traits and diseases. *Michael Hawrylycz, The Allen Institute* Dr. Hawrylycz studies the cellular constitution and organization of the brain using single-cell transcriptomics and cutting-edge computational and statistical tools. *Anna-Liisa Laine, University of Helsinki* Dr. Laine studies complex problems in ecology across a spectrum of length and time scales. *Reidun Twarock, University of York* Dr. Twarock uses mathematics to study the symmetries of animal viruses and how they self-assemble inside host cells.

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First Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience
by James Bower Feb. 19, 2025

Feb. 19, 2025

I thought some on this list might be interested in knowing about the first annual meeting for the newly formed Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience, to be held May 1-3, 2025 at Washington University in St. Lewis, Missouri, USA. https://www.philandneuro.com/?utm_campaign=e5e3edd6-f129-4005-9ca3-804ea034… HOME | SPAN philandneuro.com Just FYI, I will be part of a symposium considering: "What can we learn about current neuroscience practice from its history." I was considering giving a talk on what you can and can’t learn about the brain using AI, but decided instead to discuss: Correlation as a substitute for causality: how FMRI has reinforced correlation-based story telling in neuroscience and in the process the cerebellum has replaced 42 as the answer to everything. According to Goggle’s AI overview, the function of the cerebellum includes motor coordination, balance and posture, motor learning, attention, memory and emotional regulation. The AI bott missed: sleep, stress, thirst, hyperactivity, psychosis, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, urinary tract function, mutism, language acquisition, and much more. In 1996, I published an FMRI study in Science that is generally regarded as providing the first evidence that the 150 year assumption that the cerebellum was only a motor control device was incorrect. In fact, that study was designed to test whether the cerebellum was involved in motor control at all, based on predictions made by realistic computational models built from experimental evidence (i.e. non-Ptolemaic models). So what has happened since? This talk will consider how fMRI, employed as the ultimate correlation seeking technique, has distorted not only our understanding of the overall function of the cerebellum, but has also, in effect, undermined and distorted basic neuroscientific study of this remarkable structure. As such, epistemologically, the cerebellum may represent the ultimate example of what is wrong with neuroscience as well as how it can be fixed. Best to all in troubling times, Jim Dr. James M. Bower Ph.D. 541-499-7502 Simulating a 17th century landed gentry scientist. Also: Affiliate Professor of Biology Southern Oregon University Visiting Professor of Computational Neuroscience Biocomputation Research Group School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science University of Hertfordshire, UK Linked in <https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-m-bower-130163/> Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Bower>

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IRMA: Machine learning-based harmonization of 18F-FDG PET brain scans in multi-center studies
by Michael Biehl Feb. 19, 2025

Feb. 19, 2025

Our paper "IRMA: Machine learning-based harmonization of 18F-FDG PET brain scans in multi-center studies" by Sofie Lövdal et al. has been published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and is available online (open access): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00259-025-07114-4 In this work we apply interpretable machine learning systems for the analysis of 18-FDG PET brain scans from different medical centers. We show that the center origin of healthy control brain images acquired with different scanners/protocols can be identified with high confidence. Consequently, machine learning models trained with data from different scanners may be heavily impacted by this bias when applied to a clinically relevant problem, e.g. the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders. We propose IRMA (Iterated Relevance Matrix Analysis) as a recursive method to learn and disregard bias in PET feature vectors. Related code is freely available at https://github.com/SofieLovdal/IRMA-harmonization --------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Michael Biehl Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence P.O. Box 407, 9700 AK Groningen, NL https://www.cs.rug.nl/~biehl m.biehl(a)rug.nl

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[Meeting] CRNS Talk Series - Live Talk by Dr. Yumi Iwashita - NASA JPL, USA
by Amir Aly Feb. 18, 2025

Feb. 18, 2025

Dear All * *Apologies for cross-posting** The* Center for Robotics and Neural Systems* (CRNS) and *UK-Ireland IEEE RAS Chapter* are pleased to announce the talk of *Dr. Yumi Iwashita* from *NASA JPL, USA* on Wednesday, *February 26th *from *3:30 PM* to *5:00 PM* (*London time*) over *Zoom*. *Thank you for forwarding the invitation to any of your colleagues who might be interested*. >> *Events*: The CRNS talk series will cover a wide range of topics including Social and Cognitive Robotics, Computational Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Computational Linguistics, Cognitive Vision, AI and Machine Learning, and healthcare. More details are available here: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/robotics-neural-systems/whats-on <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.plymo…> >> *Link for the next event (**No Registration is Required**)*: Join Zoom Meeting *https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/95753314935?pwd=B9cuV9Dj6MWkhgrWEZrGsVz9brL21Q.1&from=addon <https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/95753314935?pwd=B9cuV9Dj6MWkhgrWEZrGsVz9brL21Q.1…>* >> *Title of the talk: **Exploring Moons: Preparing for Future Missions to Europa and the Moon* *Abstract*: Each planet has one or more moons, many of which hold immense potential for unlocking fundamental questions about the origins of life. Among the numerous moons in our solar system, Jupiter’s Europa, Earth’s Moon, and Saturn’s Enceladus are of particular scientific interest. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has undertaken several projects focused on these celestial bodies. In this talk, I will introduce two key projects related to Europa and the Moon. The first project, the Europa Lander Mission Concept, faces significant challenges, including a highly limited operational lifetime, constrained energy supply, intermittent communication with prolonged blackouts, and hazardous environmental conditions. Moreover, its extreme distance from Earth prevents reliance on real-time human control. To address these constraints, we developed an autonomous software prototype to test and validate planning and execution strategies for science-driven missions with minimal human intervention. Additionally, we demonstrated autonomous sampling techniques at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. The second project, LuNaMaps, focuses on autonomous lunar landing. Successful planetary landings require precise localization with respect to the targeted site. However, landing on the Moon presents unique challenges, including insufficient global high-resolution data, the need to validate existing datasets, and extreme illumination conditions—especially at the poles. To address these issues, we have developed methodologies for generating high-quality Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs) and tools to evaluate their accuracy and reliability, supporting future lunar exploration missions. >> If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, Regards -------------------------------------------- *Dr. Amir Aly*, PhD, FHEA, SIEEE Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Programme Manager of Artificial Intelligence UK and Ireland IEEE RAS Chapter Vice Chair Director of the Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems (CRNS) School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics Room A307 Portland Square, Drake Circus, PL4 8AA University of Plymouth, UK

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[Newsletter RTAIM] 16th RTAIM Seminar + 5th Inter. Conf. Phil. Mind (15-21 May 2025)
by steven gouveia Feb. 18, 2025

Feb. 18, 2025

Dear All, We are happy to announce the Call for Abstracts for the 5th International Conference Philosophy of Mind: Natural and Artificial Intelligence, which will happen between the 15-21 May 2025 at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Porto. The conference will be divided into two formats: 15-16 May fully online, and 19, 20 and 21 May 2025 fully in-person in Porto. Keynotes speakers are: Michael Spezio (Scripps College, USA), Anna Strasser (LMU-Munich), Gabriel Mograbi (Federal Uni. Rio Janeiro), Sara Lumbreras (Uni. Pontificia Comillas, Madrid) and Sofia Miguens (University of Porto). The best submitted talk will receive the Philosophy of Mind Award 2025 (waived fee). More information can be found here: https://ifilosofia.up.pt/activities/5-international-conference-philosophy-m… [deadline: 15 March 2025]. Following the 15th rTAIM Online Seminar (by Silvia Dadà, Uni. Pisa, cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FGyQaGbJw4) we are happy to announce the 16th rTAIM Online Seminar, with the participation of Caio Portella (Uni. São Paulo, Brazil) on the 19th February 2025, 15h00-16h30 Lisbon Time Zone, via Zoom with the title “Artificial Intelligence and Traditional Medicines: Bridging Ethics, Culture, and Innovation in Global Health". You can find the relevant Zoom information here: Link: https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/91602022360?pwd=l9Rn3i0NvdTt3pKU8dVe09W… ID: 916 0202 2360 Password: 797183 We are also happy to share new outputs of the RTAIM Project: 1. Gouveia, S.S. The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Preliminary Remarks. glob. Philosophy 35, 4 (2025) (cf. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10516-024-09737-y) [full paper can be provided via email upon request]. 2. Sincerely yours, RTAIM Team

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Birmingham-Leiden Summer School in Computational Social Cognition 2025
by Lei Zhang Feb. 17, 2025

Feb. 17, 2025

(sorry for cross-posting) We are delighted to welcome applications for the second edition of the Birmingham-Leiden Summer School in Computational Social Cognition (CSC) <https://www.compsoccog.com/>. The summer school is hosted at the University of Birmingham (UK), in collaboration with Leiden University (NL), and will take place from 2nd-5th September 2025. Apply by 18th April 2025 (see information below)! Attending the Birmingham-Leiden CSC Summer School will equip a diverse cohort of early career researchers (trainees through to junior faculty members) with the ability to understand, program, and interpret the output of a range of computational models of social cognition (e.g., reinforcement learning models, evidence accumulation models, Bayesian inference models) and their potential interaction with other modalities of measurements (e.g., fMRI, EEG, eye-tracking). Attendees will receive various types of training (keynote lectures, workshops, tutorials, etc) and work on a group project, both aimed at understanding modelling as well as the theoretical and practical inferences that can be drawn from computational models under social contexts. Keynote speakers: - Matthew Rushworth, University of Oxford (UK) - Diana Tamir, Princeton University, (USA) - David Amodio, University of Amsterdam, (NL) The full list of instructors is available at https://compsoccog.com/instructors-and-speakers. <https://compsoccog.com/instructors-and-speakers> For this year’s training program and organising committee, see https://www.compsoccog.com/about. To apply, please complete this form covering your motivation and experience <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcAccPZFTKLSfvKhwUwH3UQ-6FrpmiPbP…>, including a short CV. The deadline is 18th April 2025. Outcomes will be communicated in early May, with registration for successful applicants then open until mid-June. This year, the CSC Summer School received financial support from the William K. & Katherine W. Estes Fund in association with the Association of Psychological Science <https://www.psychologicalscience.org/members/awards-and-honors/estes-fund> We hope to see you this summer in Birmingham! Jo (2025 co-lead), Lei (2025 co-lead), & Anna, on behalf of the CSC 2025 organising committee --- *Dr. Lei Zhang (He/Him)* Associate Professor/Principal Investigator, Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH) & Institute for Mental Health (IMH) Psychology, College of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK *e: l.zhang.13(a)bham.ac.uk <l.zhang.13(a)bham.ac.uk> * *w: lei-zhang.net <https://lei-zhang.net/>* *t: @lei_zhang_lz <https://twitter.com/lei_zhang_lz>*

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Multiple PhD positions in Cognitive Neuroscience at SISSA - application deadline 20 March 2025
by Eugenio Piasini Feb. 17, 2025

Feb. 17, 2025

Up to 6 PhD positions in Cognitive Neuroscience are available at SISSA, Trieste, starting October 2025. SISSA is an elite postgraduate research institution for Maths, Physics and Neuroscience, located in Trieste, Italy. SISSA operates in English, and its faculty and student community is diverse and strongly international. The Cognitive Neuroscience group (https://phdcns.sissa.it/) hosts 6 research labs that study the neuronal bases of time and magnitude processing, neuronal foundations of perceptual experience and learning in various sensory modalities, motivation and intelligence, language, and neural computation. Our research is highly interdisciplinary; our approaches include behavioral, psychophysics, and neurophysiological experiments with humans and animals, as well as computational, statistical and mathematical models. Students from a broad range of backgrounds (physics, maths, medicine, psychology, biology) are encouraged to apply. The selection procedure is now open. The application deadline for the spring admission round is 20 March 2025 at 1pm CET. Please apply here<https://pica.cineca.it/sissa/phd-cns-01-2025/>, and see the admission procedure page<https://phdcns.sissa.it/admission-procedure> for more information. Please contact the PhD Coordinator Mathew Diamond (diamond(a)sissa.it) and/or your prospective supervisor for more information and informal inquiries.

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📢 Reminder: FRCCS 2025 – Submit Your Work Before the Deadline!
by Hocine Cherifi Feb. 17, 2025

Feb. 17, 2025

*Dear Colleagues,* 🚨 *Don’t miss your chance to contribute to FRCCS 2025!* We invite you to *submit your research* and join us in *Bordeaux* for an exciting exchange on *complex systems.* 🔥 *Submission Deadlines* ✅ *Main Conference:* *February 21, 2025* ✅ *Workshops:* *March 20, 2025* 🔗 *Submit your work:* CMT Submission Portal <https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/FRCCS2025/> 🌍 *More info:* FRCCS 2025 Website <https://iutdijon.u-bourgogne.fr/ccs-france/> ------------------------------ 🌟 *Discover FRCCS 2025 Workshops* In addition to the main conference, FRCCS 2025 features *specialized workshops* exploring key challenges in *complexity science.* These workshops provide *a unique platform* to engage with experts, exchange insights, and foster collaborations. 📢 *Workshops at FRCCS 2025:* 🎨 *Beauty in Complexity* – *Benjamin Renoust* 🔗 *Complex Networks and Blockchain for the Future of Trusted Connectivity* – *Annamaria Ficara* 🤝 *Emergence of Cooperation Across Scales* – *Emma Zajdela* 🧬 *Understanding Complex Systems in Biology – Tissue Growth, Morphogenesis, and Signal Dynamics* – *Xinyi Liu* 🧠 *Cognitive Biases in ABMs and Agent-Resolved Data* – *Damien Challet* 📊 *Decoding Success in Business and Economics: A Complexity Science Perspective* – *Fabian Braesemann* 🌐 *2nd Workshop on Complex Network Sparsification & Beyond* – *Hamida Seba* *📢** Ready to Contribute?* Be part of FRCCS 2025 by submitting your work and engaging in our workshops. We look forward to your contributions and to welcoming you to *Bordeaux!* 💡 *Submit Now:* CMT Submission Portal <https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/FRCCS2025/>

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Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] NEW: More seminars of VVTNS 5th season are now online
by David Hansel Feb. 16, 2025

Feb. 16, 2025

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide The following seminars are now available on the VVTNS website and YouTube channel ---------------------------------------------------------- Unraveling information processing through functional networks Hannah Choi Georgia Tech talk given on November 6, 2024 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 ------------------------------------ The algebra of cognition Chris Eliasmith University of Waterloo talk given on November 20, 2024 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 --------------------------------------- Back to the Continuous Attractor Memming Park Champalimaud Foundation talk given on November 27, 2024 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 --------------------------------------- Properties of memory networks with excitatory-inhibitory assemblies Claire Meissner-Bernard Friedrich Miescher Institute for biomedical research, Basel talk given on December 18, 2024 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 ---------------------------- Dense Associative Memory and its potential role in brain computation Dmitry Krotov IBM Research, Cambridge, USA talk given on January 8, 2025 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 ----------------------------- New methods for tracking and control of dynamic animal behavior during learning Jonathan Pillow Princeton University talk given on January 15, 2025 https://www.wwtns.online/past-seminars-2024-2025 ----------------------------- *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.* ᐧ

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World wide VVTNS series (fifth season): Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Jens-Bastian Eppler , Centre de Recerca Matemàtica Barcelona
by David Hansel Feb. 16, 2025

Feb. 16, 2025

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Jens-Bastian Eppler Centre de Recerca Matemàtica Barcelona <https://www.researchgate.net/institution/Goethe-Universitaet_Frankfurt_am_M…> on the topic of Representational drift reflects ongoing balancing of stochastic changes by Hebbian learning The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * Even in stable environments, sensory responses undergo continuous reformatting, a phenomenon known as representational drift. Using chronic calcium imaging in mouse auditory cortex, we show that during this representational drift signal correlations predict future noise correlations, suggesting that stimulus-driven co-activation strengthens effective connectivity via Hebbian-like plasticity. Linear network models reveal that these temporal dependencies between signal and noise correlations emerge only when Hebbian learning balances stochastic synaptic changes, preventing functional degradation. Our findings highlight how ongoing input-driven plasticity stabilizes neural representations amidst inherent synaptic variability. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*

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[Workshop in Mallorca] Embracing Complexity
by RUBÉN HERZOG Feb. 14, 2025

Feb. 14, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the Workshop titled "Embracing Complexity: Principled and Practical Approaches to Emergence". The workshop is scheduled for June 23-27 2025 at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (IFISC in Spanish) in Palma de Mallorca, Spain ( https://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/) ABOUT THE WORKSHOP This workshop will offer a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the applications of emergence in examining various real-world systems, including its use in understanding high-order interactions and complexity across diverse biological and ecological scales. With an emphasis on the micro-to-macro relations between cells, humans, and ecology, we aim to present emergence both as a practical tool and a principled approach. The mornings will be devoted to theory-driven presentations that draw from recent operational advances in capturing emergent phenomena, while the afternoons will feature hands-on sessions tailored for practical implementation of these topics. Something we are most thrilled about will be a coordinated outdoor excursion during the week to unwind and visit the island. This is not all, we also plan to have an immersive installation centred on exploring a collective experience of emergence with the voluntary participation of all the attendees. We hope you will also be pleased to join! REGISTRATION All applications should submit an abstract, which will be the key element for selection. After selection, participants will be asked to pay a fee of 400€, which will cover 5 nights (from the 22nd to the 26th of June) at the residency of the Universidad de las Islas Baleares, breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks and the excursion. SUBMISSION DEADLINE 14 of March of 2025. Selection will be informed by the end of April of 2025. Abstract submission here <https://forms.gle/eQhWYyC3mjd6EhYC9>. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Fernando Rosas, University of Sussex, UK Lauren Ross, University of California, Irvine, USA Antonella Tramacere, Università Roma Tre, Italy Ivana Konvalinka, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Carmen Miguell, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain Leonardo Gollo, IFISC, Spain David Sanchez, IFISC, Spain Lucas Lacassa, IFISC, Spain Borjan Milinkovic, NeuroPSI, France Pedro Mediano, Imperial College London, UK Julia Mindlin, University of Leipzig, Germany More information at https://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/events/conferences/embracing-complexity-25/ Organizers Mar Estarellas, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University marestarellas(a)gmail.com Ivan Mindlin, Paris Brain Institute, ivan.mindlin(a)icm-institute.org Ruben Herzog, IFISC, rherzoga(a)gmail.com Samy Castro, University of Strasbourg, castro.novoa.samy(a)gmail.com Borjan Milinkovic, NeuroPSI, borjan.milinkovic(a)icm-institute.org Scientific Chairman: Claudio R. Mirasso, IFISC, claudio(a)ifisc.uib-csic.es

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ICONIP2025 Call for Special Session/Workshop/Tutorial Proposals
by Kenji Doya Feb. 13, 2025

Feb. 13, 2025

ICONIP2025 Call for Special Session/Workshop/Tutorial Proposals We are delighted to hold the 32nd International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP) 2025 from November 20 to 24 at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). https://iconip2025.apnns.org/ We are now calling for proposals of special sessions during the single track main conference and parallel workshops and tutorials on the topics including machine intelligence, computational neuroscience, and neural network applications. Please find the details on the web page: https://iconip2025.apnns.org/submission/ We look forward to receiving diverse proposals of wide interest. Important Dates Special session proposal deadline: March 1st Workshop proposal deadline: March 1st Tutorial proposal deadline: May 1st Paper submission deadline: May 15th Notification of acceptance: July 15th Camera ready submission: August 15th Registration deadline: August 15th Conference dates: November 20-24 Inquiry: iconip2025(a)apnns.org ---- Kenji Doya <doya(a)oist.jp> Neural Computation Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan Phone: +81-98-966-8594; Fax: +81-98-966-2891 https://groups.oist.jp/ncu

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Junior/Postdoc Researchers in Computational Neuroscience (BRADY project) in Prague, Czech Republic
by Magda Pokorna Feb. 12, 2025

Feb. 12, 2025

*Junior Researchers: Postdoctoral Fellow, Graduate student or Research assistant in Computational Neuroscience within the BRADY project - Ref. No. 2025/11*** Junior researcher positions are available in the Complex Networks and Brain Dynamics group (COBRA, https://cobra.cs.cas.cz/) at the Institute of Computer Science, Prague, Czech Republic (https://www.cs.cas.cz/en) These positions are centered in the Research Work Package 1 (RWP1) of a larger, interdisciplinary consortium established for the OPJAK BRADY project. *The relevant RWP1 aims to establish a family of generative models of graded complexity capturing brain dynamics that would:* * Approximate spatial patterns observed in resting state neuroimaging, including topology and topography of functional connectivity. * Approximate temporal brain dynamics, including activity fluctuations, connectivity dynamics, and information flow. * Provide an internally consistent unified account of electrophysiological and fMRI data, linking to biologically interpretable latent variables and structural connectivity. * Allow predicting the effect of external stimulation, such as complex sensory and cognitive tasks, electric of magnetic stimulation, or pharmacological intervention. * Allow capturing the key axes of inter-subject variability, linking it to psychometric data. * Ultimately allow characterizing and predicting the trajectory of deviation from healthy brain dynamics in a range of psychiatric and neurological diseases. Further information can be found here:https://brady.cs.cas.cz/ <https://brady.cs.cas.cz/>. *Conditions:* * Positions are available immediately, i.e. starting from 1. 3. 2025 or later. * Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. * Contract is for 12-36 months duration, with exceptions negotiable. * Possibility of extension until end of project (30. 6. 2028), support for transition to tenure-track or external funding applications. * This is a full-time fixed term contract appointment. Part time contract negotiable. * Competitive salary based on qualifications and experience. * Bonuses and travel funding for conferences and research stays depending on performance. * No teaching duties. *Applicants should:* 1. Hold a PhD with the exception of Research assistant and Graduate student positions. 2. Have a strong background (commensurate to the respective career level) in some of the fields related to computational neuroscience - mathematical, statistical skills, experience with data analysis, machine learning, computer programming. 3. Be fluent in English. We seek curious, self-motivated, hard-working, team-spirited researchers. Prior experience with time series and network analysis is advantageous, but not required. *For informal inquiries* do not hesitate to contact the project Scientific Coordinator: /Ing. Mgr. /Jaroslav Hlinka, /Ph.D./ <https://www.cs.cas.cz/staff/hlinka/cs>, hlinka(a)cs.cas.cz <mailto:hlinka@cs.cas.cz>, http://www.cs.cas.cz/hlinka/ <http://www.cs.cas.cz/hlinka/>. *The applications* are to be sent to bradyadmin(a)cs.cas.cz <mailto:bradyadmincs.cas.cz> and should contain: 1.Curriculum Vitae. 2.Two letters of recommendation. The referees should send their recommendations directly to bradyadmin(a)cs.cas.cz <mailto:bradyadmin@cs.cas.cz>. 3.A proof of the obtained degree. 4.Mention the Ref. No. 2025/11. ___

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neurocog 2025 conference
by Tom Verguts Feb. 12, 2025

Feb. 12, 2025

Dear all, this is a save-the-date announcement for the Neurocog 2025 conference, which will take place in November of this year. Find all preliminary information at neurocog.be<http://neurocog.be/>, more is soon to follow. Tom

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Addressing gender-based violence in academia – Online seminar – 10 March 2025, 13h GMT
by Sidarus, Nura Feb. 11, 2025

Feb. 11, 2025

Addressing gender-based violence in academia Monday, 10 March, 13h GMT / 14h CET – online In commemoration of International Women's Month, Women in Cognitive Science-Europe and Royal Holloway University of London are honoured to welcome as our guest speaker Professor Anne Laure Humbert from the University of Gothenburg, expert in gender equality metrics and structural change in academia, who will particularly draw on her work in the uniSAFE and genderSAFE EU-funded projects. We aim to raise awareness and drive action on gender-based violence by exploring its various forms, the obstacles to reporting and addressing it, and effective strategies for prevention. This is a must-attend event for academics worldwide, at all career stages, who are dedicated to fostering safer and more equitable academic environments. Details and registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/addressing-gender-based-violence-in-academia… __________________________________________________________ Dr Nura Sidarus (she/her) Lecturer | Chair of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Team Department of Psychology | Office: Wolfson 248 Royal Holloway University of London | Egham | TW20 0EX Affiliate Member | Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL Chair of Women in Cognitive Science - Europe<https://www.womenincogsci.org/wics-europe> Computations in Agency and Metacognition Lab<https://www.compagencymeta.com/> nura.sidarus(a)rhul.ac.uk<mailto:nura.sidarus@rhul.ac.uk> | Personal Website<http://www.nurasidarus.com/> __________________________________________________________ This email, its contents and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. In certain circumstances, it may also be subject to legal privilege. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, or copying is not permitted. If you have received this email in error, please notify us and immediately and permanently delete it. Any views or opinions expressed in personal emails are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Royal Holloway, University of London. It is your responsibility to ensure that this email and any attachments are virus free.

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NEURON Spring course reminder - a few seats remain
by McDougal, Robert Feb. 10, 2025

Feb. 10, 2025

A few seats remain open for the 2025 NEURON Spring Course, but the registration deadline is Friday, February 28 -- less than three weeks from today -- so act now if you want to join us at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. This course will provide a thorough introduction to computational modeling of neurons and networks with NEURON and is suitable for individuals at all levels of expertise. It will start at 9 AM Sunday, March 9, and end at 5 PM Friday, March 14, 2025. For more information and the on-line application form, see The 2025 NEURON Spring Course<https://www.neuron.yale.edu/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=20497#p20497>

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Save the date: EITN EBRAINS Fall School November 19th to 28th, 2025, MARSEILLE, France
by DEPANNEMAECKER Damien Feb. 10, 2025

Feb. 10, 2025

Save the date: November 19th to 28th, 2025, MARSEILLE, France EITN EBRAINS Fall School in Computational Neuroscience The EITN EBRAINS Fall School in Computational Neuroscience is scheduled to be held in Marseille, France, from November 19th to 28th, 2025. This 10-day intensive program offers a comprehensive exploration of theoretical and computational neuroscience methods to build models from single neurons to whole-brain scales. The course covers cellular models, spiking neural networks, mean-field models, and whole-brain models, with corresponding lectures and tutorials provided for each topic, to be applied during project works. Ph.D. students, young postdocs, or master's students interested in learning about computational neuroscience techniques and utilizing various simulation environments for model construction will collaborate in thematic group projects under the mentorship of experienced tutors.

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Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] World wide VVTNS series (fifth season): Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Lea Duncker, Standford
by David Hansel Feb. 9, 2025

Feb. 9, 2025

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Lea Duncker Stanford on the topic of Evaluating dynamical systems hypotheses for pattern generation in motor cortex The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * The rich repertoire of skilled mammalian behavior is the product of neural circuits that generate robust and flexible patterns of activity distributed across populations of neurons. Decades of associative studies have linked many behaviors to specific patterns of population activity, but association alone cannot reveal the dynamical mechanisms that shape those patterns. Are local neural circuits high-dimensional dynamical reservoirs able to generate arbitrary superpositions of patterns with appropriate excitation? Or might circuit dynamics be shaped in response to behavioral context so as to generate only the low-dimensional patterns needed for the task at hand? Here, we address these questions within the primate motor cortex by delivering optogenetic and electrical microstimulation perturbations during reaching behavior. We develop a novel analytic approach that relates measured activity to theoretically tractable, dynamical models of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Our computational modeling framework allows us to quantitatively evaluate different hypotheses about the dynamical mechanisms underlying pattern generation against perturbation responses. Our results demonstrate that motor cortical activity during reaching is shaped by a self-contained, low-dimensional dynamical system. The subspace containing task-relevant dynamics proves to be oriented so as to be robust to strong non-normal amplification within cortical circuits. This task dynamics space exhibits a privileged causal relationship with behavior, in that stimulation in motor cortex perturbs reach kinematics only to the extent that it alters neural states within this subspace. Our results resolve long-standing questions about the dynamical structure of cortical activity associated with movement, and illuminate the dynamical perturbation experiments needed to understand how neural circuits throughout the brain generate complex behavior. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*

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postdoc positions in NeuroAI / sensorimotor control
by Gunnar Blohm Feb. 7, 2025

Feb. 7, 2025

Dear all, I'm looking for postdocs who'd like to apply for the Connected Minds PDFs with me and collaborators to work on the following potential projects: 1. explainable neuroAI for ANN / SNN models of motor control 2. neuromorphic robotic control 3. neurorobotic artistic performance 4. whole brain motor control networks identified through MEG and inverse optimal control If you're interested, please get in touch. You will need a solid quantitative background (coding, ML, signal processing) and neuroscience knowledge. More information about the 2-yr Connected Minds PDF application, including eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.yorku.ca/research/connected-minds/postdoctoral-fellowships/ I will of course help assembling the advisory team, writing the research project description and provide general guidance for the application. Feel free to check out my lab's website <http://compneurosci.com/> and WIKI <http://compneurosci.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page>to get a better sense of who we are and how we work... Next application deadline is March 21, 2025. Awards are $70k/yr+benefits and $8.5k/yr research allowance for 2 yrs + $10k for travel. Cheers, Gunnar -- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Vice-Director (Queen's) of Connected Minds Professor in Computational Neuroscience Queen's U, Kingston, ON, 18 Stuart Str, Botterell Hall Rm 229 http://www.compneurosci.com/ - Queen’s University is situated on the territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek -

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Summer school for young profs: Aug 23-30, 2025
by Gunnar Blohm Feb. 7, 2025

Feb. 7, 2025

Dear new professors, Konrad Körding and I have a special treat for you: We're hosting a new summer school teaching young prof in comp neuro and beyond how to start a successful career. * Dates: Aug 23-30, 2025 * Location: Kingston, ON, Canada * Details and application: http://compneurosci.com/Neuro4Pros/index.html * Application deadline: Mar 1, 2025 * Cost: free, but you need to cover your own travel to Kingston Sponsored by Community for Rigor <https://c4r.io/> and Connected Minds <https://www.yorku.ca/research/connected-minds/>, we have a terrific lineup of facilitators helping us to boost your career. We will talk about your research, the nature of your lab and what success and fun means to you. We will discuss principles of good science, writing abstracts, papers and grants, how to excel at lab management, acing mentorship, dealing with university administration and making your science accessible to all. But most importantly, we want to create a peer community for networking and mutual support. Cheers, Gunnar -- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Vice-Director (Queen's) of Connected Minds Professor in Computational Neuroscience Queen's U, Kingston, ON, 18 Stuart Str, Botterell Hall Rm 229 http://www.compneurosci.com/ - Queen’s University is situated on the territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek -

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INCF Virtual Town Hall Feb 11 & 12
by Helena Ledmyr Feb. 7, 2025

Feb. 7, 2025

[apologies for cross posting] At INCF we strive to serve the neuroscience community as best we can with resources that facilitate open science, data sharing, and data management. In order for us to be the most useful we can be, we need your input! Next week we're hosting a Town Hall for our community to give us input on what INCF should focus on in the coming years and we hope you will join us. 📅 We're hosting two time slots to accommodate for more time zones: - Feb 11, 8am CET - Feb 12, 8pm CET Register for the Town Hall here: bit.ly/3Q2UWKx If you're unable to join our virtual Town Halls we would very much appreciate feedback in this survey, which is based on input from an in-person Town Hall we organized during the INCF Assembly last year: bit.ly/40BlrvI All the best, Helena Ledmyr ----------------------------- Helena Ledmyr, PhD *Director* *Development and Communications* International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility Secretariat Karolinska Institutet. Nobels väg 15A, SE-171 77 Stockholm. Sweden Email: helena.ledmyr(a)incf.org Phone: +46 8 524 870 35 incf.org

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Postdoctoral position in data-driven cortical microcircuit modeling at Hay lab (CAMH, University of Toronto)
by Etay Hay Feb. 6, 2025

Feb. 6, 2025

Hay lab is looking for applicants for a postdoctoral position in modeling large-scale spiking activity (neuropixels) from prefrontal cortex in rodents in health and chronic stress in collaboration with Weizmann Institute of Science. Applicants should have experience in python, modeling, detailed conductance-based neuron and microcircuit models. The position is anticipated to start in spring-summer 2025, with duration of 2 years. Interested applicants should send their CV to Dr. Etay Hay, at: etay.hay(a)camh.ca<mailto:etay.hay@camh.ca> Hay lab is located at the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, within Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and Max Planck Institute in Toronto. The centre is located in downtown Toronto. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. AVIS DE CONFIDENTIALITÉ : Ce message électronique, ainsi que tout fichier qui y est joint, est reserve à l'usage exclusif du destinataire visé et peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels et privilégiés. Toute lecture, utilisation, divulgation ou distribution non autorisée est interdite. Si vous n'êtes pas le destinataire visé, veuillez en aviser l'expéditeur par retour de courriel et détruire toutes les copies du message original.

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Postdoc in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Essex (UK)
by De Feo, Vito Feb. 6, 2025

Feb. 6, 2025

Dear colleagues, We are looking for a candidate with a quantitative background who has completed (or is about to complete) a PhD in a quantitative field for a post-doctoral position within the RESTED (REbalancing circadian rhythms in Sleep and heart rate To Ease Dissociative symptoms) project in order to model the links between Mental Health and SCRD (sleep and other circadian rhythm disturbances). Underlying the project is evidence that feelings of dissociation are strongly associated with sleep disorders and are a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of depression, anxiety and psychosis. However, no one has investigated the role of dissociative symptoms in the links between SCRD (sleep and other circadian rhythm disorders) and MH (mental health). We propose to model how fluctuations in sleep and heart rate are related to fluctuations in dissociation, depression, anxiety and psychosis. Based on this understanding, our vision is to prevent the clinical course of these symptoms with low-cost interventions that improve sleep and heart rate. Specifically, in RESTED we want to determine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep, heart rate and symptoms of dissociation, depression, anxiety and psychosis in adolescents and young adults. In addition, we want to develop novel circadian biomarkers, sleep detection technologies and analytical approaches to model bidirectional associations between sleep, autonomic function and daily fluctuations in cognition and emotion. To do this, we will use Mediation Analysis, Granger Causality and Directed Information. Finally, we will use Explainable AI methods, and Machine Learning models to predict mental health variables from circadian variables. The PostDoc will be based at the University of Essex School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE) although the candidate will join our entire interdisciplinary team working in collaboration with the University of Sussex, Birmingham and the NHS. The University of Essex houses the Centre for Brain Science and various BCI laboratories, with access to state-of-the-art EEG and EMG equipment, computer-controlled electrical and mechanical stimulators and other devices to optimally measure sensory, motor and associated cortical activity. CSEE, ranked 6th in the UK as research power in the last REF, has several laboratories including one of the best BCI laboratories in Europe and a Health AI laboratory, and international collaborations with prestigious foreign research institutes including the Biotech campus of EPFL Geneva and the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ETH Zurich. Duties of the role To analyse data collected in pre-existing databases using statistical analysis techniques such as mediation analysis. To organise the data collected from participants using health bands (actigraphy, ECG, etc.) To use statistical and AI techniques to model causal relationships between the phenomena described in the project description.• To implement a sleep stages classifier using machine learning and deep learning techniques. To summarise the results obtained and participate in the writing of scientific publications. To undertake or manage practical elements of research such as setting up and conducting experiments, developing questionnaires and conducting fieldwork, recording data and identifying trends or patterns. To produce research outputs for publication at acceptable levels of volume and academic excellence and disseminate the result of research and scholarship through appropriate Knowledge Exchange activities (such as at relevant national and international conferences and scholarly publications not intended for the REF). To contribute to the development and maintenance or research resources (examples of which include household surveys, databases, specialist equipment and infrastructure, software packages and computer models) used within the Department or wider user community external to the Department. To, supervise and/or mentor postgraduate research students into relevant communities of research at Essex as appropriate to the departmental context to generate meaningful connections between research and education at Essex. Skills and qualifications required Applicants are expected to hold a PhD in a relevant field (engineering, mathematics, computer science or physics), or be close to completion of PhD. You will have the ability and willingness to complement and enhance the research project/department/school’s education and research strengths and areas of planned development. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal are also essential for the post. Specific knowledge and skills are also required: - Strong mathematical and programming skills. - Wide and documented experience in Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data Analysis - Experience with physiological signal analysis or expertise in computational neuroscience. - Proficiency in MATLAB or Python. - Demonstrated ability to work independently and overcome complex technical challenges. For more information about the position please contact Dr Vito De Feo vito.defeo(a)essex.ac.uk To apply: https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?… Best wishes, Vito Dr. Vito De Feo Lecturer in Health Artificial Intelligence for Brain and Mental Health Artificial Intelligence Team and Consumer Neuroscience Research Cluster Future Health Technology and Brain-Computer Interfaces laboratories, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK

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2025 School on Analytical Connectionism: Call for applications
by Lin, I-Chun Feb. 6, 2025

Feb. 6, 2025

Topical focus: Bias in learning 25 August - 5 September 2025, London www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025<http://www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2025> Apply by 18 April 2025 We are delighted to announce the 3rd edition of the School on Analytical Connectionism. This 2-week course will focus on analytical tools, including methods from statistical physics and probability theory, for probing neural networks and higher-level cognition. This course is appropriate for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in fields from psychology and neuroscience, to physics, computer science, and mathematics. The course will bring together neuroscience, psychology, and machine-learning communities, introducing participants to connectionist theories of higher-level cognition and psychology as well as analytical methods for neural-network analysis. Participants will work in teams, mentored by course lecturers and organisers, to develop novel research projects on topics related to analytical connectionism. Participants will present the research proposals in Week 1 and interim results at the end of the course. Confirmed Faculty: * Rémi Monasson (CNRS/ENS) * Tim Rogers (University of Wisconsin-Madison) * Tali Sharot (UCL/MIT) * Merav Ahissar (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) * Xuechunzi Bai (University of Chicago) * Marco Baity-Jesi (Eawag) * Mathew Diamond (SISSA) * Lasana Harris (UCL) * Tiago Maia (University of Lisbon) * Angela Radulescu (Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai) * Levent Sagun (FAIR) * Fanny Yang (ETHZ)

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New Frontiers in Associative Memories workshop at ICLR 2025
by Dmitry Krotov Feb. 5, 2025

Feb. 5, 2025

Dear Friends and Colleagues, We would like to advertise the call for papers for the New Frontiers in Associative Memories workshop at ICLR 2025. New architectures and algorithms, memory-augmented LLMs, energy-based models, Hopfield networks, associative memory and diffusion, and many other exciting topics. Please consider sharing this information with your students, postdocs, and anyone who might be interested. Website: https://nfam.vizhub.ai Submissions via Open Review: https://openreview.net/group?id=ICLR.cc/2025/Workshop/NFAM Deadline: February 14, 2025 EOD AOE Best wishes, Julia Kempe, Dmitry Krotov, Hilde Kuehne, Dan Lee, Sara Solla

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Workshop on Themes across Control and Reinforcement Learning (24-25 March, 2025), at CWI, Amsterdam, Netherlands
by Aditya Gilra Feb. 5, 2025

Feb. 5, 2025

Dear all, We invite registrations for a workshop on Themes across Control and Reinforcement Learning: https://www.cwi.nl/en/events/cwi-research-semester-programmes/workshop-them… Control theory and reinforcement learning converge on a shared objective: facilitating autonomous, real-time decision-making to optimize dynamical processes. Historically, these disciplines have diverged in assumptions regarding available prior information and in analytical techniques applied. However, recent advances bridging the two domains are fostering collaborations. As part of a research semester on Control Theory and Reinforcement Learning at CWI, Amsterdam, NL, we have a workshop on broad themes across these topics.Date: 24-25 March 2025Venue: CWI (Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science), Amsterdam, Netherlands We have a line-up of renowned speakers:Ann Nowé, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BelgiumBert Kappen, Radboud Univ, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDavide Grossi, Univ of Amsterdam, University of Groningen, NetherlandsFrans Oliehoek, TU Delft, NetherlandsHarri Lähdesmäki, Aalto University, FinlandJens Kober, TU Delft, NetherlandsSean Meyn, Univ. of Florida, USASofie Haesert, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands Please register at the earliest!https://www.cwi.nl/en/events/cwi-research-semester-programmes/workshop-themes-across-control-and-reinforcement-learning/ Looking forward to seeing you!Organizers of the research semester programme. Download and advertise the poster.

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Save the Date! COMPLEX NETWORKS 2025 – December 9-11, Binghamton, New York, USA
by Hocine Cherifi Feb. 5, 2025

Feb. 5, 2025

The *14th International Conference on Complex Networks & Their Applications (COMPLEX NETWORKS 2025)* will take place in *Binghamton, New York, USA, from December 9 to 11, 2025*! This annual event brings together *leading researchers, practitioners, and industry experts* to discuss cutting-edge advances in *network science, graph machine learning, complex systems and computational social science*. *📌** Key Details* 📅 *Conference Dates:* December 9-11, 2025 🎓 *Tutorials:* December 8, 2025 📍 *Location:* Binghamton, New York, USA 📖 *Proceedings Published by Springer* Stay tuned! The *Call for Papers* will be officially launched soon, inviting submissions in *network science, graph learning, social networks, biological systems, smart cities, and more*. Mark your calendar, and don’t miss this exciting opportunity to share your research with the global community! 📩 *Want to stay updated?* visit https://complexnetworks.org/ Best regards, *COMPLEX NETWORKS 2025 Organizing Committee*

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CAJAL course on Neuroscience and AI, 14 Jul - 1 Aug, 2025, Lisbon
by Sinz, Fabian Feb. 4, 2025

Feb. 4, 2025

Dear colleagues, We are organizing a new CAJAL Course on Neuroscience and AI. The course is an exciting opportunity for early-career researchers interested in NeuroAI. This intensive course will provide participants with hands-on training in deep learning, computational modeling, and AI-driven approaches to neuroscience research. Participants will work with an exciting line-up of world-class faculty to explore how AI can help model and understand brain function and behavior. 📅 Course Dates: 14 July - 1 August 2025 📍 Location: Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal ⏳ Application Deadline: March 7th 2025 💡 Stipends are available 🔗 Apply here: https://form.jotform.com/Cajal_training/neuroai-2025-applications Course Directors: Fabian Sinz - Georg August University Göttingen, Germany Leyla Isik - Johns Hopkins University, USA Mariya Toneva - Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, Germany Srini Turaga - HHMI Janelia Research Campus, USA Faculty Include: Jacob Yates – UC Berkeley, USA Martin Schrimpf – EPFL, Switzerland Maria Eckstein – Google DeepMind, UK Patrick Mineault – Amaranth Foundation, USA Carsen Stringer – HHMI Janelia Research Campus, USA Chris Summerfield – Oxford University, UK John Krakauer – Champalimaud, Portugal Memming Park – Champalimaud, Portugal Andreas Tolias – Stanford, USA Jonathan Pillow – Princeton University, USA Shailee Jain – UC San Francisco, USA Through hands-on tutorials and project work, participants will gain expertise in: Deep learning for vision and language (CNNs, transformers) Reinforcement learning algorithms State space models for neural time series Machine learning for biophysical models of neuronal circuits Please share with anyone who might be interested! Thanks for helping us spread the word! On behalf of the organizers, — Fabian Sinz — Dr. Fabian Sinz Professor for Machine Learning, Göttingen University Adjunct Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine https://sinzlab.org/

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postdoc in energetics of cognition (U Montréal)
by Becket Ebitz Feb. 3, 2025

Feb. 3, 2025

The Noise lab (PI: Becket Ebitz) at the Université de Montréal is looking for postdoctoral research associates for a project focused on understanding the energetics of exploratory behavior in humans and rhesus macaques. The project is focused on identifying links between statistical measures of the dynamics of cognitive states and the metabolic demands of the brain and body. We know that a diversity of perspectives improves and invigorates our work and we encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and with all identities. *About the environment:* We are a systems/cognitive neuroscience lab working on decision-making and executive function. The lab is highly sociable, values kindness, cooperation, and a good work-life balance, and covers costs related to professional development, conference travel, computers and supplies, and eligible moving expenses. We prize collaboration and most projects in the lab are led by teams of students and postdocs who are excited about sharing their skills and expertise. More information about our research is available on our website (http://ebitzlab.com) and in our recent papers. The lab is located in the Department of Neurosciences at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) and part of a number of research centers, including the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau et l’Apprentissage (CIRCA; Center for interdisciplinary research on the brain and learning) and Unifying Neuroscience-AI Quebec (UNIQUE). UdeM is one of the top research institutions in Canada and is especially well known for its work in data science, machine learning and AI (i.e. the world-renowned Mila Research Institute and IVADO, a $210 million Canada-First Research Excellence Fund program). The ideal candidate will be excited about building connections and collaborations across campus. *Position details:* Research projects in the lab involve behavioral and physiological experiments in humans, large-scale electrophysiology studies in the rhesus macaque, and computational modeling. We are open to candidates who are excited to focus on any and all of these techniques. This specific project is funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Its goal is to understand how and why high-stress, energetically-demanding environments compromise cognitive flexibility. The project will build on computational and experimental techniques we developed in the lab to measure the neural computations involved in cognitive flexibility and characterize their energetic costs in the brain and body. The ideal candidate(s) will be excited to take the lead on their project(s), coordinating with technical staff, other students and postdocs, the PI, and other collaborators for support as needed. There are opportunities for international collaboration, including in analyzing human intracranial recording data, patient behavioral and/or imaging data, and rodent fiber photometry data. The postdoctoral researcher will also have opportunities to mentor undergraduate and graduate students and to participate in professional development activities related to their long-term career goals. *Basic Qualifications:* - PhD expected or obtained in Neuroscience, Psychology, or Physiology, or computationally-intensive field (i.e. Math, Physics, or Engineering). - A record of academic productivity including several conference presentations and at least one manuscript in press. *Preferred Qualifications:* - Extensive programming experience (ideally with Matlab and/or Python). - Previous experience in collecting and analyzing neurophysiology data. - If working with NHPs, previous experience with NHPs or other large mammals. - Familiarity with dynamical systems theory, control theory, and/or linear algebra. - Solid written and oral communication skills in English. *How to Apply:* Please send a pdf of your CV to becket(a)ebitzlab.com. In your email, please describe 1) why you are interested in the position, and 2) your previous research. We will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue until the positions are filled. The start date is negotiable.

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Save the Date: International Artificial Intelligence Summer School – IAISS 2025, Sept 21-25, Riva del Sole Resort & SPA @ Tuscany * Early Registration: by 23 March *
by ICAS Organizing Committee Feb. 3, 2025

Feb. 3, 2025

* Apologies for multiple copies. Please forward to anybody who might be interested, thanks. * SAVE THE DATE: IAISS 2025 Early Registration: by 23 March #IAISS2025, A Residential Summer School in AI & Generative AI for Science and Engineering IAISS 2025 is a full-immersion 5-day Summer School in Tuscany on cutting-edge advances in AI and Generative AI with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. Riva del Sole Resort & SPA @ Tuscany, Italy, Sept 21-25, 2025 https://2025.iaiss.cc iaiss(a)icas.cc EARLY REGISTRATION: by March 23 (AoE) https://2025.iaiss.cc/registration/ Oral Presentation Submission Deadline: by March 23 (AoE) Applicant *may* submit (during the Registration Process) a research abstract (max 2 pages; any format) for presentation. School directors and the scientific committee will review the abstracts and will recommend for poster and/or short talk. Abstract must be submitted by Sunday March 23, 2025 during the registration process. LECTURERS: Each Lecturer will hold up to four lectures on one or more research topics. Yuki Asano, University of Technology Nuremberg, Germany Pierre Baldi, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Lucas Beyer, OpenAI, Zürich, Switzerland Wessel Bruinsma, Microsoft Research Amsterdam, The Netherlands Sam Buchanan, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, USA Floris Geerts, University of Antwerp, Belgium Sven Giesselbach, Fraunhofer Institute - IAIS, Germany & Telecom Systems Chin-Wei Huang, Microsoft Amsterdam, The Netherlands Vicky Kalogeiton, École Polytechnique Paris, France Thomas Kipf, Google DeepMind, USA Yi Ma, University of California, Berkeley, USA Abigail See, Google DeepMind, London, UK Michal Valko, Meta Paris, France More Speakers TBA TUTORIAL SPEAKERS: Druv Pai, University of California, Berkeley, USA Yaodong Yu, University of California, Berkeley, USA Peng Wang, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA https://2025.iaiss.cc/lecturers/ https://2025.iaiss.cc/lectures/ VENUE: https://2025.iaiss.cc/venue/ Riva del Sole Resort & SPA Località Riva del Sole‚ Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) CAP 58043‚ Tuscany‚ Italy p: +39-0564-928111 e: booking.events(a)rivadelsole.it w: https://www.rivadelsole.it/en/ REGISTRATION: https://2025.iaiss.cc/venue/ CERTIFICATE & 8 ECTS: The International Artificial Intelligence Summer School – IAISS 2025 is a full-immersion five-day Summer School at the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA (Castiglione della Pescaia – Grosseto – Tuscany, Italy) on cutting-edge advances in AI and Generative AI with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. The Summer School provides a stimulating environment for PhD students, Post-Docs, junior academics (only up to assistant professors), early career researchers, and industry leaders (and highly motivated, promising and brilliant Master students / BSc students). Participants will also have the chance to present their results with talks, and to interact with their colleagues, in a convivial, professional and productive environment. PhD students, PostDocs, Industry Practitioners and Junior Academics (only up to assistant professors) will be typical profiles of the IAISS attendants. The Summer School will involve a total of 36–40 hours of lectures, according to the academic system the final achievement will be equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students (and some strongly motivated Master Student – BSc Student) attending the Summer School. Language: English. To participate in the IAISS 2025, all attendants must (1/2) register for the school (by March 23, 2025) and (2/2) book accommodation at the school venue, “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA” (by July 23, 2025); all attendants must stay at the “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA”. Once accommodation has been booked at “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA“, the participant must send this information (including the Booking Number) to the IAISS organizing committee (iaiss(a)icas.cc) IAISS is a residential school, so all lecturers and participants must reside in the same Hotel (Riva del Sole Resort & SPA). No exceptions are made. For privacy reasons, the Hotel cannot match people. If you have someone to share the apartment with, please send to the Hotel ( booking.events(a)rivadelsole.it ) the name, surname and email address. Otherwise the solution is to book an apartment in single use. IAISS is organized as a non-profit scientific event. Please note that only IAISS registered participants can book a room (in hotel or apartment) at the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA with the accommodation form attached in the registration email and with the IAISS Discounted Rates. The Booking Office of the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA will verify the names of the participants and the corresponding registration number to confirm the booking. Anyone interested in participating in IAISS 2025 should register as soon as possible: https://2025.iaiss.cc/registration/ See you in Riva del Sole in September! IAISS 2025 Organizing Committees. https://2025.iaiss.cc iaiss(a)icas.cc Obviously, this is only a Call for Participation, to have complete and updated information we recommend you access the relevant website: https://2025.iaiss.cc the News Section: https://2025.iaiss.cc/category/news/ and the FAQ: https://2025.iaiss.cc/faq/ * Apologies for multiple copies. Please forward to anybody who might be interested, thanks * *8th Advanced Course on Data Science & Machine Learning - ACDL 2025, **9**-13 June*, Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) – Tuscany, Italy *An Interdisciplinary Residential Course: from Deep Learning to Generative Artificial Intelligence* *Early Registration: by February 23, 2025 (AoE)* https://acdl2025.icas.events/registration/ https://acdl2025.icas.events/ acdl(a)icas.cc The Course is equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students and the Master Students attending the Course. *11th International Conference on Learning, Optimization and Data – LOD 2025, *21–24 September Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) Tuscany, Italy https://lod2025.icas.events/ lod(a)icas.cc *5th Advanced Course ** and Symposium **on Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience – ACAIN 2025,* 21–24 September Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) Tuscany, Italy https://acain2025.icas.events/ acain(a)icas.cc *Symposium **Author Registration Deadline: March 23 * *Course Early Registration Deadline: March 23* The Course is equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students and the Master Students attending the Course. *ICAS - The Interdisciplinary Centre of Advanced Studies* *https://icas.cc/* <https://icas.cc/>

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PhD opportunity in Astrocyte-Neuron computational modelling- Deadline 24th Feb
by Flanagan, Bronac Feb. 3, 2025

Feb. 3, 2025

The Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC) at Ulster University is advertising a funded PhD position for a project titled "Unlocking the Brain's Balance: Understanding Astrocyte Influence on Neural Communication Through Computer Modelling." This cutting-edge research project at Ulster University dives into one of the brain's most fascinating mechanisms: the conversation between brain cells that keeps our minds healthy and functioning. Our brains are incredibly complex networks where different types of cells work together in perfect harmony. At the centre of this research are astrocytes - star-shaped brain cells that act as the brain's supervisors. These cells manage a crucial molecule called GABA through a specialised transporter (GAT-3), which acts like a traffic controller for brain signals. When this system doesn't work properly, it can lead to various conditions that affect millions worldwide, including epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What We'll Do Using advanced computer modelling, this project will create detailed models of how brain cells interact, study how GABA levels affect brain circuit behaviour and investigate how changes in this system might lead to neurological conditions. Throughout this PhD, you'll gain expertise in: * Computational neuroscience modelling * Biophysical modelling of cellular processes * Scientific programming and version control * Collaboration with experimental neuroscientists More details about this position are available at Unlocking the Brain's Balance: Understanding Astrocyte Influence on Neural Communication Through Computer Modelling<https://www.ulster.ac.uk/doctoralcollege/find-a-phd/11b-intelligent-systems…> For more information about the research environment at ISRC, visit About Intelligent Systems Research Centre<https://www.ulster.ac.uk/research/topic/computer-science/intelligent-system…> The PhD position is at Ulster University's Derry campus, one of the UK's top 10 research institutions. Recently named 'University of the Year 2024' by Times Higher Education, Ulster University is now the highest-ranked higher education institution in the UK and Ireland. The historic city of Derry, situated on the River Foyle in Northwest Northern Ireland, offers an ideal location between the Wild Atlantic Way and Causeway Coast. Its rich cultural heritage, vibrant atmosphere, and numerous family activities make it an excellent place to live. Please contact Bronac (b.flanagan(a)ulster.ac.uk<mailto:b.flanagan@ulster.ac.uk>) if you are interested or have questions. Should you receive this email outside of business hours, no reply is required until the next working day This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The Ulster University was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

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World wide VVTNS series (fifth season): Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 11:00 am EST| Matthew Golub, University of Washington
by David Hansel Feb. 2, 2025

Feb. 2, 2025

[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.on…> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Matthew Golub University of Washington on the topic of Active learning of neural population dynamics The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * Recent advances in techniques for monitoring and perturbing neural populations have greatly enhanced our ability to study circuits in the brain. In particular, two-photon holographic optogenetics now enables precise photostimulation of experimenter-specified groups of individual neurons, while simultaneous two-photon calcium imaging enables the measurement of ongoing and induced activity across the neural population. Despite the enormous space of potential photostimulation patterns and the time-consuming nature of photostimulation experiments, very little algorithmic work has been done to determine the most effective photostimulation patterns for identifying the neural population dynamics. Here, I will discuss ongoing development of active learning techniques to efficiently select which neurons to stimulate such that the resulting neural responses will best inform a dynamical model of the neural population activity. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.* ᐧ

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Konstanz School of Collective Behaviour 2025 ( Application open )
by Ahmed El Hady Jan. 31, 2025

Jan. 31, 2025

*Konstanz School of Collective Behaviour 2025* *Konstanz, Germany * *Deadline to apply: April 15th, 2025* ** The Konstanz School of Collective Behaviour (KSCB) <https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/kscb/about/> will take place between /21st July 2025 – 8th August 2025/ at the Cluster of Excellence Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour (CASCB) at the University of Konstanz <https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/>. Uni Konstanz is a University of Excellence and ranked #1 young university in Germany with “Collective Behaviour" <https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/> as one of five research foci. Konstanz <https://www.konstanz.de/start> is a vibrant, small city located on the border between Germany and Switzerland, on the shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). Over three weeks, students will delve deeply into the topic of collective behaviour with lectures, hands-on tutorials, and projects, making it a unique and unforgettable experience. The school faculty will cover collective behaviours across a variety of species from cells, worms, drosophila, fish to non – human primates and human. A set of tutorials delving into state-of-the-art quantitative methods used to study collective behaviour will complement the lectures. At the end of the school, students will work on independent projects guided by our resident faculty. Accommodation will be provided and paid by the organizers. A limited number of travel grants will be provided and a registration fee will be due (500 Euros) once the student is admitted to the Konstanz School of Collective Behaviour. The registration fee will be waived to those coming from underrepresented minorities and those in need of financial support. The submission of applications for the second Konstanz School of Collective Behaviour was open until April 15, 2025. We will inform you on May 15, 2025 whether your application was successful For further information and application, visit our website: _https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/kscb/application-procedure/ <https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/kscb/application-procedure/> _ *KSCB 2025 faculty : * ·Iain Couzin ( Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Konstanz) ·Peter Dayan ( Max Planck Institute of Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen) ·Ilya Nemenman ( Emory University , USA) ·Yonatan Loewenstein ( Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) ·Aneta Koseska ( Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology of Behavior, Bonn) ·Francesco Ginelli ( Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Italy) ·Thejasvi Ravindra Beleyur ( Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz) ·Liang Li ( Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz) ·Giovanni Reinna ( University of Konstanz, Konstanz) ·Einat Couzin-Fuchs ( University of Konstanz, Konstanz ) ·Ofer Feinermann ( Weizmann Institute of Sciences, Israel) ·Naama Brenner ( Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) ·Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin ( Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Konstanz) ·Wataru Toyokawa (Riken Center for Brain Science in Tokyo). ·Raphaela Heesen ( University of Konstanz, Konstanz) ·Caroline Schuppli ( Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Konstanz) *Contact: **ahmed.el-hady(a)uni-konstanz.de <mailto:ahmed.el-hady@uni-konstanz.de> * All the best regards, Ahmed El Hady On behalf of the KSCB organizational committee Dr. Ahmed El Hady Principal Investigator Cluster for Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz Room ZT 907 Postbox 687 Tel.: +49 7531 88-4742

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Bio-inspired deep learning workshop
by Maximilian Eggl Jan. 31, 2025

Jan. 31, 2025

Hey everyone, We are pleased to announce a workshop on bio-inspired deep learning led by Dr. Angus Chadwick (link to his website can be seen here <https://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/achadwic/>) from the University of Edinburgh and funded by the support of the Joachim Herz Foundation. Accommodation, meals and venue are funded by the foundation and the participants only need to cover their travel cost. The workshop will take place from the 22nd to the 25th of April, 2025, near Mainz. This workshop will provide attendees with a unique opportunity to learn from one of the leading experts in the field and explore the intersection of mathematical modelling, machine learning, and data analysis to understand how the brain works. We believe this workshop will be of great interest to those interested in acquiring dimensionality reduction tools to analyze large-scale, time-varying systems. Biological insights as well as machine learning skills are key and therefore we would encourage applications from doctoral candidates/postdocs from both biological and computational fields. More information on the workshop and a link to the application can be found in the attached flyer (which can also be found here <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/347ns89xrsrkypb5n6s7q/Workshop_Flyer.pdf?rlk…>). You can also directly access the application <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_BDJdIJd8qLDDBCaCAMIStqit-FEKwE0…>here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_BDJdIJd8qLDDBCaCAMIStqit-FEKwE0…>. The deadline for the application is the 21st of February at 12:00 (CET). If you have any questions or are interested in attending this workshop, please do not hesitate to contact either Max at maximilianfeggl(a)gmail.com <mailto:maximilianfeggl@gmail.com>, Laura at bernaez.laura(a)gmail.com <mailto:bernaez.laura@gmail.coms> or Janko at petkojan(a)uni-bonn.de <mailto:petkojan@uni-bonn.de> I would also be grateful if you could forward this to anyone you think would be interested and advertise it in your institutions. We look forward to seeing you there! Sincerely, Laura, Max & Janko

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