Wednesday, April 30, 2014

[Comp-neuro] Phd position in the Human Brain Project: Principles of Brain Computation and Learning

We are inviting applications for a fully funded Phd position at the Graz
University of Technology (Faculty for Computer Science) for research on

Principles of Brain Computation and Learning

in the Human Brain Project https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/
It is planned to combine this Phd position with a part-time position as
University Assistant, thereby providing the first step for a possible
university career.

Our Lab in Graz focuses currently on the development of new paradigms
for probabilistic inference and learning in networks of spiking neurons
(either in brain networks, or in neuromorphic hardware). Preceding
results on which we will build can be found on
http://www.igi.tugraz.at/maass/publications.html

Excellent research skills, a genuine interest in answering fundamental
open questions about computation and learning in networks of spiking
neurons, and the capability to work in an interdisciplinary research
team are expected.

Applications are especially invited by students who have a strong
background in a theoretical area related to machine learning,
computational theory or probabilistic models, and who also have
substantial experience in programming and computer simulations.
Our doctoral program will lead to a Phd in Computer Science.

Please send your CV, information about your grades, and a letter
describing your scientific interests and goals by May 21 to my assistant
Regina Heidinger:

regina.heidinger@igi.tugraz.at

It would be helpful if you could include names and email addresses of
referees, and pdf files of your master thesis and/or other publications.
--
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Maass
Institut fuer Grundlagen der Informationsverarbeitung
Technische Universitaet Graz
Inffeldgasse 16b , A-8010 Graz, Austria
Tel.: ++43/316/873-5822
Fax ++43/316/873-5805
http://www.igi.tugraz.at/maass/Welcome.html
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

[Comp-neuro] Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, PhD Programme

Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London
4 year PhD Programme

The Gatsby Unit is a centre for theoretical neuroscience and machine
learning, focusing on unsupervised, semi-supervised and reinforcement
learning, neural dynamics, population coding, Bayesian and nonparametric
statistics, kernel methods, and applications of these to the analysis of
perceptual processing, neural data, machine vision and bioinformatics.
It provides a unique opportunity for a critical mass of theoreticians to
interact closely with each other, and with other world-class research
groups in related departments at UCL, including the Sainsbury Wellcome
Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, with which we will shortly
share a building, and Biosciences, Computer Science, Functional Imaging,
Physics, Physiology, Psychology, Neurology, Ophthalmology and
Statistics, the cross-faculty Centre for Computational Statistics and
Machine Learning, and also with other UK and overseas universities.

The Unit has openings for exceptional PhD candidates. Applicants
should have a strong analytical background, a keen interest in
neuroscience and/or machine learning and a relevant first degree, for
example in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Neuroscience,
Physics, Psychology or Statistics.

The PhD programme lasts four years, including a first year of intensive
instruction in techniques and research in theoretical neuroscience and
machine learning.

All students are fully funded, regardless of nationality. The Unit
also welcomes applications from students with pre-secured funding or
who are currently soliciting other scholarship/studentships.

We will review applications as soon as they are complete (including a
CV, statement of research interests and letters from three referees)
until the positions are filled. Early application is thus advised.

Full details of our programme, and how to apply, are available at:
http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/teaching/phd

For further details of research interests please see
http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/research.html
and the individual faculty webpages at
http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/members.html
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[Comp-neuro] Postdoc EEG data analysis and source modeling

The Research & Development Unit „MEG and Cortical Networks" at the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science at Leipzig offers a position as

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

in the area of Medical Signal Processing and Biophysical Modelling.

The research project aims at the development of fast and effective processing techniques for EEG data.
The task of the successful applicant will be to develop methods for artefact identification and correction, spatial interpolation and source reconstruction.

The successful applicant holds a PhD degree in informatics, mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering or similar. Experience with the measurement and analysis of brain signals is an advantage, but not essential. A keen interest in the biological foundations of cognition should be present. Decent programming skills are of importance.

In order to increase the proportion of female staff members, applications from female scientists are particularly encouraged. Disabled applicants are preferred if qualification is equal.

The position is available for 2 years. Payment is according to the German scale TVöD 13.

The selection procedure starts as the applications come in. Please send your application by email, citing the code number "PD 14" to:

PD Dr.habil. Thomas R. Knösche
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
[phone: +49 341 9940-2619]
[email: knoesche@cbs.mpg.de]

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[Comp-neuro] Fully funded PhD position in the Neural Computation Lab Italian Institute of Technology

I have an open fully funded PhD position in computational neuroscience in my laboratory at the Italian Institute of Technology in Trento. Stipend, tuition fees and research expenses of the successful candidate will be fully covered by the Italian Institute of Technology. The topic of investigation is how neuronal populations encode and exchange sensory information.

 

The successful candidate will begin the PhD in November 2014 and will be registered with the Doctoral Programme at the University of Trento (ranked 1st in Italy according to the Times Higher Education). All PhD courses are given in English, and the working language of the research institute is English.

 

The selection requires a Master level degree (Laurea Magistrale or equivalent), a certifiable B2 level of English (or BA/BS/MA/MSc done entirely in English), and a proposed research project. There are no constraints on nationality for the applicants.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday May 13, 2014 at 4:00 p.m Italian Time.

 

Please visit  the Doctoral Programme's website http://www.unitn.it/en/drcimec/10140/admission-doctoral-school-cognitive-and-brain-sciences

for information pertaining to the timeline of the application process and for a link to the actual online application.

 

Note that the candidates will have to apply for the topic "computational neuroscience" (see http://www.unitn.it/en/drcimec/32957/30th-cycle-topics-2014-call)  and submit with application a brief summary of the proposed research project applicants will submit. This brief document should be intended as a description of the candidate's research interests within computational neuroscience rather than a detailed research project.

 

Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to write to me (stefano.panzeri@iit.it) as soon as possible attaching their CV to discuss the application further. However, applications will be formally considered only if submitted through the above official link of the University of Trento PhD selection programme.

 

Regards

Stefano Panzeri

Research Professor

Italian Institute of Technology

Neural Computation Laboratory – Rovereto (Trento) Italy

http://cncs.iit.it/people/iit-unitn-neural-computation/senior-researcher/stefano-panzeri.html

http://cncs.iit.it/research-labs/neural-computation.html

Monday, April 28, 2014

[Comp-neuro] NEURON Summer Course openings

Space is still available in the NEURON Summer Course, but you'll have to
act quickly to make sure you qualify for the early registration rates.

NEURON Fundamentals
June 21-24
This addresses all aspects of using NEURON to model individual neurons,
and also introduces parallel simulation and the fundamentals of modeling
networks.

Parallel Simulation with NEURON
June 25-26
This is for users who are already familiar with NEURON and need to
create models that will run on parallel hardware.

Apply by Friday, May 9, and pay only
$1050 for the Fundamentals course
$650 for the Parallel Simulation course
$1600 for both

Registration fees for applications received after May 9 are
$1200 for Fundamentals
$750 for Parallel Simulation
$1800 for both

These fees cover handout materials plus food and housing
on the campus of UC San Diego. Registration is limited,
and the registration deadline is Friday, May 30, 2014.

For more information and the on-line registration form,
see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/courses

--Ted
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[Comp-neuro] INNS Request for nominations: Hebb, Helmholtz, Gabor, and Young Investigator awards

The International Neural Network Society's Awards Program is established to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Neural Networks. Up to three awards, at most one in each category, of up to $1,000 ($500 cash award plus up to $500 travel award), are presented annually to senior, highly accomplished researchers for outstanding contributions made in the field of Neural Networks.

The Hebb, Helmholtz and Gabor Awards:

- The Hebb Award - recognizes achievement in biological learning.

- The Helmholtz Award - recognizes achievement in sensation/perception.

- The Gabor Award - recognizes achievement in engineering/application.

- Young Investigator Awards: Up to two awards of $500 each are presented annually to individuals with no more than five years postdoctoral experience and who are under forty years of age, for significant contributions in the field of Neural Networks.

Nominations:

1. The Awards Committee should receive nominations of no more than two pages in length, specifying:

- The award category (Hebb, Helmholtz, Gabor, or Young Investigator) for which the candidate is being nominated.
- The reasons for which the nominee should be considered for the award.
- A list of at least five of the nominee's important and published papers.

2. The curriculum vitae of both the nominee and the nominator must be included with the nomination, including the name, address, position/title, phone, fax, and e-mail address for both the nominee and nominator.

3. The nominator must be an INNS member in good standing. Nominees do not have to be INNS members. If an award recipient is not an INNS member, they shall receive a free one-year INNS membership.

4. Nominators may not nominate themselves or their family members.

5. Individuals may not receive the same INNS Award more than once

All nominations will be considered by the Awards Committee and selected ones forwarded to the INNS Board of Governors, along with the Committee's recommendations for award recipients. Voting shall be performed by the entire BoG.

The INNS Award Committee members must be INNS Governors in the year that they are appointed. The 2014 Committee consists of Prof. Jürgen Schmidhuber, Prof. Leonid Perlovsky, and Prof. Hava Siegelmann.

Please email the 2015 nominations along with their attachments directly to the chair of the Awards Committee at juergen@idsia.ch, with a copy to the Secretary of the Society at bill@billhowell.ca by June 1, 2014. Please use the following subject line in the email: INNS award nomination.

Please find additional information here: http://www.inns.org/awards


Jürgen Schmidhuber
http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/


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[Comp-neuro] CFA: Two postdoctoral positions in mathematical modeling and machine learning for collective behavior

CFA: Two postdoctoral positions in mathematical modeling and machine
learning for collective behavior

Dear all,

We have openings for two postdocs on our project for relating social
behavior to brain morphology. A full description of the applications
can be found at

http://www.uu.se/en/jobs/jobs-detail-page/?positionId=36625

Best,
-Kristiaan Pelckmans

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[Comp-neuro] Post-doc (or PhD student) in Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience

Post-doc (or PhD student) in Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience

– What is the role of the cortical layers?

 

A post-doc (or PhD student) position is available to study computational models about the roles of the different layers of the cerebral cortex in the Vision & Cognition group (head Pieter Roelfsema) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam.

 

What roles do the different cortical layers play in visual processing? This project, funded by the Human Brain Project, aims to build computational models for the unique contributions of the different cortical layers to perceptual processing. We recently discovered that the cortical layers have different roles in visual perception (Self et al., Curr. Biol, 2013). We now wish to understand this subdivision of labor by making models of the layers and the interactions between them that take place in the visual cortex during perception. The candidate will have close interactions with researchers addressing laminar processing with high-field fMRI.

 

The successful applicant will have a solid computational background and an interest in cognitive neuroscience, preferably affinity with neuroimaging, and good programming skills.

 

Appointment:

The position involves a temporary appointment for 2-4 years.

 

To apply, please send application letter, CV and two letters of recommendation to:

 

Tini Eikelboom

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience

Meibergdreef 47

1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Telephone: +31-20-5664587

E-mail: t.eikelboom@nin.knaw.nl

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

[Comp-neuro] Two PhD Positions and one Postdoc Position in Machine Learning / Sensory Data Processing

The Machine Learning research group at the University of Oldenburg,
Germany, is seeking to fill

Two PhD Research Positions and one (postdoctoral) Research Associate
Position

All positions are part of the Machine Learning group which develops
learning and inference technology for sensory data. We pursue basic
research, develop new technology, and apply our approaches to different
tasks. Our research hereby combines modern probabilistic data
descriptions, modern computer technology and insights from the
neurosciences. We contribute to the improvement of current methods for
computer hearing, pattern recognition and computer vision as well as to
the understanding of biological and artificial intelligence. Research
will be conducted in close collaboration with leading international and
national research labs. Our research field can be considered as part of
the Data Sciences, Computational Sciences, or Big Data approaches (to
name some terms recently used in the media).

Salary levels of the positions are based on the TV-L scale of the German
public sector (Öffentlicher Dienst). After the deduction of health
insurance, pension tax and other taxes, the salary for the PhD positions
amounts to approximately 1600 EUR per month, and to about 2000 EUR per
month for the (postdoctoral) Research Associate Position. Depending on
the experience of the candidates, the salary can be higher. But please
note that the only definite sources for all information on the positions
including salary, job description and application/selection procedure
are the central websites of the University of Oldenburg.

For the PhD positions see:
http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/stellen/?stelle=63323
For the postdoc position see:
http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/stellen/?stelle=63322

Depending on the skills and interests of the candidates, the research
focus will be on the development of new probabilistic learning
algorithms and/or their applications to high-dimensional sensory data.
Projects can emphasize basic research for general purpose learning and
pattern recognition, or applications of algorithms to specific tasks.

Candidates for the PhD positions have to hold a Master degree in
Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related subject (at
the latest at the time when the contract is signed).
Analytical/mathematical skills and programming skills (e.g. python,
matlab, C++) are required for all candidates. Experiences with Machine
Learning algorithms are desirable. Experiences with acoustic data, other
types of sensory data, and an interest in the neurosciences are a plus
but are not strictly required.

The candidates for the (postdoctoral) Research Associate position have
to hold a Master degree or (preferably) a PhD/Doctoral degree in
Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related subject
(alternatively, a statement can be provided that a PhD/Doctoral degree
will be issued when the position is taken or shortly thereafter).
Analytical/mathematical skills, programming skills, and experience with
Machine Learning algorithms are required. Experiences with acoustic
data, other types of sensory data, and an interest in the neurosciences
are a plus but are not strictly required. The (postdoctoral) Research
Associate position is suitable for part-time work.

All positions can be filled immediately and are available for initially
two years with an option for extension.

The appointed researchers will be part of a very new working
environment. The research group is currently established through a
strategic investment into Machine Learning technology at Oldenburg. The
group is located in a new building, and the Cluster of Excellence
Hearing4all is part of the German Excellence Initiative which funds
top-tier research in Germany. The cluster comprises many
interdisciplinary research groups that are currently set up or that are
extended. As a consequence, many new PhD, postdoc and faculty positions
allow for interesting collaboration opportunities and provide an
attractive scientific and social environment. The city of Oldenburg is
one of Germany's cities with the highest rated living quality, it is
close to the North See and near to the cities of Bremen and Hamburg.

For more information about the Machine Learning research group visit:
http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/ml/

For more information about the Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all visit:
http://hearing4all.eu/EN/

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of
women in science. Therefore, female candidates are particularly
encouraged to apply. According to § 21 III NHG (legislation governing
Higher Education in Lower Saxony) preference will be given to female
candidates in cases of equal qualification.

Handicapped applicants will be given preference if equally qualified.

Please send your application including the usual documents (including
contact details for reference letters) preferably electronically (PDF)
to Jörg Lücke <joerg.luecke@uni-oldenburg.de> or per mail to: Carl von
Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Machine Learning, z.Hd.
Frau Jennifer Köllner, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany. Please use "Research
Position (PhD)" as subject line for applications to the PhD positions,
and "Research Associate Position (postdoc)" for applications to the
(postdoctoral) Research Associate position.

The application deadline is 15 June 2014. Applications received after
this date are not guaranteed to enter the selection process.

--
Jörg Lücke (PhD)
Associate Professor
Machine Learning Lab and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all
Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
University of Oldenburg
26111 Oldenburg
Germany

www.uni-oldenburg.de/ml

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Friday, April 25, 2014

[Comp-neuro] BCBT2014 summer school

Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology Summer School (BCBT2014)

University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.

September 1-12, 2014

http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14/


Join us for the annual "Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology summer school - BCBT2014 " (see
 http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14) to be held from September 1-12, 2014 in Barcelona Spain.

The BCBT summer school is part of a series of events organized by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (
http://csnetwork.eu/) and is positioned at the interface between biology and future and emerging technologies with an emphasis on the principles underlying brains and their translation to avant-garde technologies. BCBT promotes a shared systems-level understanding of the functional architecture of the brain and its possible emulation in artificial systems.

 

This is the 7th year of BCBT, which has ran with great success in previous years thanks to an excellent line-up of outstanding speakers (seebcbt.upf.edu for previous editions of the school). BCBT lectures are available online (see http://csnetwork.eu/as well as the CSN Podcast interviews with many of the BCBT speakers.

BCBT caters to students and researchers involved in projects that are in the ambit of “BIO-ICT convergence”, "Brain Inspired ICT", “Cognitive systems-robotics”.

BCBT will offer up to 30 student slots for the practical workshops while as many researchers can register to attend the presentations and discussion sessions as they are interested.

The atmosphere of the BCBT summer school is informal with the goal to stimulate in-depth discussion. There are presentations in the morning, usually 2, with the afternoons reserved for tutorials and projects for student participants and road-mapping workshops or further discussion for senior scientists.

For the 2014 edition we plan a 1st week of the school addressing Evolutionary and Developmental aspects of nervous systems and behavior(Session 1, 1-5 Sept), while the 2nd week will include presentations aimed at the investigation of Core Brain Systems with emphasis on the basal ganglia (Session 2, 8-9 Sept) followed by roadmapping sessions (Session 3, 10-11 Sept). Friday 12 is reserved for the presentation of the student projects to which everybody is invited.


Application deadline: August 2nd, 2014
For more information, and to apply, please go to 
http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14/home

BCBT2014 is supported by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (http://csnetwork.eu/).

and is co-organized by

Paul Verschure (BCBT Chair) SPECS, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES
Tony Prescott (BCBT Co-Chair) University of Sheffield, UK
Leah Krubizer (BCBT Co-Chair) UC Davis, CA, USA
Anna Mura (BCBT Co-Chair) SPECS, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES

[Comp-neuro] Invitation to NeuroFutures Summit - Seattle, June 16-18, 2014.

We are pleased to invite you to the 2014 NeuroFutures Summit.

 

Who/what/why:  The NeuroFutures Summit will bring together research, industry, and clinical thought leaders to explore how innovations in neuromodulation, brain mapping, neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, and brain computer interfaces will transform our understanding of neural systems and enable life-changing medical treatments.  Participants will learn the state of the art, present and discuss their work, and interact with neurotechnology leaders in a small conference setting.  The abstract deadline for poster presenters is May 16th, 2014.  Over thirty speakers are confirmed.  See agenda below.

 

When:  Public lecture 6-8pm June 16th followed by the technical conference on June 17th and 18th, 2014.

 

Where:  Hotel Deca and the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

 

Website:  Visit www.neurofutures.us to learn more.

 

We hope you can join us.

Sincerely,

The organizers:

 

Rad Roberts, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, University of Washington,

Dan Rizzuto, Allen Institute for Brain Science,

Bill Rooney, Oregon Health and Science University, and

Bobby Heagerty, Oregon Health and Science University.

 

 

NeuroFutures Summit Agenda

June 16th- 18th, 2014

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

www.neurofutures.us

 

 

Monday, June 16th, 6pm – 8pm

 

Public lecture: The Brain on Circuit Training:  Finding and Fixing Misfiring Neural Circuitry. 

A presentation by Dr. Andres Lozano with an interactive discussion moderated by David Heil.

 

 

Tuesday, June 17th

 

Functional Mapping Informs BCI and Neuromodulation  Innovations

Richard Buxton, UCSD, Kim Burchiel, OHSU, Richard Andersen, Caltech

 

Measuring, Mapping, and Modifying Cognitive Function.

Justin Sanchez, DARPA, Tom Grabowski, U of Washington, Brian Kopell, Mt. Sinai Hospital.

 

Lunch, posters, informal discussion.

 

Structure and Target Selection in Neuromodulation

Chris Kroenke, OHSU, Andres Lozano, U of Toronto, David Newell, Swedish Neuroscience Institute.

 

Mining Shared Neural Data Sets

Magali Haas, Orion Bionetworks, Julie Harris, Allen Institute for Brain Science,

Mike Hawrylycz, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Paul Fearn, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

 

Northwest NeuroNeighborhood Resources and Partnering Opportunities I.

Bart Keogh, Radia Inc., Rajesh Rao, U of Washington, John Henson, Swedish Neuroscience Institute.

 

Evening reception at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

 

 

Wednesday, June 18th

 

The Past, Present, and Future of Closed-loop Neuromodulation.

Milton Morris, Cyberonics, Eberhard Fetz, U of Washington, Tim Denison, Medtronic.

Ryder Gwinn, Swedish Neuroscience Institute.  

 

De-coding Commands and Learning Modes in the Motor Cortex.  

Chet Moritz, U of Washington, Jeff Ojemann, U of Washington, Adrienne Fairhall, U of Washington.

 

Neurotechnology Development and Brain Mapping: A Virtuous Cycle

Ed Lein, AIBS, Craig Forest, Georgia Institute of Technology.

 

Northwest NeuroNeighborhood Resources and Partnering Opportunities II.

Norman Beauchamp, U of Washington. Bob Wilcox, Viket Medical.

 

Lunch, posters, informal discussion.

 

Generating and Handling Large Neural Data Sets.

Hanchuan Peng, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Tim Blanche, Allen Institute for Brain Science,

Bing Brunton, U of Washington, Matt Reynolds, U of Washington.

Neural engineering approaches for hearing, sight, and memory prostheses.

Adrian KC Lee, U of Washington, Josh Jacobs, Drexel University

 

 

 

[Comp-neuro] Reminder: Abstract submission closes April 27 for Neuroinformatics 2014

Welcome to the 7th INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics in Leiden, the Netherlands, August 25 - 27, 2014

Neuroinformatics 2014 includes keynote lectures (Margarita Behrens, Mitya Chklovskii, Daniel Choquet, Ila Fiete, Michael Milham, and Felix Schürmann), workshops, and a special symposium on population-based neuroimaging, hosted by the INCF Netherlands Node.

The last day to submit your abstract is April 27, submit it here: http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/abstracts

Registration is open at http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/registration

Watch the NI2014 promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEudq3SOwK0

We kindly ask that you print and display the congress poster at your institution: it's available for download at http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/documents/a0_poster_nov_2013


We're looking forward to seeing you in August!

--
Malin Sandström, PhD
Community Engagement Officer
malin.sandstrom@incf.org

International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility
Karolinska Institutet
Nobels väg 15 A
SE-171 77  Stockholm
Sweden
http://www.incf.org

Thursday, April 24, 2014

[Comp-neuro] International Workshop on The Versatile Action of Noise, June 22-27, 2014 in Bremen

Dear Colleagues,
 
we are organizing an international workshop on
The Versatile Action of Noise: Applications from Genetic to Neural Circuits
at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
from June 22-27, 2014.
 
Stochastic mechanisms, often summarized under "noise", are ubiquitous in artificial and biological networks. In applications to genetic circuits the goal is to trace back the various manifestations of noise to a few sources on underlying levels like the stochastic fluctuations in biochemical reactions, to follow the propagation and modification of noise towards the cellular level and to pursue the interaction of different sources of noise with respect to their mutual repression or amplification. In applications to neural systems the focus is on microscopic noise, e.g. the thermal fluctuations on channel dynamics, the effect of synaptic noise on neuronal firing, but also on large-scale collective fluctuations of brain areas, information loss, effects of large-scale noise on attention and decision-making, as well as on bridges between the different levels. A comparison between both types of applications should reveal parallels in how natural systems transform or utilize noise. It is the tools of theoretical physics that provide a deeper understanding of its role, in particular when it acts counterintuitive. Advanced methods from statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics allow for predicting the action of noise on excitable media like neural systems, extinction events in various populations and noise-induced rare events.
We invite applications from graduate students, PhD students and postdocs with a background in theoretical physics, applied mathematics with an interest in biological applications and neuroscience. Applicants from the experimental side should be interested in the mathematical modeling and analysis of experimental data.
 
The fee is 150 Euro for early registration until April 30 and 250 Euro afterwards, including accommodation in the guesthouse on campus and all meals, for the period of the workshop. The workshop is generously supported by the WE-Heraeus foundation.
 
For registration please visit our website.  Selected abstracts will be invited for oral presentation, we shall also have  poster sessions.
 
Kind regards
 
Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns and Alberto Bernacchia
 
Invited speakers:
 
Michael Assaf * (Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem);Jan Benda * (Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen);Michael Breakspear * (QIMR and UNSW Berghofer, Sidney, Australia);Thierry Emonet * (Yale University, New Haven, U.S.A.);Tobias Galla * (Manchester University, Manchester);Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo * (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona );Benjamin Lindner * (Humboldt University, Berlin);Wolfgang Maass * (Graz Technical University, Graz);Ralf Metzler * (Potsdam University, Potsdam);Sidney R. Nagel (The University of Chicago, U.S.A.);Simone Pigolotti * (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona);Joachim Rädler * (Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich);Jaime de la Rocha (*) (Institut D' Invest. Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona);Lutz Schimansky-Geier*(Humboldt University, Berlin);Susanne Schreiber *(Humboldt University, Berlin);Pieter Rein Ten Wolde * (FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam);Raúl Toral * (IFISC, UIB-CSIC, Palma de Mallorca)
*confirmed
 
Topics include:
§  The effects of extrinsic noise on cellular decision making;
§  Correlated fluctuations in genetic networks;
§  Propagation of noise of sequential gene regulation;
§  Error rates in biological copying;
§  Single cell response and decision making under noise;
§  The generation of transcriptional noise in bacteria;
§  Costs and benefits of biochemical noise;
§  Noise in large-scale cortical rhythms;
§  Noise-induced order in collective neural populations;
§  Computations by noisy networks of spiking neurons
§  Noise and irregular firing in cortical circuits;
§  Cellular mechanisms of temperature-compensation in receptor neurons;
§  Coherent noise, scale invariance and intermittency in large systems;
§  Shaping noise for population success;
§  Quasi-cycles induced by noise;
§  Interplay between noise and delay.
§   
Scientific Organization
Prof. Dr. Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns / Statistical Physics Group / Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH / School of Engineering and Science / Campus Ring 8 / 28759 Bremen / Germany / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3221 / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3249 / Email: h.ortmanns@jacobs-university.de
Prof. Dr. Alberto Bernacchia / Computational Neuroscience Group / Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH / School of Engineering and Science / Campus Ring 6 / 28759 Bremen / Germany / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3542 / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3249 / Email: a.bernacchia@jacobs-university.de

[Comp-neuro] Special issue of the Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience

Dear all,
I am pleased to announce that a Special Issue of the Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience on Uncertainty and the Brain has just appeared
in Open Access at:

http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/series/UB

Uncertainty and the Brain

Edited by: Dr Olivier Faugeras, Prof Michele Thieullen

Theoretical and applied neuroscientists are in great need of stochastic models to account for sources of uncertainty in neural tissues in a mathematically rigorous framework allowing for quantitative descriptions and predictions.

Collection published: 17 April 2014



Editorial   

Editorial for the Special Issue on Uncertainty in the Brain

Olivier Faugeras, Michèle Thieullen The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:7 (17 April 2014)


Measuring Edge Importance: A Quantitative Analysis of the Stochastic Shielding Approximation for Random Processes on Graphs

Deena R Schmidt, Peter J Thomas The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:6 (17 April 2014)


Research   

How Uncertainty Bounds the Shape Index of Simple Cells

D Barbieri, G Citti, A Sarti The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:5 (17 April 2014)


   

Fokker–Planck and Fortet Equation-Based Parameter Estimation for a Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Model with Sinusoidal and Stochastic Forcing

Alexandre Iolov, Susanne Ditlevsen, André Longtin The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:4 (17 April 2014)


Goodness-of-Fit Tests and Nonparametric Adaptive Estimation for Spike Train Analysis

Patricia Reynaud-Bouret, Vincent Rivoirard, Franck Grammont, Christine Tuleau-Malot The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:3 (17 April 2014)


Large Deviations for Nonlocal Stochastic Neural Fields

Christian Kuehn, Martin G Riedler The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:1 (17 April 2014)


A Density Model for a Population of Theta Neurons

Grégory Dumont, Jacques Henry, Carmen Tarniceriu Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 2014, 4:2 (17 April 2014)


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  : Olivier Faugeras  : Professor  : Equipe INRIA NeuroMathComp Team  : co-editor in chief, Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience  : http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Olivier.Faugeras/index.en.html  : Email: olivier.faugeras@inria.fr                : Tel: +334 92 38 78 31                  : Sec: +334 92 38 78 30  :  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

[Comp-neuro] new MATLAB toolbox for Granger causality analysis

Dear all,

Lionel Barnett and I are pleased to announce the availability of our wholly new MATLAB toolbox for implementing Granger causality analysis. This new free software is a wholesale revision of my previous 'GCCA' toolbox which has been available since 2010 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19961876), and which has enjoyed a wide uptake within the neuroscience community and beyond. Granger causality is a powerful analysis method which can be used to detect directed functional connectivity in stationary time-series data, of the sort often (but not always) found in neuroscience datasets.

The new 'multivariate Granger causality' 'MVGC' toolbox offers a range of enhancements.  It easily handles conditional spectral analyses.  It requires only estimation of the 'full' regression model, avoiding biases inherent in estimation of both full and reduced models.  It is accompanied by a fully functional help system integrated into the online MATLAB documentation. And much else besides.

The toolbox can be downloaded here:  


A paper describing the toolbox and the basic concepts and maths underlying Granger causality has been recently published in Journal of Neuroscience Methods:


… which is the appropriate citation for any published work utilizing the software.

Preparation of the toolbox was supported by the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, which is funded by the Dr. Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler Foundation.

We hope you find it useful!

Best regards
Anil Seth and Lionel Barnett
-------------------------------------------
Anil K. Seth, D.Phil.
Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience
Co-Director, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science
University of Sussex





Tuesday, April 22, 2014

[Comp-neuro] DecMeg2014 data analysis competition

DecMeg2014 data analysis competition

Biomag 2014 Decoding Challenge - Brain Decoding Across Subjects

https://www.kaggle.com/c/decoding-the-human-brain

Decoding mental states from functional neuroimaging data is a data
analysis paradigm adopted both in neuroscience studies and in
brain-computer interface applications. Decoding means determining,
from the recorded brain activity, what stimulus was provided to a
subject. In this competition, a large number of trials, from a face
vs. scrambled face visual task, are available from multiple
subjects. The brain activity was recorded by means of
magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG recordings from various subjects and
the category of the associated visual stimuli are given to the
participants of the competition in order to train their prediction
algorithms. With their algorithms, the participants will have to
predict the category of the stimulus of a different set of MEG
recordings, from other subjects. Each submission to the competition
will be scored according to the accuracy of prediction. Decoding
across subjects is a difficult task because of the variability in head
shape, cortical folding and functional organisation. For MEG data, the
literature on decoding across subjects is still in early stages and
this competition aims at raising the awareness about this complex
scientific problem.

This competition is associated with the the 19th International
Conference on Biomagnetism, Biomag 2014, Halifax (Canada), August
24-28, 2014.

The competition begins: April 21st, 2014.
The competition ends: July 27th, 2014.
Prizes: 1st 3,000 USD, 2nd 1,500 USD, 3rd 500 USD.

Organizers: Emanuele Olivetti, Seyed Mostafa Kia and Paolo Avesani
(NeuroInformatics Lab, Bruno Kessler Foundation and University of
Trento, IT), e-mail: decmeg2014@list.fbk.eu .

Scientific steering committee: Ole Jensen (Donders Institute, NL),
Nathan Weisz (University of Trento, IT), Richard Henson (MRC/CBU, UK)
and Alexandre Gramfort (Telecom ParisTech, CNRS, CEA / Neurospin). We
would also like to thank Daniel Wakeman (Martinos Center, MGH, USA).

The awards for this competition are funded by Elekta Oy, MEG
International Services Ltd (MISL), Fondazione Bruno Kessler and Besa
Gmbh.

Relevant links:
- competition website: https://www.kaggle.com/c/decoding-the-human-brain
- Biomag 2014: http://www.biomag2014.org
- NeuroInformatics Lab: http://nilab.fbk.eu
- Elekta Oy: http://www.elekta.com
- MISL (CTF MEG): http://www.ctfmeg.com
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler: http://www.fbk.eu
- Besa GmbH: http://www.besa.de

Please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues or
contacts who might be interested in this competition.

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[Comp-neuro] NEURON Summer Course deadline approaching

The early registration deadline for the NEURON Summer Course is Friday,
May 9, less than three weeks from today. Applicants who sign up by
that date are eligible for reduced registration fees.

NEURON Fundamentals June 21-24
This course shows how to model individual neurons and networks of
neurons, and introduces parallel simulation. The early registration
fee is $1050, but after May 9 registration goes up to $1200.

Parallel Simulation with NEURON June 25-26
This is for users who are already familiar with NEURON and now need
to parallelize an existing model or create a new model that will run
on parallel hardware. The early registration fee is $650, but after
May 9 it goes up to $750.

Sign up for both courses by May 9 and pay only $1600, or wait until
May 10 or later and pay $1800.

Registration is limited, and the final registration deadline is Friday,
May 30, 2014. For more information about these courses see
http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/courses
or contact
Ted Carnevale
ted dot carnevale at yale edu
203-494-7381
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[visionlist] Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships

Dear all, 

The Australian government is offering Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships

https://aei.gov.au/scholarships-and-fellowships/international-applicants/pages/international-applicants.aspx

to those competitive international students and postdocs to visit and conduct short-term research in Australia.  Please see the web site if you are interested.

In my lab, we are looking for students/postdocs who are proficient in Matlab (and preferably signal processing and/or information theory as well) and interested in 1) application of the integrated information theory of consciosness to the real neuronal data, 2) analysis of intracranial recording data (using decoding, cross-frequency coupling etc) to understand the neuronal basis of consciousness.  

Please send me  <naotsugu.tsuchiya@monash.edu> your CV if you are interested. 
 
Endeavour Awards will be closing 30 June 2013.


Regards


Nao Tsuchiya



--

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nao (Naotsugu) Tsuchiya, Ph.D.
1. Associate Professor
   School of Psychological Sciences
   Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University 

[Comp-neuro] Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships

Dear all, 

The Australian government is offering Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships

https://aei.gov.au/scholarships-and-fellowships/international-applicants/pages/international-applicants.aspx

to those competitive international students and postdocs to visit and conduct short-term research in Australia.  Please see the web site if you are interested.

In my lab, we are looking for students/postdocs who are proficient in Matlab (and preferably signal processing and/or information theory as well) and interested in 1) application of the integrated information theory of consciosness to the real neuronal data, 2) analysis of intracranial recording data (using decoding, cross-frequency coupling etc) to understand the neuronal basis of consciousness.  

Please send me  <naotsugu.tsuchiya@monash.edu> your CV if you are interested. 
 
Endeavour Awards will be closing 30 June 2013.


Regards


Nao Tsuchiya



--

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nao (Naotsugu) Tsuchiya, Ph.D.
1. Associate Professor
   School of Psychological Sciences
   Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University 

Monday, April 21, 2014

[Comp-neuro] NIPS 2014 Call for Papers

Neural Information Processing Systems Conference and Workshops
December 8-13, 2014
Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Canada

Deadline for Paper Submissions:
Friday, June 6, 2014, 11 pm Universal Time (4 pm Pacific Daylight Time).
Submit at: https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/NIPS2014/

Submissions are solicited for the Twenty-Eigth Annual Conference on Neural
Information Processing Systems, an interdisciplinary conference that brings
together researchers in all aspects of neural and statistical information
processing and computation, and their applications. The conference is a
highly selective, single track meeting that includes oral and poster
presentations of refereed papers as well as invited talks. The 2014
conference will be held on December 8-11 at Montreal Convention Center,
Montreal, Canada. One day of tutorials (December 8) will precede the main
conference, and two days of workshops (December 12-13) will follow it at the
same location.

Complete details: http://nips.cc/Conferences/2014/CallForPapers
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Sunday, April 20, 2014

[Comp-neuro] Postdoctoral Position in Computational and Experimental Social Neuroscience

The Human Brain and Behavior Laboratory (HBBL), Center for Complex Systems
and Brain Sciences at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) invites
applications for a Postdoctoral Position in Experimental and Computational
Social Neuroscience.

The research program aims to advance our understanding of basic forms of
real-time social behavior. This new NIMH-supported program employs a
three-pronged approach that combines (1) experimental studies aimed at
elucidating how neuromarkers are organized dynamically during the course
of social interaction (2) the design and analysis of the Human Dynamic
Clamp (reciprocal coupling between humans and mathematical models of a
social partner) and (3) multiscale neurocomputational modeling of both
structure and function.

The postdoctoral scientist will be highly motivated and able to work
independently. He/she will also collaborate within an interdisciplinary
team of researchers whose expertise spans Neuroscience, Psychology and
Physics. The successful applicant will contribute to the design and
conduct of neurobehavioral experiments and to theoretical modeling in
which social interactions are treated as meaningfully coupled dynamical
systems (Coordination Dynamics).

Candidates should have a PhD degree or equivalent. Experience or
willingness to learn in one or more relevant domains will be considered an
advantage:
- Theoretical modeling, dynamical systems
- Preparation and conduct of social, neurobehavioral and neurocognitive
experiments
- Recording and analysis of brain activity and behavior (e.g. EEG, MEG,
fMRI, etc)
- Digital signal processing and statistical analysis
- Programming (Matlab, C, visual basic),
- Excellent writing skills

The position will be for one year with a possibility of extension
depending on satisfactory progress. Salary will be commensurable with
experience. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue
until the position is filled. Qualified candidates should send a CV and
arrange for 3 reference letters via email to:

J. A. Scott Kelso & Emmanuelle Tognoli,
kelso at ccs.fau.edu, tognoli at ccs.fau.edu
www.ccs.fau.edu/hbbl.html
HBBL, Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences,
Florida Atlantic University,
Boca Raton, FL
USA


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Saturday, April 19, 2014

[Comp-neuro] OpenWorm for scientists

Hi all,

   OpenWorm is an open source project and open science community dedicated to creating the world's first whole organism in a computer, a C. elegans nematode, via bottom-up computational modeling. It is an association of highly motivated scientists, engineers, coders, and curious citizens from around the world who believe in open science and open access.

    While our ultimate goal is to simulate every cell in the c. elegans, we are starting out by building a model of its body and environment, its nervous system, and its muscle cells.  At the center of this is an incrementally improving detailed multi-compartmental representation of the c. elegans nervous system.  You can read more about our neuromechanical modeling approach in our online documentation.

    We've recently pulled together a page that focuses content that is relevant to experimental biologists and other scientists in a single place online.  


     This outreach effort is aimed at creating a conversation between biologists collecting data and making observations and computational modelers building models and validating them against real data.  We invite the comp-neuro community to have a look, provide feedback, and join the conversation!

Thanks,

  Stephen Larson,  Ph.D
  Project coordinator