CREST Workshop on Metalearning and Neuromodulation

[Kenji Doya]

Dear connectionists,

We are organizing the following workshop. The program and the abstracts
are posted on the web page. If you are interested, please register as
soon as possible. We still have a few openings for poster presentations.

Best wishes,
Kenji Doya

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          CREST WORKSHOP ON METALEARNING AND NEUROMODULATION

                       April 6th and 7th, 2001
                  Keihanna Plaza, Seika, Kyoto, Japan

                             Sponsored by
           Metalearning, Neuromodulation, and Emotion Project
             CREST, Japan Science and Technology Corporation

The goal of this workshop is to bring together neuroscientists as well
as theorists who work on the regulatory mechanisms of adaptive systems,
either biological or artificial.

Neuromodulators such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and
acetylcholine have widespread influences on information processing in
the brain. Recent neurobiological studies revealed their specific
roles such as prediction of future reward and punishment, regulation
of accuracy and diversity of behaviors, and the rate of memory update.
Computational studies of 'metalearning,' the way of adapting global
parameters and structures in a learning system, can be helpful in
understanding the roles and the dynamics of neuromodulators.

We invite researchers who are working on the the biological mechanisms
of neuromodulators and the computational theory of metalearning, as well
as those who are interested in the neurochemical basis and computational
mechanisms of the mind. Please visit our home page for details:

               http://www.isd.atr.co.jp/nip/crest/workshop/

This workshop is scheduled after the 9th International Catecholamine
Symposium (http://mc-net.jtbcom.co.jp/ics2001/) held in downtown Kyoto
from March 31st to April 5th, 2001.

INVITED SPEAKERS

          Minoru Asada, Osaka University
          Gary Aston-Jones, University of Pennsylvania
          Kenji Doya, CREST, JST & ATR International
          Barry J. Everitt, University of Cambridge
          Michael Hasselmo, Boston University
          Okihide Hikosaka, Juntendo University
          Tadashi Isa, National Institute for Physiological Sciences
          Shin Ishii, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
          Sham Kakade, University College London
          Takashi Matsumoto, Waseda University
          Toshiyuki Sawaguchi, Hokkaido University
          Wolfram Schultz, University of Fribourg
          Yuko Sekino, Gumma University
          Shigeto Yamawaki, Hiroshima University

CALL FOR POSTERS

A poster session will be held in the evening of April 6th. Please send
1) title, 2) author(s), 3) affiliation(s), 4) abstract up to 500 words,
5) postal address, 6) phone, 7) fax, and 8) e-mail address of the
presenting author by e-mail to the secretariat.

REGISTRATION

Please send 1) name, 2) affiliation, 3) postal address, 4) phone, 5)
fax, and 6) e-mail address by e-mail to the secretariat by March 15,
2001. Registration is free. However, the numbers of attendees will be
limited by capacity of the conference room. So please register early.

HOTEL RESERVATION

Please visit our home page (http://www.isd.atr.co.jp/nip/crest/workshop/)
to download a reservation form, and send it by fax directly to a hotel.
Note that early April is the high season for cherry blossoms in Kyoto,
so please reserve early.

SECRETARIAT

Naomi Katayama
Metalearning, Neuromodulation and Emotion, CREST, JST
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika, Soraku, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
Phone: +81-774-95-1251
Fax: +81-774-95-1259
E-mail: nip-info at isd.atr.co.jp
URL: http://www.isd.atr.co.jp/nip/crest/
----
Kenji Doya <doya at isd.atr.co.jp>
Information Sciences Division, ATR International; CREST, JST
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika, Soraku, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
Phone:+81-774-95-1251; Fax:+81-774-95-1259; http://www.isd.atr.co.jp/~doya