Announcement for Les Houches Summer School in Neurophysics (August 2003)

[Boris Gutkin]

 * NATO Advanced Study Institute *


   METHODS AND MODELS IN NEUROPHYSICS

   METHODES ET MODELES EN NEUROPHYSIQUE

July 28 - August 29, 2003



*Scientific Direction:*
C. C. Chow (Pittsburgh, USA)
B. Gutkin (London, UK)
D. Hansel (Paris, France)
C. Meunier (Paris, France)
I. Segev (Jerusalem, Israel)

*Opening lecture: * E. Marder (Waltham, USA)
/Why would a self-respecting experimental biologist be susceptible to theory?/


*Lecture series:* 
L. Abbott (Waltham, USA): /Synaptic plasticity and learning/.
P. Bressloff (Salt Lake City, USA): /Pattern formation and visual cortex./
E. Brown (Boston, USA): /Statistical analysis of data./
J. Rinzel (New York, USA): /Non-linear dynamics of neurons./
H. Sompolinsky (Jerusalem, Israel): /Theory of large networks: from spikes to behavior./
D. Terman (Colombus, USA): /Singular perturbations analysis of neuronal dynamics./
T. Tishby (Jerusalem, Israel): /Biological information processing - an information theoretic perspective/
*Shorter Lectures and seminars:*
N. Brunel (Paris, France): /Stochastic dynamics of neurons.
/W. Gerstner (Lausanne, Switzerland): /Models of synaptic plasticity./
D. Golomb (Beersheva, Israel): /Propagating activity in cortical circuits./
G. Mato (Bariloche, Argentina): /Theory of neural synchrony./
C. Pouzat (Paris, France): /Techniques for spike sorting./
M. Shelley (New York, USA): /Large scale models of primary visual cortex./
A. Treves (Trieste, Italy):/ Information-theoretic approach to the evolution of the mammalian cortex/
M. Tsodyks (Rehovot, Israel): /Synaptic dynamics/.
C. van Vreeswijk (Paris, France): /Balancing excitation and inhibition in large networks./
F. Wolf (Gottingen, Germany): /A theory of cortical maps./

These lectures will be complemented by short topical workshops dedicated to specific neurophysiological issues and experimental aspects.


*Scientific Program: **
* Many concepts and methods borrowed from Theoretical Physics, Dynamical
Systems Theory, Signal Processing and Information Theory have been
introduced, elaborated and used over the past years to study the
nervous system. This school will focus largely on analytical
approaches with a strong emphasis on the underlying physical concepts
and on the mathematical techniques. It will provide the participants
with the appropriate background for research in Neurophysics. In
parallel, through the talks given by experimentalists during the
workshops, the participants will become acquainted with some of the
open issues in Neuroscience, particularly those in the somatosensory
and the motor systems. This summer school is aimed at young
researchers and established scientists with a background in Physics or
Mathematics.

*Registrations:*
Applications must be received by the School before March 7, 2003 in order to be
considered by the selection committee. The full cost per participant, including
housing, meals and the lectures book, is 1500 euros. Thanks to financial support
by various funding agencies, a contribution of only 900 euros/participant is 
requested. A few additional grants are available. Application forms and 
additional information are available from the School at

Ecole d'?t? de Physique th?orique
La C?te des Chavants
74310 Les Houches, France
Phone: +33 -4 50 54 40 69 - Fax: +33 -4 50 55 53 25
Email: secretariat.houches at ujf-grenoble.fr <mailto:secretariat.houches at ujf-grenoble.fr>
Web:http://www-houches.ujf-grenoble.fr/

You can also download the registration forms (format A4 pdf
<http://w3houches.ujf-grenoble.fr/ete-80/appliA4-80.pdf> rtf
<http://w3houches.ujf-grenoble.fr/ete-80/appliA4-80.rtf> ; US Letter
pdf <http://w3houches.ujf-grenoble.fr/ete-80/appliLTR-80.pdf> rtf
<http://w3houches.ujf-grenoble.fr/ete-80/appliLTR-80.rtf>)

Les Houches is a resort village in the Chamonix valley in the French Alps. 
Established in 1951, the Physics School is located in a group of chalets 
surrounded by meadows and woods, at an altitude of 1150 m facing the 
Mont-Blanc range - a very favourable environment for intellectual activity 
in ideal surroundings for hiking, mountaineering and sight-seeing.

The Physics School is affiliated with Universit? Joseph Fourier of
Grenoble <http://www.ujf-grenoble.fr/> and Institut National
Polytechnique de Grenoble <http://www.inpg.fr/> , and is supported by
the Minist?re de la Jeunesse, de l'Education Nationale et de la
Recherche <http://www.education.gouv.fr/>, by the Centre National de
la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS <http://www.cnrs.fr/> ) and by the
Direction des Sciences de la Mati?re du Commissariat ? l'Energie
Atomique (CEA/DSM <http://www.cea.fr/>).

This session is supported by the NATO Advanced Study Institute program 
(ASI 979042), by IBRO and by CNRS