Connectionists: Announcement: ALIFEX workshop on Neurodynamics and Cognitive Behaviors

[Anil K Seth]

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ALIFEX WORKSHOP

NEURODYNAMIC METHODS FOR ANALYSIS
AND CONTROL OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIORS

3rd June, 2006
Bloomington, Indiana, USA

Organized by Robert Kozma, Anil Seth, and Jun Tani

www.nsi.edu/users/seth/ALIFEXwsp.htm
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Neural mechanisms of behavior show a rich variety of complex and 
self-organizing dynamics that intervene between stimulus and response. In 
embodied, embedded neural systems, these dynamics may reflect cognitive 
aspects of behavior such as memory, selection, sequencing, attention, and 
intention. While there has been considerable exploration of neurodynamics 
in abstract models, there is a growing need for novel mathematical and 
computational methods both for analyzing embodied, embedded neural systems, 
and for generating neurodynamic control systems for artificial software 
agents and robots, which demonstrate biologically plausible cognitive 
behaviors.

This workshop will provide a forum for discussion and development of these 
methods by researchers in the area, as well through open audience 
participation. Approaches presented at the workshop will range from 
dynamical systems and chaotic oscillators, homeostatic regulatory 
mechanisms, neuropercolation models and random graphs, complexity theory, 
information theory, autopoiesis, and causality analysis. We place special 
emphasis on using any of these approaches to facilitate embodied cognition. 
In the spirit of the synthetic mode of artificial life research, equal 
emphasis will be given to methods for neurodynamic control and neurodynamic 
analysis, and it is expected that there will be opportunities to transfer 
techniques from one domain to the other.

The workshop will consist of a series of invited presentations with 
participation from an open audience. There will be two panel discussions 
with the speakers as panelists. If you would like to get involved in this 
workshop (beyond simply turning up), please contact any of the organizers 
(see below).

Speakers so far include:

Owen Holland (Essex, UK)
Takashi Ikegami (Tokyo, Japan)
Jeffrey Krichmar (San Diego, US)
Robert Kozma (Memphis, US)
Yasuo Kuniyoshi (Tokyo, Japan)
Anil Seth (San Diego, US)
Olaf Sporns (Indiana, US)
Jun Tani (Tokyo, Japan)
Jochen Triesch (Frankfurt, Germany)

In order to take part in the workshop registration for the full conference 
is required (there are no additional registration costs for the workshop): 
http://www.alifex.org/registration/.

Looking forward to seeing you in Indiana:

Robert Kozma (University of Memphis, TN, USA): http://cnd.memphis.edu/
Anil K Seth (The Neurosciences Institute, CA, USA): 
http://www.nsi.edu/users/seth.
Jun Tani (The Riken Brain Institute, Tokyo, Japan): 
http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani



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Anil K Seth, D.Phil.,
Associate Fellow, The Neurosciences Institute,
10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, San Diego, CA 92121,
email: seth at nsi.edu, web: www.nsi.edu/users/seth/