Connectionists: 12th ICCNS: Call for Abstracts and Confirmed Invited Speakers

[Brian Bowlby]

TWELFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS

May 14 – 17, 2008

Boston University
677 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
http://www.cns.bu.edu/meetings/

Sponsored by the Boston University
Center for Adaptive Systems,
Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (http://www.cns.bu.edu/),
and the
Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and  
Technology (http://cns.bu.edu/CELEST)
with financial support from the National Science Foundation

This interdisciplinary conference is attended each year by  
approximately 300 people from 30 countries around the world. As in  
previous years, the conference will focus on solutions to the questions:

HOW DOES THE BRAIN CONTROL BEHAVIOR?
HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY EMULATE BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE?

The conference is aimed at researchers and students of computational  
neuroscience, cognitive science, neural networks, neuromorphic  
engineering, and artificial intelligence. It includes invited lectures  
and contributed lectures and posters by experts on the biology and  
technology of how the brain and other intelligent systems adapt to a  
changing world. The conference is particularly interested in exploring  
how the brain and biologically-inspired algorithms and systems in  
engineering and technology can learn.  Single-track oral and poster  
sessions enable all presented work to be highly visible. Three-hour  
poster sessions with no conflicting events will be held on two of the  
conference days. Posters will be up all day, and can also be viewed  
during breaks in the talk schedule.

CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS
Cynthia Breazeal (MIT Media Lab)
Computational models of embodied cognition to support human-robot  
teamwork
Gyorgy Buzsaki (Rutgers University) (Plenary Lecture)
Segregation of cell assembly sequences by oscillatory synchrony
Gail Carpenter (Boston University) (Plenary Lecture)
Large-scale neural systems for vision and cognition (2008 IEEE Neural  
Networks Pioneer Award)
Peter Dayan (University College London)
The misbehavior of value
Greg DeAngelis (University of Rochester)
Roles of visual area MT in depth perception
Stephen Grossberg (Boston University)
Cortical dynamics of attentive object recognition, scene  
understanding, and decision making
Joy Hirsch (Columbia University)
Functional specificity and cortical mechanisms that regulate emotion  
and cognition:
What the human face tells the human brain
Ranu Jung (Arizona State University)
Neurotechnology for making neural circuits functional
Gordon Logan (Vanderbilt University)
The mysterious story of cognitive control
Javier Movellan (University of California at San Diego)
Developing social robots: A paradigm for the scientific study of human  
behavior
Charan Ranganath (University of California at Davis)
Relational binding in human memory
John Reynolds (Salk Institute)
Mapping the microcircuitry of attention:
Attentional modulation varies across cell classes in visual area V4
Daniel Salzman (Columbia University)
Learning about rewards and punishments in the amygdala and  
orbitofrontal cortex
WORKSHOP ON DYNAMICS OF CORTICAL-HIPPOCAMPAL INTERACTIONS FOR MEMORY  
GUIDED BEHAVIOR
Neil Burgess (University College London)
Predictions of an interference model of grid cell firing
Howard Eichenbaum (Boston University)
Grid cells and place cells: Different roles in memory?
Michael Hasselmo (Boston University)
Oscillations, grid cells and episodic memory
David Redish (University of Minnesota)
Transiently prospective neural firing in CA3 at decision points
Trygve Solstad (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Spatial representations in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex
David Touretzky (Carnegie-Mellon University)
A spin-glass model of path integration in grid cells
WORKSHOP ON COMPUTING WITH NEURAL INTERFACES
Theodore Berger (University of Southern California)
Bi-directional communication with the brain through biomimetic  
microelectronics
John Donoghue (Brown University)
Neural ensemble activity as a direct control signal in humans
Donald Eddington (Harvard University)
Cochlear implants
Phil Kennedy (Neural Signals)
Speech prosthesis: An analysis of single unit recordings from human  
cortex
Krishna Shenoy (Stanford University)
Toward high-performance communication prostheses
John Wyatt (Boston Retinal Implant Project)
Steps in the development of a retinal Implant

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Session Topics:
* vision                                                * object  
recognition
* image understanding                        * neural circuit models
* audition                                             * neural system  
models
* speech and language                       * mathematics of neural  
systems
* unsupervised learning                      * robotics
* supervised learning                          * hybrid systems  
(fuzzy, evolutionary, digital)
* reinforcement and emotion              * neuromorphic VLSI
* sensory-motor control                      * industrial applications
* cognition, planning, and attention     * other
* spatial mapping and navigation

Contributed abstracts must be received, in English, by January 31,  
2008. Email notification of acceptance will be provided by February  
29, 2008.  A meeting registration fee must accompany each Abstract.  
The fee will be returned if the Abstract is not accepted for  
presentation. Fees of accepted Abstracts will be returned on request  
only until April 11, 2008.

Each Abstract must fit on one side of an 8.5" x 11" page with 1"  
margins on all sides in a single-spaced, single-column format with a  
font of 10 points or larger. The title, authors, affiliations, and  
surface and email addresses should begin each Abstract. A cover letter  
should include the abstract title; corresponding author and presenting  
author name, address, telephone, fax, and email address; requested  
preference for oral or poster presentation; and a first and second  
choice from the topics above, including whether it is biological (B)  
or technological (T) work [Example: first choice: vision (T); second  
choice: neural system models (B)].

Talks will be 15 minutes long. Posters will be displayed for a full  
day. Overhead, slide, and LCD computer projector facilities will be  
available for talks. Accepted Abstracts will be printed in the  
conference proceedings volume. No extended paper will be required.

Four paper copies of the Abstract should be mailed to Cynthia  
Bradford, Boston University, CNS Department, 677 Beacon Street, Boston  
MA 02215 USA. Abstracts may also be submitted electronically as M/S  
Word files to cindy at bu.edu using the phrase “12th ICCNS abstract  
submission” in the subject line. Fax submissions will not be accepted.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Early registration is recommended using the  
registration form below. Student registrations must be accompanied by  
a letter of verification from a department chairperson or faculty/ 
research advisor.

STUDENT TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS: Fellowships for PhD candidates and  
postdoctoral fellows who do not live in the Boston area are available  
to help cover travel costs. The application deadline is January 31,  
2008. Email notification will occur by February 29, 2008. Fellowship  
applications must be submitted as paper hardcopy to the abstract  
submission address shown above. Each application should include the  
applicant's CV; faculty or PhD research advisor's name, address, and  
email address; relevant courses and other educational data; and a list  
of research articles. A letter from the listed faculty or PhD advisor  
on institutional stationery must accompany the application and  
summarize how the candidate may benefit from the meeting. Fellowship  
applicants who also submit an Abstract need to include the  
registration fee payment with their Abstract submission. Fellowship  
checks will be distributed after the meeting.

REGISTRATION FORM
Twelfth International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems
May 14–17, 2008
Boston University
Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems
677 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
Fax: +1 617 353 7755

Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof:_____________________________________________________

Affiliation:_________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

City, State, Postal Code:______________________________________________

Phone and Fax:_____________________________________________________

Email:____________________________________________________________


The registration fee includes the conference proceedings, a reception  
on Friday night, and 3 coffee breaks each day.

CHECK ONE:
(  ) $95 Conference (Regular)
(  ) $65 Conference (Student)

METHOD OF PAYMENT (please fax or mail):

[   ] Enclosed is a check made payable to "Boston University"
Checks must be made payable in US dollars and issued by a US  
correspondent bank. Each registrant is responsible for any and all  
bank charges.

[   ] I wish to pay by credit card
       (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card only)

Name as it appears on the  
card:___________________________________________

Type of card: _____________________________ Expiration  
date:________________

Account number: _______________________________________________________

Signature:____________________________________________________________