From nips2007publicity at msn.com Wed May 2 18:19:07 2007 From: nips2007publicity at msn.com (Sumit Basu) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 15:19:07 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NIPS*2007 - Call for Workshop Proposals Message-ID: CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS NIPS 2007 Post-Conference Workshops -- December 7 and 8, 2007 Neural Information Processing Systems -- Natural and Synthetic Whistler Resort & Spa and the Whistler Hilton Resort & Spa, BC, CANADA http://www.nips.cc/ Proposal Deadline: 3rd August 2007 Following the Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) 2007 Conference in Vancouver, Canada, workshops on a variety of current topics in neural information processing will be held on December 7 and 8, 2007, in Whistler, BC, Canada. We invite researchers interested in chairing a workshop to submit a proposal. The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to discuss important research questions and challenges. The emphasis should be on discussion; the workshop format should not be simply a mini-conference but should aim for a dynamic sharing of ideas. We particularly encourage workshops that will bring together unusual groupings for the transfer of ideas and methods. Controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing approaches are not only encouraged but preferred as workshop topics. Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions are encouraged. Workshop topics should be developed with a view to make an interesting workshop for the participants; proponents should familiarize themselves with previous workshops and the topics covered in recent NIPS papers. We are especially interested in workshops that bridge traditional discipline or sub-discipline boundaries and endeavor to define new research directions, as opposed to workshops that are merely a forum for the presentation of recent results. We particularly encourage neuroscience topics and those that connect neuroscience and computer science. Format ------ There will be six hours of workshop meetings per day, split into morning and afternoon sessions, with free time between the sessions for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities. Selected workshops may be invited to submit proceedings for publication in the post-NIPS workshops monographs series published by the MIT Press. Organizer Responsibilities -------------------------- Workshop organizers have several responsibilities, including: --Coordinating workshop participation and content, including arranging short informal presentations by domain experts, arranging for expert commentators to sit on discussion panels, formulating discussion topics, etc; --Moderating the discussion, and reporting its findings and conclusions to all NIPS workshop participants during the evening plenary sessions; --Writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for post-conference electronic dissemination; --Potentially organizing pre-reading for the workshop if accepted (this might take the form of a position paper, or a tutorial, or even just a reading list); --Ensuring they have unambiguous acceptance to attend from any people named as confirmed in the proposal; --Attending the workshop (multiple organizers are all expected to attend). Submission Instructions ----------------------- Proposals should include a title, description of what the workshop is to address and accomplish, proposed workshop length (1 or 2 days), planned format (e.g., lectures, group discussions, panel discussion, combinations of the above, etc.), and proposed speakers. Names of potential invitees and any confirmed speakers should be given where possible. Preference will be given to workshops that reserve a significant portion of time for open discussion or panel discussion, as opposed to a pure "mini-conference" format. An example format is: --Tutorial lecture providing background and relevant terminology; --Discussion or panel presentation; --Short talks or panels alternating with discussion and question/answer sessions; --General discussion and wrap-up. We suggest that organizers allocate at least 50% of the workshop schedule to questions, discussion, and breaks. Past experience suggests that workshops otherwise degrade into mini-conferences as talks begin to run over. For the same reason, each workshop should include no more than 12 talks per day and preferably fewer. Poster spotlights and sessions have been effectively incorporated into previous workshops and are another good way to facilitate informal discussion. We encourage organizers to give thought how they might make effective use of pre-distribution of written material in order to maximize the time available for discussion, noting however that asking invited speakers to prepare written materials is unlikely to enhance the chances of acceptance of such invitations. The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest, why it should be discussed, and the targeted group of participants; in essence, it should explain why NIPS needs a workshop on this topic and what its impact will be. It should include a brief CV of the prospective workshop chair(s) with a list of publications to establish scholarship in the field. We encourage workshops that build, continue, or arise from one or more workshops from previous years, although an argument that there were n workshops previously on a topic and therefore we need a (n+1)th are discouraged; some genuine novelty is necessary. Please mention any such connections. Descriptions of previous workshops may be found at: http://nips.cc/Conferences/2006/Workshops/ http://nips.cc/Conferences/2005/Workshops/ http://nips.cc/Conferences/2004/Workshops/ Unfortunately, NIPS cannot provide travel funding for workshop speakers. In the past, some workshops have sought and received funding from external sources to bring in outside speakers. In any case, the organizers of each accepted workshop can name two individuals to receive free registration for the workshop program. Proposals should be emailed as plain text to: Bob.Williamson at anu.edu.au by 3rd August 2007 (please do not use attachments, Word, postscript, html, or pdf files). Submissions should include the name, address, email address, phone and fax numbers for all organizers. If there is more than one organizer, please designate one organizer as the primary contact. Proposers are encouraged to ensure their proposal is as cogent, coherent and concise as possible. Selection Criteria ------------------ In selecting workshops from the proposals, we will take account of: --Alignment with the interests of NIPS attendees (as evidenced by previous NIPS papers and workshops); --Alignment with emerging trends in the fields of interest to NIPS; --Extent to which the workshop attempts to be agenda setting as opposed to merely reporting new results or a "me too" activity; --Degree of cross-disciplinarity; --Evidence that workshop chairs can effectively manage the discussions (based for example on past workshop or conference organization); --Caliber of invited speakers; --Realism of the schedule (ten 15 minute talks back-to-back is not...) --Fraction of proposed invited speakers who can confirm their attendance conditional on the workshop being approved; --Overall interest and excitement of the proposal and its potential to positively impact the field; --Overall balance of fields and interests. Applicants are encouraged to ensure that these aspects of their proposed workshop are clear in their proposal. Process ------- The selection of workshops will be done by the workshop co-chairs. We may recommend the merger of multiple proposals that overlap in a particular area; proponents are not obliged to accept such suggestions, in which case we will choose between competing proposals on a given topic. Our aim is to select the best set of workshops for participants; this does not necessarily mean the largest number of workshops. We expect to make a decision on which workshops will be invited to run within two weeks of the submission deadline. There will be no extensions granted for proposal submissions. We look forward to working with workshop chairs to generate a range of interesting, high quality sessions. Bob Williamson, Adrienne Fairhall, Charles Isbell (ANU & NICTA ) (University of Washington) (Georgia Tech) NIPS 2007 Workshops Co-Chairs From ted.carnevale at yale.edu Thu May 3 11:08:14 2007 From: ted.carnevale at yale.edu (Ted Carnevale) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 11:08:14 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: sign up for the NEURON 2007 Summer Course Message-ID: <4639FADE.9010202@yale.edu> The deadline for registration in the NEURON 2007 Summer Course is June 4, 2007--just one month from today. A few seats are still open, but you'll have to act quickly to get one. For more information see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/sdsc2007/sdsc2007.html or contact Ted Carnevale Psychology Dept. PO Box 208205 Yale University New Haven, CT 06520-8205 USA phone 203-494-7381 fax 203-432-7172 email ted.carnevale at yale.edu From a.silver at ucl.ac.uk Tue May 1 07:00:45 2007 From: a.silver at ucl.ac.uk (Angus Silver) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 12:00:45 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: neuroConstruct - Paper and software available for download Message-ID: <000901c78bdf$f7dd1ea0$350fa8c0@AngusOffice> We are pleased to announce the publication and release of neuroConstruct, a software tool for creating, visualizing and analyzing networks of multicompartmental neurons in 3D space. neuroConstruct facilitates the generation of neural network models with a high degree of biological realism and automatically generates script files for NEURON or GENESIS, which carry out the simulation. The latest version of neuroConstruct is freely available for download at: http://www.neuroConstruct.org This application is described in an open access Neurotechniques paper: Gleeson,P., Steuber, V. and Silver R.A., neuroConstruct: A Tool for Modeling Networks of Neurons in 3D Space. Neuron 54, 219-235 Available from here http://www.neuron.org/content/issue?volume=54&issue=2 The latest version of the NeuroML standards (http://www.neuroml.org) are supported in neuroConstruct, facilitating the exchange of neuronal morphologies, channel and synaptic mechanisms and network structure across simulators. Best wishes, Padraig Gleeson, Volker Steuber and Angus Silver From mail at mkaiser.de Tue May 1 10:05:16 2007 From: mail at mkaiser.de (Marcus Kaiser) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 16:05:16 +0200 (MEST) Subject: Connectionists: Tenure-track Faculty Position in Complex (Neural) Systems, Newcastle University Message-ID: <200705011405.l41E5GIA005242@post.webmailer.de> RCUK Academic Fellowship, Complex Systems Science (Ref: D468A), GBP 22,332 - GBP 31,840 (with potential progression to GBP 34,793) per annum This post provides an outstanding postdoctoral researcher with an opportunity for a five-year period of research and a permanent career in academia. The University is internationally renowned for research undertaken in areas of Neuroecology, Complex Systems, Signals, Systems and Communications, Mathematics, Computing Science, Biology, Biostatistics, Process Engineering and eScience. You should demonstrate strong abilities to work with and derive inspiration from the wealth of experimental data from various complex systems they have investigated, and to develop novel approaches to agent-based simulation of behaviour of complex systems or to analysing, predicting and controlling complex networks. You will initially concentrate on building a strong, independent profile as a researcher followed by a gradual introduction to teaching and transition to a permanent post. To apply for this position, you should submit your written application, giving full details of your qualifications and experience to Human Resources (SAgE), 1st Floor Agriculture Building, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU, to arrive no later than 15th May 2007. Further details: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/vacancies/vacancy.phtml?ref=D468A Information about RCUK Academic Fellowships: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow/ Best regards, Marcus -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. RCUK Academic Fellow for Complex Neural Systems and Behaviour School of Computing Science Newcastle University Claremont Tower Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, U.K. Phone: +44 191 222 8161 Fax: +44 191 222 8232 http://www.biological-networks.org/ From sdas at ksu.edu Tue May 1 11:12:09 2007 From: sdas at ksu.edu (sdas@ksu.edu) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 10:12:09 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Chapters: Computational Methodologies in Gene Regulatory Networks Message-ID: <1178032329.463758c906af6@webmail.ksu.edu> CALL FOR CHAPTERS Submission Deadlines: proposals due on June 15, 2007, full manuscripts due on December 15, 2007 COMPUTATIONAL METHODOLOGIES IN GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS URL: www.ksu.edu/cmgrn Email: cmgrn at ksu.edu A book edited by Doina Caragea, Sanjoy Das, W. H. Hsu, Stephen M. Welch, Kansas State University, USA. (The list of authors is in alphabetical order) INTRODUCTION Recent advances in gene sequencing technology are shedding light on the complex interplay between genes that elicit phenotypic behavior characteristic of any given organism. It is now known that in order to mediate external as well as internal signals, an organism's genes are organized into complex signaling pathways. Unfortunately, unraveling the specific details about how these genetic pathways interact to regulate development, life histories, and respond to environmental cues, is proving to be a daunting task. A wide variety of models depicting gene-gene interactions, that are commonly referred to as gene regulatory networks (GRNs), have been proposed. A wide variety of computational tools are available for modeling gene regulatory networks. OVERALL OBJECTIVES A gene regulatory network (GRN) must be able to mimic experimentally observed behavior and also be computationally tractable. Under these circumstances, model simplicity is an important trade-off for functional fidelity. Modeling approaches taken by researchers are wide and disparate. Some gene regulatory networks are modeled entirely using non-parametric approaches such as Bayesian or neural networks, while some others represent genes in very physically realistic differential equation formats. The book will focus on the computational methods widely used in modeling gene regulatory networks, including structure discovery, learning and optimization. Both research and survey papers are welcome. TARGET AUDIENCE Biologists: The book can provide a comprehensive overview of computational intelligence approaches for learning and optimization and their use in gene regulatory networks to biologists. Computer Scientists: The book can assist computer scientists interested in gene regulatory network modeling. Classroom instructors and students: Although not a textbook, the book can serve as an excellent reference or supplementary material. ' Graduate students: As the book would bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and genomic research communities, it will be very useful to graduate students considering interdisciplinary research in this direction. Practicing computer scientists and geneticists: The book would be useful to those interested in gene regulatory network modeling. RECOMMENDED TOPICS Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Introduction to GRNs Introduction to graphical approaches for GRNs Bayesian network models for gene network models Petri nets and GRN models Dynamic Bayesian network GRNs Structure learning of GRNs Neural network based GRNs Boolean GRNs Temporal Boolean GRNs Probabilistic Boolean GRNs Machine learning in Boolean networks for GRNs Differential equation based GRNs Stochastic optimization algorithms for GRNs Evolutionary optimization in GRNs GRNs using the S-system formalism Optimization of S-system GRNs SUBMISSION PROCEDURE Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before June 15, 2007, a 2-5 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by July 15, 2007 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are due on December 15, 2007. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global, www.igi-pub.com, publisher of the IGI Publishing (formerly Idea Group Publishing), Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing and Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference) imprints. INQUIRIES Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (pdf or word document) to: cmgrn at ksu.edu More information can be found at the proposed book's website: www.ksu.edu/cmgrn Individual authors can also be contacted directly: Dr. Sanjoy Das Elect. & Comp. Engg. Dept. Kansas State University sdas at ksu.edu Tel: (785) 532-4642 Dr. Doina Caragea Comp. & Info. Sci. Dept. Kansas State University dcaragea at ksu.edu Tel: (785) 532-7908 Dr. Stephen. M. Welch Dept. of Agronomy Kansas State University welchsm at ksu.edu Tel: (785) 532-7236 Dr. William H. Hsu Comp. & Info. Sci. Dept. Kansas State University bhsu at ksu.edu Tel: (785) 532-6350 From jwmbrown at indiana.edu Tue May 1 16:59:21 2007 From: jwmbrown at indiana.edu (Joshua W Brown) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 16:59:21 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral position Message-ID: <008a01c78c33$97ad5b90$74c24f81@ads.iu.edu> POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN COMPUTATIONAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND FMRI OF COGNITIVE CONTROL Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN The Cognitive Control lab at Indiana University Bloomington is hiring 1-2 postdoctoral fellows to develop computational cognitive neuroscience models of cognitive control, especially the interactions of the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in tasks involving executive function and decision-making under risk. The models will be used to examine how these brain areas function normally, and how they may be altered in substance abusers and other clinical populations. The models will simulate data from human cognitive studies, neurophysiology, and fMRI, and the models will be used to generate predictions to be tested with fMRI. A 3T MRI facility is available on-site for full-time research. Intensive computational modeling will be supported with access to Big Red, Indiana University's 1024 core computing cluster. Information about the lab is available at http://www.indiana.edu/~cclab. A Ph.D. and background in cognitive neuroscience, broadly defined, is required. Applicants must also have significant training in computational modeling, including neural networks and/or computational neuroscience. Experience with Linux/unix, matlab, and c++ preferred. Send a CV, statement of research background and interests, and 3 letters of recommendation to: Joshua W. Brown, Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E Tenth St., Bloomington, IN 47405. Email: jwmbrown at indiana.edu. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged. Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer. From remi.munos at inria.fr Wed May 2 07:21:58 2007 From: remi.munos at inria.fr (Remi Munos) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 13:21:58 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position offer in statistical learning and control Message-ID: <200705021321.58784.remi.munos@inria.fr> PhD position offer. Cemagref - INRIA Location : Clermont-Ferrand (LISC http://wwwlisc.clermont.cemagref.fr) and Lille (SequeL project http://www.grappa.univ-lille3.fr/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Sequel/). Beginning : October 2007 Topic: Using statistical learning for viability and optimal control theories. Recent advances in statistical learning and classification, including the SVMs, provide an interesting framework for dealing with the famous curse of dimensionality that appears in numerical solutions to optimal control and viability theory problems, especially in an active learning approach. Different possibilities for including these techniques are currently under study. The aim of this PhD is to compare and synthesize these methods, in order to propose more efficient new techniques. The work will be connected to PATRES EU project (http://www.patres-project.eu). Candidate background: Applied mathematics, machine learning, computer science, Contact: Guillaume Deffuant (guillaume.deffuant at cemagref.fr) or Remi Munos (remi.munos at inria.fr) From tj at cs.cornell.edu Wed May 2 10:33:52 2007 From: tj at cs.cornell.edu (Thorsten Joachims) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 10:33:52 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: SIGIR07 Workshop on Learning to Rank for IR Message-ID: Call for Papers Learning to Rank for Information Retrieval 2007 (LR4IR'07) Overview The task of "learning to rank" has emerged as an active and growing area of research both in information retrieval and machine learning. The goal is to design and apply methods to automatically learn a function from training data, such that the function can sort objects (e.g., documents) according to their degrees of relevance, preference, or importance as defined in a specific application. The relevance of this task for IR is without question, because many IR problems are by nature ranking problems. Improved algorithms for learning ranking functions promise improved retrieval quality and less of a need for manual parameter adaptation. In this way, many IR technologies can be potentially enhanced by using learning to rank techniques. The main purpose of this workshop, in conjunction with SIGIR 2007, is to bring together IR researchers and ML researchers working on or interested in the technologies, and let them to share their latest research results, to express their opinions on the related issues, and to discuss future directions. Topics of Interests We solicit submissions on any aspect of learning to rank for information retrieval. Particular areas of interest include, but are not limited to: - Models, features, and algorithms of learning to rank - Evaluation methods for learning to rank - Data creation methods for learning to rank - Applications of learning to rank methods to information retrieval - Comparison between traditional approaches and learning approaches to ranking - Theoretical analyses on learning to rank - Empirical comparison between learning to rank methods Shared Benchmark Data Several shared data sets have been released from Microsoft Research Asia (http://research.microsoft.com/users/tyliu/LETOR/). The data sets, created based on OHSUMED and TREC data, contain features and relevance judgments for training and evaluation of learning to rank methods. It is encouraged to use the data sets to conduct experiments in the submissions to the workshop. Paper Submission Papers should be submitted electronically via the workshop web site. http://research.microsoft.com/users/LR4IR-2007/. Detailed information on submission will be available at the site. All submissions will be reviewed by at least three members of the program committee, and all accepted papers will be published in the proceedings of the workshop. The proceedings will be printed and made available at the workshop. Important Dates Paper Submission Due: June 8 Author Notification Date: June 28 Camera Ready: July 5 Organizers: Thorsten Joachims, Cornell Univ. Hang Li, Microsoft Research Asia Tie-Yan Liu, Microsoft Research Asia ChengXiang Zhai, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign PC Members: Eugene Agichtein, Emory University Javed Aslam, Northeastern University Chris Burges, Microsoft Research Olivier Chapelle, Yahoo Research Hsin-Hsi, Chen, National University of Taiwan Bruce Croft, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Ralph Herbrich, Microsoft Research Cambridge Djoerd Hiemstra, University of Twente Thomas Hofmann, Google Rong Jin, Michigan State University Paul Kantor, Rutgers University Sathiya Keerthi, Yahoo Research Ravi Kumar, Yahoo Research Quov Le, Australian National University Guy Lebanon, Prudue University Donald Metzler, University Massachusetts Einat Minkov, Carnegie Mellon University Filip Radlinski, Cornell University Mehran Sahami, Google Robert Schapire, Princeton University Michael Taylor, Microsoft Research Cambridge Yiming Yang, Carnegie Mellon University Kai Yu, NEC Research Institute Hongyuan Zha, Georgia Tech Yi Zhang, University of California, Santa Cruz From tleen at csee.ogi.edu Wed May 2 17:30:09 2007 From: tleen at csee.ogi.edu (Todd Leen) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 14:30:09 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: PhD Research Assistantship at OGI School of Science and Engineering at OHSU Message-ID: <463902E1.4070800@csee.ogi.edu> PHD RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP IN ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS AT THE OGI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT OHSU A PhD Research Assistantship in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Biomedical Engineering is available to work on adaptive algorithm development in support of in-home health assessment technologies beginning in the fall of 2007. The successful applicant will have research experience in machine learning and strong theoretical skills. Preference will be given to applicants with an MS. The student will work with Prof. Todd Leen as part of a larger team that includes scientists, technologists, and clinicians developing novel technologies for unobtrusive monitoring and assistance of the elderly to help them remain independent. This particular project is developing algorithms for inferring changes in cognitive health from both clinical data and in-home assessment technologies. More information on diverse in-home monitoring projects at OGI is at http://www.bme.ogi.edu/POCL/research.php. I welcome informal inquiries. Send email (with supporting CV, GRE scores, unofficial copy of transcript, a statement of research interests, and name telephone contact information of three references) to tleen at csee.ogi.edu. For information on submitting a full application to the PhD programs, see the OGI admissions information at http://www.ogi.edu/admissions. Researchers in the Adaptive Systems Laboratory (http://adsyl.csee.ogi.edu) at the OGI School of Science & Engineering conduct research in the areas of machine learning, adaptive signal processing, and computational neuroscience. The group currently consists of 5 core faculty, 10 PhD students, and several MS students and technicians. The Adaptive Systems Laboratory is part of the Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering. Close ties also exist with the Center for Spoken Language Understanding and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at OGI, and with the Neurological Sciences Institute and the medical school at OHSU. OGI is one of the four schools of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). OGI is located 12 miles west of Portland, Oregon, in the heart of the Silicon Forest. Portland's extensive high-tech community, diverse cultural amenities and spectacular natural surroundings combine to make the quality of life here extraordinary. To learn more about the department, OGI, OHSU and Portland, please visit http://www.csee.ogi.edu. From d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk Thu May 3 06:21:03 2007 From: d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk (Denis Mareschal) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 11:21:03 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Baysian and Bayes net approaches to learning and development Message-ID: Dear all, The following special section that recently appeared in Developmental Science may be of interest to readers of this list. The section is dedicated to exploring the pros and cons of using Baysian and Baye's net approaches to model learning and development in human cognition. All the best, Denis Mareschal ----------------- Developmental Science May 2007 - Vol. 10 Issue 3 Page 281-364 SPECIAL SECTION: BAYESIAN NETWORKS, BAYESIAN LEARNING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Bayesian networks, Bayesian learning and cognitive development Alison Gopnik and Joshua B. Tenenbaum pages 281-287 Sensitivity to sampling in Bayesian word learning Fei Xu and Joshua B. Tenenbaum pages 288-297 Bayes nets and babies: infants' developing statistical reasoning abilities and their representation of causal knowledge David M. Sobel and Natasha Z. Kirkham pages 298-306 Learning overhypotheses with hierarchical Bayesian models Charles Kemp, Amy Perfors and Joshua B. Tenenbaum pages 307-321 Preschool children learn about causal structure from conditional interventions Laura E. Schulz, Alison Gopnik and Clark Glymour pages 322-332 Using domain-general principles to explain children's causal reasoning abilities James L. McClelland and Richard M. Thompson pages 333-356 The Bayesian revolution approaches psychological development Thomas R. Shultz pages 357-364 Plus, here is a link to the website where you can download the papers: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/desc/10/3 -- ================================================= Professor Denis Mareschal Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development School of Psychology Birkbeck College University of London Malet St., London WC1E 7HX, UK tel +44 (0)20 7079-0751/7631-6582 reception: 7631-6207 fax +44 (0)20 7631-6312 http://www.psyc.bbk.ac.uk/people/academic/mareschal_d/ ================================================= From d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk Fri May 4 07:38:33 2007 From: d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk (Denis Mareschal) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 12:38:33 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: postdoc position in London Message-ID: Dear all, Please circulate the following job advert to any interested parties. Best Regards, Denis Mareschal --------------- Research Fellow Exploring the emergence of analogical and figurative reasoning in typical and atypical children Faculty of Science, School of Psychology, Birkbeck University of London Fixed-term appointment for up to 24 months We are seeking a post-doctoral researcher to work with Professor Denis Mareschal, and Dr Michael Thomas exploring the emergence of analogical and figurative reasoning in typical and atypical children using behavioural testing and computational modelling. The Centre currently involves about twenty people all part of a strong team in a friendly working environment. See website, www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk. You will need to have a strong research background in cognitive science, child development, experimental psychology or a related discipline. You should have a keen interest in cognitive development, and hold or be close to completing a PhD in Psychology or related discipline. Good computer skills are essential. You should also have experience of analysing complex data sets and writing scientific research papers. The post is funded from the European Commission Framework 6 Programme Salary will be ?30,075 rising to ?34,450 per annum at Grade 7. Initial salary award will be dependent on skills and experience. Further details can be obtained at http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobfiles/SH957.html or be emailing humanresources at bbk.ac.uk. Informal enquires can be directed to Professor Mareschal (d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk) The closing date for applications is Wednesday 30 May 2007 Birkbeck is an equal opportunities employer. Birkbeck is a world-class research institution, a vibrant centre of academic engagement and excellence and the UK's leading provider of part-time, evening education for mature students. -- ================================================= Professor Denis Mareschal Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development School of Psychology Birkbeck College University of London Malet St., London WC1E 7HX, UK tel +44 (0)20 7079-0751/7631-6582 reception: 7631-6207 fax +44 (0)20 7631-6312 http://www.psyc.bbk.ac.uk/people/academic/mareschal_d/ ================================================= From sethu.vijayakumar at ed.ac.uk Fri May 4 12:09:00 2007 From: sethu.vijayakumar at ed.ac.uk (Sethu Vijayakumar) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 17:09:00 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Faculty Position (Tenured) in Robotics at University of Edinburgh, UK Message-ID: <463B5A9C.3070806@ed.ac.uk> The University of Edinburgh invites applications from candidates, with research of international standing in the area of learning robotics and adaptive control or other areas of robotics that would complement existing strengths in the School, for appointment to a Lectureship (corresponding approximately to US Assistant Professor). More details of the post can be found at: http://www.jobs.ed.ac.uk/vacancies :: (Enter vacancy number: 3007382) and look under further details. Informatics at Edinburgh: Edinburgh is the only university in the UK to have achieved the top 5*A rating in Computer Science in the most recent government Research Assessment Exercise (2001). With 87.1 research-active staff submitted for assessment, it is also the UK's largest research group in this area. Edinburgh's Computer Science Department (Informatics) has topped the recent Guardian University Tables for Computer Science . Location: Edinburgh is one of the most attractive cities in the UK and is frequently the winner of various "quality of life" surveys of UK cities. It combines the architectural grandeur and cultural advantages of a capital city with unrivalled access to unspoilt countryside. The School will relocate in 2007 to the Informatics Forum, a new custom-designed, 11,500m2 building that will house some 500 research staff and students. This, together with the adjacent Appleton Tower, which will house our teaching and commercialisation activities, will accommodate the entire School of Informatics on the Crichton Street site within the University's central George Square campus in Edinburgh's "Southside". Application Deadline: May 24, 2007 Informal inquiries may be directed to: Sethu Vijayakumar -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Sethu Vijayakumar, Ph.D. Reader (Associate Professor) Director, IPAB, School of Informatics, The University of Edinburgh 2107F JCMB, The Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, United Kingdom URL: http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/svijayak Ph: +44(0)131 651 3444 SLMC Research Group URL: http://www.ipab.informatics.ed.ac.uk/slmc ------------------------------------------------------------------ Adjunct Faculty, Department of Computer Science University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA 90089 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Microsoft Research & Royal Academy of Engg. Senior Research Fellow ------------------------------------------------------------------ From longlifelee at gmail.com Mon May 7 01:50:08 2007 From: longlifelee at gmail.com (Soo-Young Lee) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 14:50:08 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: CFPs for Mini-Symposium on Attention at Shanghai Inter Conf Cignitive Dynmaics Message-ID: Call for Paper (Submission Deadline: May 31, 2007) ICCN07 Mini-Symposium MS-14 Cognitive Neurodynamics of Attention: Bottom-Up and Top-Down the 1st International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics - 2007 (ICCN'07) and the 3rd Shanghai International Conference on Physiological Biophysics - Cognitive Neurodynamics (SICPB'07) Shanghai, China November 17-21, 2007. http://www.iccn2007.org/ Selective attention is a mechanism to utilize computing resources efficiently in brain for real-world complicated situations, and has been studied in two different aspects, i.e., Bottom-Up (BU) and Top-Down (TD) attention. The BU attention is given to specific parts of sensory data based on saliencies, while TD attention is initiated from higher brain based on a priori knowledge. There may be dynamic interaction between the BU and TD attentions. In this Mini-Symposium we would like to discuss cognitive neurodynamics of attention and its applications to real-world machine vision and speech processing tasks. We hope it will be the place of exciting discussions among cognitive scientists, computational modelers, and information processing engineers. We encourage contributions presenting new scientific findings, mathematical models, and novel applications. Topics: - Cognitive sciences of attention - Computational models of attention - Engineering applications to image and speech processing in real-world complicated environments Paper Submission Perspective authors are encouraged to contact the organizers with their contribution proposals before the submission deadline. All papers should be formatted according to Springer's LCNS formatting standards explained on the ICCN07 submission page as follows: http://www.iccn2007.org/Paper_Submission.html MS-14 mini-symposium papers should be submitted using ICCN07 Online Submission System with selection of a special session MS-14 option using a session button at: http://202.202.66.119/econfpal/iccn/author/ after user registration. Paper Submission Deadline: May 31, 2007 Decision Notification: June 30, 2007 Final Version Submission / Advanced Registration: July 31, 2007 From alex.smola at gmail.com Mon May 7 18:14:28 2007 From: alex.smola at gmail.com (Alex Smola) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 18:14:28 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: 2 year postdoctoral position at the Australian National University Message-ID: We are delighted to announce one more postdoctoral position at the Australian National University in the context of Machine Learning and Sensor Networks. Applicants will have the opportunity to work with the researchers in the Canberra machine learning and wireless signal processing teams, including Wray Buntine, Marcus Hutter, Rodney Kennedy, John Lloyd, Nic Schraudolph, Alex Smola, Bob Williamson, and Vishy Vishwanathan. Details of the position can be obtained at http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/Academic_Positions/_CECS3965.asp Best regards, Alex Smola ******************************************************************* Employment Position Available ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science Research School of Information Sciences & Engineering Computer Sciences Laboratory Research Fellow Fixed Term ? 2 years Academic Level B Salary Package: $66,764 - $78,772 pa plus 17% superannuation Reference No.: CECS3965 Applications are invited for a research position in the Computer Sciences Laboratory to work on a research project in distributed sensor systems. The successful applicant will work with staff in the Statistical Machine Learning Research Group and others in the Laboratory. Applicants should have a PhD in computer science or a related field and/or experience relevant to a research project in distributed sensor systems and a commitment to the supervision and teaching of graduate students. Information about the Laboratory?s research areas is available at: http://rsise.anu.edu.au/csl/ Further particulars, including selection criteria, are available from: RSISE reception, phone 02 6125 8821, e-mail reception.rsise at anu.edu.au or http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/ Academic_Positions/_PDF/CECS3965.pdf If you wish to discuss the position after obtaining the selection documentation, please contact: Professor John Lloyd, phone 02 6125 8633, e-mail John.Lloyd at anu.edu.au. Information for applicants http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/ How_To_Apply/index.asp Job Application Cover sheet - http://info.anu.edu.au/policies/Forms/ Human_Resources/Recruitment/HR86.asp Closing Date: 31 May 2007 From masulli at disi.unige.it Tue May 8 04:17:09 2007 From: masulli at disi.unige.it (Francesco Masulli) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 10:17:09 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: CI-BIO 2007 DEADLINE EXTENSION Message-ID: <200705081017.10589.masulli@disi.unige.it> Please, accept our apologies for multiple postings. CALL FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS CI-BIO 2007 New deadline: 15 May 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Joint Conference on Neural Networks 2007 POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE APPROACHES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF BIOINFORMATICS DATA CI-BIO 2007 http://ci-bio2007.disi.unige.it/ August 17th, 2007 Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld, Florida, USA SPONSORED BY THE INNS BIOINFORMATICS SIG SCOPE & TOPICS Bioinformatics is a fast growing scientific area aimed at managing, analyzing and interpreting information from biological data, sequences and structures. In the past few years, many Computational Intelligence approaches have been successfully applied to the solution of complex problems typical of this field, including signal and image processing, clustering, feature selection, data visualization, and data mining. CI-BIO 2007 will present surveys and contributed papers covering different areas where neural, fuzzy, and genetic approaches have been successfully applied to the analysis of Bioinformatics data. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE Pierre Baldi, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Jake Chen, Purdue University Indianapolis, IN, USA Alexessander Couto Alves, University of Porto, Purtugal Alexandru Floares, Oncological Institute Cluj-Napoca, Romania Jon Garibaldi, University of Nottingham, UK Luciano Milanesi, CNR-ITB, Milano, Italy David Alejandro Pelta, University of Granada, Spain Leif Peterson, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA Giorgio Valentini, University of Milan, Italy Gennady M. Verkhivker, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA Jean-Philippe Vert, Ecole des Mines de Paris, France INVITED SPEAKER Mark A. Kon, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORKSHOP We request two kinds of contributions: * surveys papers giving overviews of innovative Computational Intelligence approaches to a specific Bioinformatics area * standard papers presenting new results not already presented at the IJCNN 2007. Standard papers accepted as oral will be presented in a slot of 15-20 min, while survey papers will have a slot of 30-60 min for oral presentation (details will be communicated to the authors by the end of June). Submission of Contributions Extended abstracts submission for the Workshop Notes Extended abstracts no longer than 2 pages must be prepared in Latex following the same style of IJCNN 2007 papers (IEEEtran.cls and a sample tex file are available here). By 15 May 2007 the authors must submit the PDF file with an email to ci-bio2007 at disi.unige.it In the email they must specify: (1) Paper title; (2) Survey/Standard paper (3) Keywords; (4) Authors names and affiliations; (5) Corresponding author's name and contact details, including telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address. ON-LINE PAPER PUBLICATION The authors of accepted abstracts must prepare the final paper in Latex following the same style of IJCNN 2007 papers (IEEEtran.cls and a sample tex file are available here). Papers must be submitted by 15 June 2007 in PDF format with an email to ci-bio2007 at disi.unige.it The papers will be published on-line on this web site. POST-WORKSHOP PUBLICATION We are making agreements with the editor of an international scientific journal in order to publish a special journal issue including extended versions of a selection of papers presented at CI-BIO workshop. IMPORTANT DATES Extended abstract submission (new deadline): 15 May 2007 Notification of acceptance: 22 May 2007 Accepted papers due: 15 June 2007 Slides of presentations due: 1 July 2007 Workshop: 17 August 2007 Best regards, Francesco Masulli, Univ. Genova (Italy) Roberto Tagliaferri, Univ. Salerno (Italy) CI-BIO 2007 organizers -- ************************************************************************* CI-BIO 2007 WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE APPROACHES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF BIOINFORMATICS DATA http://ci-bio2007.disi.unige.it/ email: ci-bio2007 at disi.unige.it August 17th, 2007 Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld, Florida, USA ************************************************************************* From c.hipp at uke.de Wed May 9 04:57:13 2007 From: c.hipp at uke.de (Constanze Hipp) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 10:57:13 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: APPLICATION EXTENDED: 5th European Neuro-IT and Neuroengineering School Message-ID: <4FE94981-E5E0-49F6-A41F-D98A240B3281@uke.de> Please note that the application deadline for the 5th European Neuro- IT and Neuroengineering School has been postponed to Sunday, the 13.5.2007! Please use our online system at http://www.neuro-it.net/ NeuroIT/Activities/Delmenhorst2007/Registration? to apply. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 5th European Neuro-IT and Neuroengineering School - Cognition & action DATES: July 15-21, 2007 VENUE: Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg (Hanse-Institute for Advanced Study: www.h- w-k.de) in Delmenhorst, Germany THEME: The 5th European Neuro-IT and Neuroengineering school will focus on a new and rapidly growing field - the area of ?Neuro-IT' and ?neuroengineering' where neuroscience, cognitive science, information technology and robotics are approaching each other and starting to merge in interdisciplinary projects. It is intended to be an international, multi-disciplinary platform for junior and senior researchers and other professionals working in the field of Neuro-IT, as well as for students of engineering, physics, medicine, biology, or psychology. The 2007 summerschool will thematically focus on "Cognition & Action". Key topics of the summerschool will include: - Executive functions, action planning & decision making - Movement preparation, skills, habits - Neuroprosthetics & brain-machine interfaces - Emotions, social cognition & reward mechanism The school is organized and funded by two European networks: - Neuro-IT.net (www.neuro-it.net) - a network that aims at developing the field of neuroengineering - euCognition.org (www.eucognition.org) - a network fostering the development of artificial cognitive systems ORGANIZERS: - Andreas K. Engel (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg/Germany) - Alois Knoll (Technical University of Munich, Munich/Germany) - Rolf Pfeifer (University of Zurich, Zurich/Switzerland) FACULTY: Confirmed speakers are: * Bruno B. Averbeck (UCL, London/UK) * Izhar Bar-Gad (Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan/Israel) * Paolo Dario (ARTS, Pisa/Italy) * Kerstin Dautenhahn (University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire/ UK) * Ezequiel di Paolo (University of Sussex, Brighton/UK) * John Findlay (Durham University, Durham/UK) * Rainer Goebel (University of Maastricht, Maastricht/Netherlands) * Auke Ijspeert (EPFL, Lausanne/Switzerland) * Guenther Knoblich (Rutgers, Newark/USA) * Peter Koenig (University of Osnabr?ck, Osnabr?ck/Germany) * Konrad Koerding (Northwestern University, Chicago/USA) * Reinhard Merkel (University of Hamburg, Hamburg/Germany) * Hanspeter Scherberger (University of Zurich, Zurich/Switzerland) * Andrew Schwartz (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh/USA) * Tania Singer (University of Zurich, Zurich/Switzerland) * Tom Ziemke (University of Sk?vde, Sk?vde/Sweden) PARTICIPANTS: A total of 50 participants will be admitted on the basis of their publication record (evaluated relative to career status) and the relatedness of the candidate's own research to the theme of the school. The willingness to actively participate in several activities is a prerequisite to attend the school. Registeration fees are 100 EUR for PhD students, 200 EUR for Postdocs, and 300 EUR for other professionals. The deadline for applications is Sunday, the 13.5.2007. More information on the school and on how to apply can be found on http://www.neuro-it.net/Activities/Delmenhorst2007/ We are looking forward to your application! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Andreas K. Engel, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Physiology Adjunct Professor of Psychology Director Dept. of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology Center of Experimental Medicine University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf Martinistr. 52 20246 Hamburg Germany Phone: +49-40-42803-6170 From bowlby at bu.edu Wed May 9 09:54:22 2007 From: bowlby at bu.edu (Brian Bowlby) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 09:54:22 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: 11th ICCNS: Final Call for Registration References: <107b01c791ab$1e53ec00$903dc580@cnspc31> Message-ID: Apologies if you receive more than one copy of this email. ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS May 16 ? 19, 2007 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 Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (http://cns.bu.edu/CELEST/) with financial support from the National Science Foundation CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS: Workshop on Biologically-Inspired Cognitive Architectures: Daniel Bullock, Dario Floreano, Deepak Khosla, John Laird, William Ross, and Patrick Winston Keynote Lecturers: Stephen Grossberg and Joseph LeDoux Invited Speakers: Jorge L. Armony, Gary Aston-Jones, Nelson Cowan, Shimon Edelman, James Enns, Michael Graziano, Jennifer Groh, Stephen Grossberg, Alice Healy, Marcia K. Johnson, Philip Kellman, Bart Krekelberg, Joseph E. LeDoux, Hal Pashler, Luiz Pessoa, Pieter Roelfsema, Deb Roy, Reza Shadmehr, and Frank Tong Please visit the web site for conference details, including: --the registration form (http://cns-web.bu.edu/cns-meeting/ registration.html) --a schedule of the oral and poster presentations (http://cns- web.bu.edu/cns-meeting/schedule.html) --local lodging options (http://cns-web.bu.edu/cns-meeting/hotels.html) From hugh.chipman at acadiau.ca Wed May 9 20:57:35 2007 From: hugh.chipman at acadiau.ca (Hugh Chipman) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 21:57:35 -0300 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral Fellowship - Acadia University, Canada Message-ID: <26564ebf0705091757h7c3edfabv5f128ab872ac2d71@mail.gmail.com> Postdoctoral Fellowship Statistical Learning with Graph-Structured Data Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada The Department of Mathematics and Statistics invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Statistical Learning with Graph-Structured Data. Recent or expected Ph.D., to start after July 2007. 1 year position working with Hugh Chipman, Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling, with possible renewal for second year. Analysis of network data, social network modelling, and data visualization. Desired skills/background: statistical computation, modelling with large data sets, and familiarity with supervised/unsupervised statistical learning methods. See http://ace.acadiau.ca/math/postdoc.htm for details. Email a CV, statement of research interests, and names of three potential referees to "statpostdoc acadiau ca". Review of applicants will commence May 31, 2007, and will continue until the position is filled. -- Hugh Chipman Professor and Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling Departement of Mathematics and Statistics Acadia University Wolfville NS B4P2R6 (902) 585-1525, Fax:(902) 585-1074, http://ace.acadiau.ca/math/chipmanh/ -- Hugh Chipman Professor and Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling Departement of Mathematics and Statistics Acadia University Wolfville NS B4P2R6 (902) 585-1525, Fax:(902) 585-1074, http://ace.acadiau.ca/math/chipmanh/ From terry at salk.edu Thu May 10 23:56:57 2007 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 20:56:57 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - June 2007 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 19, Number 6 - June 1, 2007 Letters Spike-timing Dependent Plasticity in Balanced Random Networks Abigail Morrison, Ad Aertsen, and Markus Diesmann Reinforcement Learning Through Modulation of Spike-timing-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity Rasvan V. Florian A Method for Selecting the Bin Size of a Time Histogram Hideaki Shimazaki and Shigeru Shinomoto Penalized Probabilistic Clustering Zhengdong Lu and Todd K. Leen Robustness of Connectionist Swimming Controllers Against Random Variation in Neural Connections Jimmy Or A Measurement Fusion Method for Nonlinear System Identification Using a Cooperative Learning Algorithm Youshen Xia and Mohamed S. Kamel Efficient Computation and Model Selection for the Support Vector Regression Lacey Gunter and Ji Zhu A Novel Generic Hebbian Ordering Based Fuzzy Rule Base Reduction Approach to Mamdani Neuro-Fuzzy System Chai Quek, Feng Liu, and Geok See Ng ON-LINE - http://neco.mitpress.org/ SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2007 - VOLUME 19 - 12 ISSUES Electronic only USA Canada* Others USA Canada* Student/Retired $60 $63.60 $114 $54 $57.24 Individual $100 $106.00 $154 $90 $95.40 Institution $782 $828.92 $836 $704 $746.24 * includes 6% GST MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Suite 500, Cambridge, MA 02142-9902. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-orders at mit.edu http://mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp ----- From schumann at email.arc.nasa.gov Sat May 12 01:00:35 2007 From: schumann at email.arc.nasa.gov (Johann Schumann) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 22:00:35 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Papers: IJCNN07 workshop on "Applications of Neural Networks in High Assurance Systems" Message-ID: <464549F3.4010101@email.arc.nasa.gov> CALL FOR ABSTRACTS / PARTICIPATION [Our apologies for multiple copies] Applications of Neural Networks in High Assurance Systems IJCNN 2007 Postconference Workshop Orlando, Florida, August 17, 2007 http://ti.arc.nasa.gov/ijcnn07 * Abstract Submission: May 25, 2007 * Decision Notification: June 06, 2007 Since the early days of neural network research, the large potential for applications in many areas has been recognized and exploited. Today applications include intelligent-adaptive aircraft control, control of chemical and power plants, steel manufacturing, and financial forecasting. Nevertheless, the number of successful neural network applications in high assurance systems is still comparatively limited. Certification and safety boards have long voiced concerns about safety, correctness, and reliability of neural networks employed in high assurance and safety-critical systems. For such systems guarantees a safe and reliable operation under unknown or changing conditions must be provided. The general uneasiness about neural networks as being "non-deterministic", "self-modifying", belonging to "soft-computing" and "artificial intelligence" poses major obstacles in the successful deployment of such systems in high-risk and complex industrial applications. The main aim of this workshop is to address three topics: * identify main obstacles for successful high assurance applications, * discuss possible ways to overcome those, and * identify possible techniques/method to enable and simplify certification The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers and users of neural network based systems and to create a forum for discussing recent advances in industrial application and certification of learning systems, to better understand the practical requirements for developing and deploying such systems, and to inspire research on new methods and techniques for testing, certification, and standardization. Topics * Applications of neural network based methods and systems in high assurance systems and experience/lessons learned. * Techniques, tools, and methods to assess and guarantee the performance of a neural network, e.g., statistical (Bayesian) methods, rule extraction with subsequent V&V, methods for convergence/stability analysis, dynamic monitoring, etc. * Certification techniques that are specifically suitable for learning and adaptive systems, and * Software development, V&V, and certification processes for neural network applications. Submission Please send an abstract (up to 4 pages) or a short technical paper, preferably in PDF format to "schumann at email.arc.nasa.gov" before May 25, 2007. Workshop Organizers Dr. Johann Schumann, Robust Software Engineering, RIACS/NASA Ames E-mail: schumann at email.arc.nasa.gov Phone: 650-604-0941 Yan Liu, PhD, Motorola Labs, Schaumburg, IL 60193 E-mail: yanliu at motorola.com Phone: 847-576-4680 Program Committee * Dejan Desovski, Google Inc. * Pramod Gupta, Nemerix Inc. * Stephen Jacklin, NASA Ames * Yan Liu, Motorola Labs * Johann Schumann, RIACS From t.heskes at science.ru.nl Tue May 15 11:19:37 2007 From: t.heskes at science.ru.nl (Tom Heskes) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 17:19:37 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Neurocomputing volume 70 (issues 10-12) Message-ID: <4649CF89.9000102@science.ru.nl> Neurocomputing volume 70 (issues 10-12) ------- SPECIAL PAPERS (Computational Neuroscience: Trends in Research 2007 edited by William Holmes) Computational Neuroscience: Trends in Research 2007 (editorial) William R. Holmes A non-parametric electrode model for intracellular recording R. Brette, Z. Piwkowska, M. Rudolph, T. Bal and A. Destexhe Inhibitory conductance dynamics in cortical neurons during activated states Martin Pospischil, Zuzanna Piwkowska, Michelle Rudolph, Thierry Bal and Alain Destexhe Parameter estimation in single-compartment neuron models using a synchronization-based method D. Haufler, F. Morin, J.C. Lacaille and F.K. Skinner Subthreshold oscillations and neuronal input?output relationships Fabiano Baroni and Pablo Varona Exploring GABAergic and dopaminergic effects in a minimal model of a medium spiny projection neuron Ebba Samuelsson and Jeanette H. Kotaleski Depolarizing, GABA-mediated synaptic responses and their possible role in epileptiform events; Simulation studies Richard Robertson and Kerstin M.L. Menne A biophysical model of short-term plasticity at the calyx of Held Matthias H. Hennig, Michael Postlethwaite, Ian D. Forsythe and Bruce P. Graham Neural response profile design: Reducing epileptogenic activity by modifying neuron responses to synchronized input using novel potassium channels obtained by parameter search optimization Erik Frans?n Persistent sodium is a better linearizing mechanism than the hyperpolarization-activated current Danielle Morel and William B Levy Modeling stress-induced adaptations in Ca2+ dynamics Kyriaki Sidiropoulou, Marian Joels and Panayiota Poirazi Effects of multiple spike-initiation zones in touch sensory cells of the leech Jutta Kretzberg, Friedrich Kretschmer and Antonia Marin-Burgin Effects of Na+ channel inactivation kinetics on metabolic energy costs of action potentials Patrick Crotty and William B. Levy Modeling recovery of rhythmic activity: Hypothesis for the role of a calcium pump Yili Zhang and Jorge Golowasch Investigating the properties of adaptation in a computational model of the olfactory sensory neuron Fabio M. Simoes de Souza and Gabriela Antunes Predicting neuronal activity with simple models of the threshold type: Adaptive Exponential Integrate-and-Fire model with two compartments Claudia Clopath, Renaud Jolivet, Alexander Rauch, Hans-Rudolf L?scher and Wulfram Gerstner A computational model relating changes in cerebral blood volume to synaptic activity in neurons William G. Gibson, Les Farnell and Max R. Bennett Excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs are modulated by the spatial distribution of dendritic voltage-dependent channels: Modelling in realistic ?-motoneuron Gideon Gradwohl and Yoram Grossman Postsynaptic modulation of electrical EPSP size investigated using a compartmental model Ovidiu D. Iancu, Jianmei Zhang, Patrick D. Roberts and Curtis C. Bell Recruitment of presynaptic vesicles and facilitation of transmitter release Maria Bykhovskaia Adaptation-induced suppression and facilitation: Effect of intra- and extracellular ionic disturbances Ketan Bajaj and Basabi Bhaumik Computing with active dendrites Christo Panchev A feature-binding model with localized excitations Hecke Schrobsdorff, J. Michael Herrmann and Theo Geisel Simulations of signal flow in a functional model of the cortical column R?diger Kupper, Andreas Knoblauch, Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, Ursula K?rner and Edgar K?rner Serial interval statistics of spontaneous activity in cortical neurons in vivo and in vitro Martin P. Nawrot, Clemens Boucsein, Victor Rodriguez-Molina, Ad Aertsen, Sonja Gr?n and Stefan Rotter Quantified symmetry for entorhinal spatial maps Erick Chastain and Yanxi Liu Identifying neuronal assemblies with local and global connectivity with scale space spectral clustering Karim Oweiss, Rong Jin and Yasir Suhail Modulation of excitability in CA1 pyramidal neurons via the interplay of entorhinal cortex and CA3 inputs Eleftheria Kyriaki Pissadaki and Panayiota Poirazi Simple conditions for forming triangular grids B?lint Tak?cs and Andr?s Lo"rincz Motor planning and sparse motor command representation Yutaka Sakaguchi and Shiro Ikeda Decoding modulation of the neuromuscular transform Estee Stern, Timothy J. Fort, Mark W. Miller, Charles S. Peskin and Vladimir Brezina Encoding of pheromone intensity by dynamic activation of pheromone receptors Lubomir Kostal, Petr Lansky and Jean-Pierre Rospars Information representation with an ensemble of Hodgkin?Huxley neurons Aurel A. Lazar Effects of stimulus transformations on estimated functional properties of mechanosensory neurons Alexander G. Dimitrov, Rony Azouz and Lital Israeli A downward biased estimator of spike timing information Marcelo A. Montemurro, Riccardo Senatore and Stefano Panzeri How do stimulus-dependent correlations between V1 neurons affect neural coding? Fernando Montani, Adam Kohn, Matthew A. Smith and Simon R. Schultz Spike alignment in bursting neurons Luis F. Lago-Fern?ndez Temporal structure in the bursting activity of the leech heartbeat CPG neurons Doris Campos, Carlos Aguirre, Eduardo Serrano, Francisco de Borja Rodr?guez, Gonzalo G. de Polavieja and Pablo Varona Reaction to neural signatures through excitatory synapses in central pattern generator models Roberto Latorre, Francisco de Borja Rodr?guez and Pablo Varona Scaling effects in a model of the olfactory bulb Malin Sandstr?m, Jeanette Hellgren Kotaleski and Anders Lansner Modelling the statistical processing of visual information Mia ?etic', Domagoj ?vegar and Dra?en Domijan A functional role of interaction between IT cortex and PF cortex in visual categorization task Yoshiki Kashimori, Yu Ichinose and Kazuhisa Fujita Simultaneous determination of depth and motion in early vision Ko Sakai and Shiori Katsumata The effect of background noise on the precision of pulse packet propagation in feed-forward networks Marcel Stimberg, Thomas Hoch and Klaus Obermayer Development of multi-cluster cortical networks by time windows for spatial growth Marcus Kaiser and Claus C. Hilgetag Statistical analysis of spatially embedded networks: From grid to random node positions Nicole Voges, Ad Aertsen and Stefan Rotter A cell assembly based model for the cortical microcircuitry Andreas Knoblauch, R?diger Kupper, Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, Ursula K?rner and Edgar K?rner Comparison of dynamical states of random networks with human EEG Ralph Meier, Arvind Kumar, Andreas Schulze-Bonhage and Ad Aertsen Dynamics of parameters of neurophysiological models from phenomenological EEG modeling E. Olbrich and T. Wennekers A computational model of the signals in optical imaging with voltage-sensitive dyes Yiu Fai Sit and Risto Miikkulainen Toward direct links between model networks and experimental data F.K. Skinner Functional penetration of variability of motor neuron spike timing through a modulated neuromuscular system Vladimir Brezina GABAergic excitation in striatal projection neurons: Simulations and experiments Martin Ayling, Stefano Panzeri and Enrico Bracci Criticality of avalanche dynamics in adaptive recurrent networks Anna Levina, Udo Ernst and J. Michael Herrmann Tonically driven and self-sustaining activity in the lamprey hemicord: When can they co-exist? Mikael Huss and Martin Rehn The significance of gap junction location in striatal fast spiking interneurons Johannes Hjorth, Alex Hanna Elias and Jeanette Hellgren Kotaleski A means to an end: Validating models by fitting experimental data M.D. Humphries and K. Gurney Ranking neurons for mining structure-activity relations in biological neural networks: NeuronRank Tayfun G?rel, Luc De Raedt and Stefan Rotter The role of cannabinoids in the neurobiology of sensory gating: A firing rate model study Margarita Zachariou, Dilshani W.N. Dissanayake, Markus R. Owen, Rob Mason and Stephen Coombes Neuromuscular control of reactive behaviors for undulatory robots M. Sfakiotakis and D.P. Tsakiris A neuronal model of the language cortex Max Garagnani, Thomas Wennekers and Friedemann Pulverm?ller The direction of figure is determined by asymmetric surrounding suppression/facilitation Haruka Nishimura and Ko Sakai Suppressive effects in visual search: A neurocomputational analysis of preview search Eirini Mavritsaki, Dietmar Heinke, Glyn Humphreys and Gustavo Deco Self-organisation can generate the discontinuities in the somatosensory map Tom Stafford and Stuart P. Wilson Extraction of spatio-temporal primitives of emotional body expressions Lars Omlor and Martin A. Giese Coherent response of the Hodgkin?Huxley neuron in the high-input regime Alessandro Torcini, Stefano Luccioli and Thomas Kreuz Time-scales in the interplay between calcium and voltage dynamics Srikanth Ramaswamy, Fabiano Baroni, Pablo Varona and Gonzalo G. de Polavieja Resonance tuning of a neuromechanical system with two negative sensory feedback configurations Carrie A. Williams and Stephen P. DeWeerth Desynchronized stable states in diluted neural networks R?diger Zillmer, Roberto Livi, Antonio Politi and Alessandro Torcini How much can we trust neural simulation strategies? Michelle Rudolph and Alain Destexhe Coherence resonance due to correlated noise in neuronal models Thomas Kreuz, Stefano Luccioli and Alessandro Torcini A model of the illusory contour formation based on dendritic computation Dra?en Domijan, Mia ?etic' and Domagoj ?vegar A spiking neural network model of midbrain visuomotor mechanisms that avoids objects by estimating size and distance monocularly Brett J. Graham and David P.M. Northmore A cell assembly model for complex behaviour Thomas Wennekers Short-term plasticity in a computational model of the tail-withdrawal circuit in Aplysia Douglas A. Baxter and John H. Byrne Modelling adaptation aftereffects in associative memory Federica Menghini, Nicola van Rijsbergen and Alessandro Treves Improved stability and convergence with three factor learning Bernd Porr, Tomas Kulvicius and Florentin W?rg?tter Temporal pattern identification using spike-timing dependent plasticity Fr?d?ric Henry, Emmanuel Dauc? and H?di Soula Importance of electrophysiological signal features assessed by classification trees Andreea Laza(r, Raul Mures,an, Ellen St?dtler, Matthias H.J. Munk and Gordon Pipa Attractor neural networks with activity-dependent synapses: The role of synaptic facilitation J.J. Torres, J.M. Cortes, J. Marro and H.J. Kappen Improvement of spike coincidence detection with facilitating synapses Jorge F. Mej?as and Joaqu?n J. Torres Storage of auditory temporal patterns in the songbird telencephalon Patrick D. Roberts, Roberto Santiago, Tarciso Velho and Claudio V. Mello Modeling L-LTP based on changes in concentration of pCREB transcription factor Lubica Benuskova and Nikola Kasabov Combining synaptic and cellular resonance in a feed-forward neuronal network Jonathan D. Drover, Vahid Tohidi, Amitabha Bose and Farzan Nadim Development of receptive fields in a closed-loop behavioural system Tomas Kulvicius, Bernd Porr and Florentin W?rg?tter Neuromodulation of short-term synaptic dynamics examined in a mechanistic model based on kinetics of calcium currents Lian Zhou, Shunbing Zhao and Farzan Nadim Induction of synaptic depression by high-frequency stimulation in area CA1 of the rat hippocampus: Modeling and experimental studies Kazuhisa Ichikawa, Akemi Hoshino and Kunio Kato A model of angle selectivity development in visual area V2 Alessio Plebe Validation of task-related excess of spike coincidences based on NeuroXidence Gordon Pipa, Alexa Riehle and Sonja Gr?n Emergence of population synchrony in a layered network of the cat visual cortex Jens Kremkow, Arvind Kumar, Stefan Rotter and Ad Aertsen Theta-modulated input reduces intrinsic gamma oscillations in a hippocampal model Ashlie B. Hocking and William B. Levy Effect of asynchronous GABA release on the oscillatory dynamics of inhibitory coupled neurons Thomas Voegtlin and Dominique Martinez Self-organized 40 Hz synchronization in a physiological theory of EEG I. Bojak and D.T.J. Liley Switching between gamma and theta: Dynamic network control using subthreshold electric fields Julia Berzhanskaya, Anatoli Gorchetchnikov and Steven J. Schiff Phase synchronization between LFP and spiking activity in motor cortex during movement preparation Michael Denker, S?bastien Roux, Marc Timme, Alexa Riehle and Sonja Gr?n Reliability and stochastic synchronization in type I vs. type II neural oscillators Roberto F. Gal?n, G. Bard Ermentrout and Nathaniel N. Urban Applications of the Poincar? mapping technique to analysis of neuronal dynamics Paul Channell, Gennady Cymbalyuk and Andrey Shilnikov Spatially organized spike correlation in cat visual cortex Denise Berger, David Warren, Richard Normann, Amos Arieli and Sonja Gr?n Neurospaces:Towards automated model partitioning for parallel computers Hugo Cornelis and Erik De Schutter ------- JOURNAL SITE: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/neucom SCIENCE DIRECT: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09252312 From zhaoping at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk Tue May 15 16:30:49 2007 From: zhaoping at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk (Dr Zhaoping Li) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 21:30:49 +0100 (BST) Subject: Connectionists: postdoc position available in computational vision in London Message-ID: UCL DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Research Fellow (postdoctoral) Applications are invited for the post of Research Fellow to work with Dr. Zhaoping Li (UCL Dept. of Computer Science) and Prof. Peter Dayan (UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit) on a BBSRC project in collaboration with Josh Solomon and Mike Morgan and Isabelle Mareschal (City University) for the project. The project is to study the contextual influences in visual perception using both theoretical/modelling and experimental means, with an emphasis on theoretical/modeling investigations for this post. Candidates should have good experience/skills in theoretical/modeling areas; experience/skills in visual psychophysical area is preferred but not essential, however interests in working and communicating with the vision experimentalists is necessary. More information about the interests of the researchers on the project can be found at www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/~zhaoping, www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/~dayan, www.staff.city.ac.uk/~solomon , and www.staff.city.ac.uk/~morgan informal enquiries are welcome and please direct them to Li Zhaoping at z.li at ucl.ac.uk The Research Fellow will be expected to contribute to the research environment of the laboratory and should have the capability to work well in a team. The post is available now, and there is funding for 3 years. Starting salary will be between 28,386 - 32,510 including London allowance and will depend upon qualifications and experience. For further details and information on how to apply, please see our website at http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/vacancies The closing date for applications is Friday, 15th June 2007. From l.wiskott at biologie.hu-berlin.de Wed May 16 05:18:56 2007 From: l.wiskott at biologie.hu-berlin.de (Laurenz Wiskott) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 11:18:56 +0200 (CEST) Subject: Connectionists: Bernstein Award 2007 Message-ID: <20070516091856.2C3A21D32D2@huxley.biologie.hu-berlin.de> Dear All, I would like to draw your attention to a great opportunity for young scientists in the field of computational neuroscience to establish an independent research group in Germany. Please forward to appropriate candidates. Unfortunately, (strict) deadline is already May 31. Best regards, Laurenz Wiskott. ============================================================================== Bernstein Award 2007 Young Scientists Research Award in Computational Neuroscience. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has established the "National Network for Computational Neuroscience" with four high-performing "Bernstein Centers for Computational Neuroscience" as the major structural elements. The "Bernstein Award" is equipped with up to 1.250 Mio Euro in the form of a grant over a period of five years. It will be awarded to a highly qualified young researcher, considering the candidates' verifiable research profile in the field of computational neuroscience and the scientific concept for a future young research group. Young researchers can apply for their own position and group. The group funded by the "Bernstein Award" will become an integral part of the National Network for Computational Neuroscience. This is the second "Bernstein-Award" announcement. The grant is provided for a scientific project of a young research group headed by a postdoc regardless of nationality. The project will be conducted at a German university or research institution - within or outside the Bernstein Centers. It is a prerequisite for funding that the university or research institution concerned employs the young researcher during the funding period and supports him/her with the basic equipment in terms of laboratory space and other infrastructure. A statement made to that effect by the receiving institution must be included with the project outline to be submitted. Deadline for applications is May 31st, 2007. http://www.bernstein-zentren.de/en/357.php ============================================================================== From k.gurney at sheffield.ac.uk Wed May 16 08:13:39 2007 From: k.gurney at sheffield.ac.uk (Kevin gurney) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 13:13:39 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: New MSc in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: <464AF573.6010605@shef.ac.uk> We are pleased to announce a new MSc: Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience This MSc is associated with the Centre for Signal Processing in Neuroimaging and Systems Neuroscience (SPiNSN) based in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, UK. The course is full time for one year, and is due to start in September 2007. What is Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience? Cognitive and computational neuroscience provide the foundation for understanding the relationship between brain function and the cognitive, perceptual and motor mechanisms which underpin behaviour. Specifically, computational neuroscience utilises neuroscientific data to construct rigorous computational models of brain function, whereas cognitive neuroscience relates cognitive and behavioural function to its underlying neural substrate. Together, these new and interdependent disciplines provide the foundation for meeting one of the key scientific 'Grand Challenges' of the twenty-first century: elucidating the relationship between brain and behaviour. Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at Sheffield The Department of Psychology at Sheffield University has a strong track record in both computational neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience. Recently, this strength has been consolidated by the creation of the Centre for Signal Processing in Neuroimaging and Systems Neuroscience. Areas of special interest include: the neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience of action selection; oculomotor control and the cerebellum; memory and learning; the neural basis of addiction; sensory control of dopamine; the rat somatosensory pathway; automatic and controlled processing. Investigative techniques include, anatomical tracing, multi-electrode electrophysiology, optical imaging, behavioural observation, computational modelling at several levels of description (from the biophysics of neural membranes to neural populations) and robotics. This diverse range of research interests and techniques ensures a rich and vibrant research environment for students studying on the course. Who Should Apply? The basic requirement is a degree or equivalent qualification, normally at the level of an upper second class honours award. We encourage applications from students with a background in either life sciences or mathematical/physical sciences. If your existing training is in the life sciences then you will be able to take advantage of specially designed mathematics and programming classes as well as instruction in the relevant applied mathematics integrated into specific modules. If you have a qualification in mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences then you will benefit from the introductory course in neuroscience that ensures all students have the same foundation in this area. For more details see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/psychology/prospectivepg/ccn_masters.html which includes application procedures, and sample course material. -- Professor Kevin Gurney Adaptive Behaviour Research Group Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, S10 2TP, UK http://www.shef.ac.uk/~abrg/ ------------- From legi at igi.tugraz.at Mon May 14 03:41:05 2007 From: legi at igi.tugraz.at (Legenstein Robert) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 09:41:05 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: New paper on classification with sign-constrained synapses Message-ID: <46481291.6020102@igi.tugraz.at> Dear Colleagues, we announce a new paper to appear in Neural Computation. The paper addresses the often ignored discrepancy between the learning capability of a biological neuron and that of a perceptron (or any other model commonly considered in learning theory): The sign of a synaptic weight does not change, since it depends on the type (excitatory of inhibitory) of the presynaptic neuron. We analyze theoretically the classification capability of perceptrons with weights that do not change during learning. We show that this constraint reduces drastically the learning capability of a perceptron, unless the distribution of input patterns has particular properties that are made explicit in this article. Furthermore, we show by computer simulations that the classification capability rises if input patterns are sparse. Paper: On the classification capability of sign-constrained perceptrons Authors: Robert Legenstein and Wolfgang Maass Preprint available at http://www.igi.tugraz.at/legi/psfiles/170.pdf Full Abstract: The perceptron (also referred to as McCulloch-Pitts neuron, or linear threshold gate) is commonly used as a simplified model for the discrimination and learning capability of a biological neuron. Criteria that tell us when a perceptron can implement (or learn to implement) all possible dichotomies over a given set of input patterns are well-known, but only for the idealized case where one assumes that the sign of a synaptic weight can be switched during learning. We present in this article an analysis of the classification capability of the biologically more realistic model of a sign-constrained perceptron, where the signs of synaptic weights remain fixed during learning (which is the case for most types of biological synapses). In particular, the VC-dimension of sign-constrained perceptrons is determined, and a necessary and sufficient criterion is provided that tells us when all 2^m dichotomies over a given set of m patterns can be learned by sign-constrained perceptron. We also show that uniformity of L1 norms of input patterns is a sufficient condition for full representation power in the case where all weights are required to be nonnegative. Finally, we also exhibit cases where the sign-constraint of a perceptron drastically reduces its classification capability. Our theoretical analysis is complemented by computer simulations, which demonstrate in particular that sparse input patterns improve the classification capability of sign-constrained perceptrons. Best regards, Robert Legenstein Institute for theoretical computer science TU Graz Inffeldgasse 16b/I, 8010 Graz, Austria From oby at cs.tu-berlin.de Wed May 16 04:19:18 2007 From: oby at cs.tu-berlin.de (Klaus Obermayer) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 10:19:18 +0200 (MEST) Subject: Connectionists: PhD scholarships Mind and Brain Message-ID: Dear All, below please find a call for applications for the new Berlin Graduate School "Mind and Brain". Best Klaus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Ph.D. applications The Berlin School of Mind and Brain: A unique research network at the interface of the humanities, social sciences, and neuroscience. The Berlin School of Mind and Brain, an interdisciplinary graduate school at Humboldt-Universitaett zu Berlin, is inviting students with a master's level background in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, computer science, biology, law, or economics or another fields related to mind and brain research to submit their applications. The application deadline is 31st of May 2007 for admission in the fall. Please visit our website for more information on the structure of the Ph.D. program, participating researchers and institutions, admission requirements and the application process: www.mind-and-brain.de Or contact us at info at mind-and-brain.de. The Berlin School of Mind and Brain is funded by the Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der Laender zur Foerderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung an deutschen Hochschulen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Klaus Obermayer phone: 49-30-314-73442 FR2-1, NI, Fakultaet IV 49-30-314-73120 Technische Universitaet Berlin fax: 49-30-314-73121 Franklinstrasse 28/29 e-mail: oby at cs.tu-berlin.de 10587 Berlin, Germany http://ni.cs.tu-berlin.de/ From g.goodhill at imb.uq.edu.au Wed May 16 22:05:17 2007 From: g.goodhill at imb.uq.edu.au (Geoffrey Goodhill) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 12:05:17 +1000 Subject: Connectionists: School in Mathematical and Computational Biology Message-ID: <464BB85D.3000205@imb.uq.edu.au> 2007 WINTER SCHOOL IN MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY 25 - 29 June 2007 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia http://bioinformatics.org.au/ws07 You are cordially invited to participate in the 2007 Winter School. This year's Winter School (the fourth in an annual series) is designed to introduce mathematical and computational biology and bioinformatics to postgraduate and advanced undergraduates, postdoctoral researchers, and others working in the fields of mathematics, statistics, computer science, information technology, engineering, and the biological, chemical and medical sciences. One important topic is presented each day through a mixture of extended lectures, software demos, and interactive discussions. Our lecturers, many of whom are leading national and international authorities, are selected for their ability to make their topic accessible to and exciting for a non-specialist audience. Each day begins at an introductory level and proceeds to advanced topics, covering both mathematical and biological perspectives. Topics (2007): Bio-image analysis, quantification and classification Organiser: Nick Hamilton, Institute for Molecular Bioscience Modelling and simulation of cellular processes Organiser: Kevin Burrage, ARC Federation Fellow Prediction and modelling of protein structure and dynamics Organiser: Thomas Huber, Molecular & Microbial Sciences, UQ Statistical analysis of gene expression Organiser: Geoff McLachlan, Mathematics, UQ Computational neuroscience Organiser: Geoff Goodhill, Queensland Brain Institute Speakers for the Computational Neuroscience component: Tatyana Sharpee (Salk Institute) Tony Bell (Redwood Institute) Michael Breakspear (University of New South Wales) Mandyam Srinivasan (University of Queensland) Geoff Goodhill (University of Queensland) ---------------------------- Geoffrey J Goodhill, PhD Associate Professor Queensland Brain Institute, School of Physical Sciences & Institute for Molecular Bioscience University of Queensland St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia Phone: +61 7 3346 2612 Fax: +61 7 3346 8836 Email: g.goodhill at uq.edu.au http://www.uq.edu.au/qbi/index.html?page=26835 Editor-in-Chief, Network: Computation in Neural Systems http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0954898X.asp From stefan.wermter at sunderland.ac.uk Thu May 17 13:03:31 2007 From: stefan.wermter at sunderland.ac.uk (Stefan Wermter) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 18:03:31 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: International Workshop on what it means to communicate Message-ID: <464C8AE3.4000608@sunderland.ac.uk> Call for Contributions and Papers International Workshop on "What it means to communicate" September 13, 2007 Ipanema Park Hotel, Porto, Portugal Held in conjunction with International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks?07 This workshop will focus on the neural, computational and cognitive principles of communication. A wealth of new knowledge has been produced by recent research for instance as part of the EU NEST initiative "What it means to be human". The goal of this workshop is to explore relevant research to focus on the question "what it means to communicate". The general aim is to understand the neural, cognitive, social, computational and developmental features that have led to communication differences between humans and animals. A number of interesting and successful research directions have been supported including learning by imitation, examining the origin of human rule based reasoning, studying the neural origins of language, exploring the evolutionary origins of the human mind, researching into verbal and nonverbal communication, using and interpreting signs, characterising human language by structural complexity, and representing abstract concepts. To complement this, the NESTCOM project aims to understand the results of these projects and integrate them with a neural multimodal understanding of verbal and visual communication for embodied action understanding. This workshop will explore the characteristics of human communication and their relationship to the role of neural networks in cognition and social development. Topics of discussion could include: ? Neural or cognitive natural language modelling ? Neural or cognitive vision modelling ? Multimodal integration ? Bioinspired communicating robotics ? Developmental approaches to communication ? Imitation and Learning ? Signs and Gestures for communication ? Mirror neuron system and its mechanisms ? Learning mechanisms for communications skills ? Learning of action understanding . Neural and artificial life agents . Communication between robots . Human robot interaction The workshop will include invited introductory talks, about 10 short presentations by panel members and a discussion session with the workshop participants. We invite position statements of 1 page in length or full papers of up to 8 pages in length for both panel members or workshop participants, submitted as pdf file to Stefan.Wermter AT sunderland.ac.uk and Michael.Knowles AT sunderland.ac.uk by 30 June 2007. Speakers and panelists will be confirmed shortly thereafter. It is envisaged that extended paper versions of the contributions will be published at a later date in a book by Springer and/or a special issue e.g. in a journal like the Connection Science Journal. For more and current information updates, program committee and organisation we have set up a web page at www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/nestcom/workshop/ *************************************** Professor Stefan Wermter Centre for Hybrid Intelligent Systems School of Computing and Technology University of Sunderland St Peters Way Sunderland SR6 0DD United Kingdom phone: +44 191 515 3279 fax: +44 191 515 3553 email: stefan.wermter AT sunderland.ac.uk http://www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/~cs0stw/ http://www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/ **************************************** From e.j.izquierdo at sussex.ac.uk Thu May 17 13:19:28 2007 From: e.j.izquierdo at sussex.ac.uk (e.j.izquierdo@sussex.ac.uk) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 18:19:28 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Last Call: Evolution and Dynamics of Learning Behavior Message-ID: <1179422368.464c8ea08d4e1@webmail.sussex.ac.uk> Last Call for Participation Evolution and Dynamics of Learning Behavior Workshop to be held as part of ECAL 2007 The idea of this workshop will be to discuss exciting new directions and developments in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying learning behavior and in the environmental conditions required for it to evolve. Two important announcements: ** Extension of deadline to submit contributions for Wednesday 23rd of this month. ** Prof. Randall Beer will be participating in our workshop with a keynote talk. For more information about the workshop please visit: http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/ccnr/edl07/ For more information about the conference visit: http://www.ecal2007.org/ Organisers, Eldan Goldenberg Eduardo Izquierdo From bard at math.pitt.edu Sat May 19 11:32:23 2007 From: bard at math.pitt.edu (G. Bard Ermentrout) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 11:32:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral positions in Neural Computation and engineering Message-ID: Two postdoc positions at the Institute for Nonlinear Science POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN NEURAL COMPUTATION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The Institute for Nonlinear Science (INLS) has a postdoctoral position for up to three to five years available immediately to work on the nonlinear dynamics of arthropod olfactory systems. The laboratory under the direction of H.D.I. Abarbanel, M. Rabinovich and A.I. Selverston takes a multidisciplinary approach combining electrophysiological experiments, numerical simulations and analog circuit implementations of nonlinear processes in communications among small systems of neurons. We are seeking applicants who are able to participate in both the laboratory and modeling aspects of the research. Interested parties should send a CV to: H.D.I.??Abarbanel (hdia at ucsd.edu), UCSD, INLS, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0402. UCSD is an EO/AA employer. POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER Bioengineer/Electrical Engineer UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The Institute for Nonlinear Science (INLS) has a postdoctoral position for up to three to five years available immediately who will help develop next generation biomimetic olfactory sensors for discrimination of specific odors in noisy environments. Will develop and build electronic sensor arrays and interfaces to computers and other output devices as part of a team of physicists, biologists and mathematicians. The laboratory under the direction of A.I. Selverston, H.D.I. Abarbanel, and M. Rabinovich takes a multidisciplinary approach combining electrophysiological experiments, numerical simulations and analog circuit implementations of nonlinear processes in communications among small systems of neurons. We are seeking applicants who are able to participate in both the laboratory and modeling aspects of the research. Interested parties should send a CV to: Terry Peters (tpeters at ucsd.edu), UCSD, INLS, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0402. UCSD is an EO/AA employer. From nnrev at atr.jp Fri May 25 02:37:07 2007 From: nnrev at atr.jp (Neural Networks Editorial Office) Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 15:37:07 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: Neural Networks: Special Issue 2008 "Neuroinformatics" Call for Papers Message-ID: ************************************************************************ CALL FOR PAPERS 2008 Special Issue of Neural Networks "Neuroinformatics" ************************************************************************ Neuroinformatics combines neuroscience and informatics research to develop and apply advanced tools and approaches essential for a major advancement in understanding the structure and function of the brain. The area of neuroinformatics has recently being submitted to a strategic analysis and planning process through the efforts of multidisciplinary expert groups, reporting to the MegaScience Forum and Global Science Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. These efforts have resulted in the emphasis of three main domains to be included in the term neuroinformatics: - neuroscience data and knowledge bases, increasingly capable of handling the full complexity and organization of the nervous system, from molecular to behavioral levels - tools for data-acquisition, analysis, visualization and distribution of nervous system data - theoretical, computational and simulation environments for modeling and understanding the brain In the United States, the Society for Neuroscience has also followed up on these initiatives, by establishing the Neuroscience Database Gateway -- serving as web-based ?yellow pages? for neuroinformatics tools and database resources worldwide. Their effort has documented the extensive developments that have taken place over the last few years. The present Special Issue will highlight the combined areas of databasing, tool developments, and modeling, all included in neuroinformatics. Submissions are solicited that demonstrate research and developments at the transition between two or more of the three main domains of neuroinformatics. The special issue will present new international coordination capabilities that are being established in the field, the establishment of national research platforms in neuroinformatics, and example projects from multiple levels of neuroscience investigations, all including two or more of the primary domains of neuroinformatics. Co-Editors: Sten Grillner (Karolinska Inst.) Jan Bjaalie (International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility) Shiro Usui (RIKEN, BSI) Submission: Deadline for submission: October 1, 2007 Notification of acceptance: February 1, 2008 Deadline for submission of revised papers: April 1, 2008 Notification of final acceptance: June 1, 2008 Deadline for submission of final papers: July 1, 2008 Format: as normal papers in the journal Address for Papers: Dr. Mitsuo Kawato ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories E-mail: nnrev at atr.jp Neural Networks Official home page: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/841/description -- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEURAL NETWORKS Editorial Office ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan TEL +81-774-95-1204 FAX +81-774-95-1236 E-MAIL nnrev at atr.jp """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" From nips2007publicity at msn.com Wed May 23 21:38:38 2007 From: nips2007publicity at msn.com (Sumit Basu) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 18:38:38 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NIPS*2007 - Final Call for Papers [Deadline: June 8, 2007 11:59PM UST] In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS, NIPS*2007 (HTML version: http://nips07.stanford.edu/nips07-cfp.html) Conference Site: http://nips07.stanford.edu Deadline for Paper Submissions: Friday, June 8, 2007, 23:59 Universal Standard Time (4:59pm Pacific Daylight Time). Submissions are solicited for the Twenty First Annual meeting of an interdisciplinary Conference (December 3-6) which brings together researchers interested in all aspects of neural and statistical processing and computation. The Conference will include invited talks as well as oral and poster presentations of refereed papers. It is single track and highly selective. Preceding the main Conference will be one day of Tutorials (December 3), and following it will be two days of Workshops at Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort (December 7-8). Submissions: Papers are solicited in all areas of neural information processing and statistical learning, including (but not limited to) the following: Algorithms and Architectures: statistical learning algorithms, neural networks, kernel methods, graphical models, Gaussian processes, dimensionality reduction and manifold learning, model selection, combinatorial optimization. Applications: innovative applications or fielded systems that use machine learning, including systems for time series prediction, bioinformatics, text/web analysis, multimedia processing, and robotics. Brain Imaging: neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, EEG (electroencephalogram), ERP (event related potentials), MEG (magnetoencephalogram), fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), brain mapping, brain segmentation, brain computer interfaces. Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence: theoretical, computational, or experimental studies of perception, psychophysics, human or animal learning, memory, reasoning, problem solving, natural language processing, and neuropsychology. Control and Reinforcement Learning: decision and control, exploration, planning, navigation, Markov decision processes, game-playing, multi-agent coordination, computational models of classical and operant conditioning. Hardware Technologies: analog and digital VLSI, neuromorphic engineering, computational sensors and actuators, microrobotics, bioMEMS, neural prostheses, photonics, molecular and quantum computing. Learning Theory: generalization, regularization and model selection, Bayesian learning, spaces of functions and kernels, statistical physics of learning, online learning and competitive analysis, hardness of learning and approximations, large deviations and asymptotic analysis, information theory. Neuroscience: theoretical and experimental studies of processing and transmission of information in biological neurons and networks, including spike train generation, synaptic modulation, plasticity and adaptation. Speech and Signal Processing: recognition, coding, synthesis, denoising, segmentation, source separation, auditory perception, psychoacoustics, dynamical systems, recurrent networks, Language Models, Dynamic and Temporal models. Visual Processing: biological and machine vision, image processing and coding, segmentation, object detection and recognition, motion detection and tracking, visual psychophysics, visual scene analysis and interpretation. Evaluation Criteria: Submissions will be refereed on the basis of technical quality, novelty, potential impact on the field, and clarity. A full discussion of the evaluation criteria can be found here (http://nips07.stanford.edu/NIPS-evaluation.html). We particularly encourage submissions by authors new to NIPS. This year, we particularly encourage papers that balance new algorithmic contributions with a more applied focus. These include: papers that contain a substantial evaluation on real-world problems, or papers that combine results on novel applications with analysis of their relevance from a machine learning perspective. Submission Instructions: NIPS accepts only electronic submissions at: http://nips2007.confmaster.net. As in the last year, NIPS submissions will be reviewed double-blind: the reviewers will not know the identities of the authors. Full instructions can be found in the general information for authors (http://nips07.stanford.edu/nips07authors.html), including a link to the style files (http://nips07.stanford.edu/instructions.html). These submissions must be in PDF format. The Conference web site will accept electronic submissions until midnight June 8, 2007, Universal Standard Time (5pm Pacific Daylight Time). There will be an opportunity after the meeting to revise accepted manuscripts. Demonstrations: There is a separate Demonstration track at NIPS. Authors wishing to submit to the Demonstration track should consult the Call for Demonstrations (http://nips.cc/Conferences/2007/Calls/CallForDemos). Workshops: The workshops will be held at Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort from December 7-8. Please read the call for workshop proposals in HTML (http://nips07.stanford.edu/workshopCall.htm) or PDF (http://nips07.stanford.edu/workshopCall.pdf) format for details. Program Committee: Francis Bach (Ecole des Mines de Paris) Michael Black (Brown University) Nicol? Cesa-Bianchi (Universit? degli Studi di Milano) Olivier Chapelle (Yahoo! Research) Sanjoy Dasgupta (UC San Diego) Virginia de Sa (UC San Diego) David Fleet (University of Toronto) Isabelle Guyon (ClopiNet) Bert Kappen (University of Nijmegen) Dan Klein (UC Berkeley) Daphne Koller (Stanford) [Co-Chair] Chih-Jen Lin (National Taiwan University) Kevin Murphy (University of British Columbia) William Noble (University of Washington) Stefan Schaal (University of Southern California) Dale Schuurmans (University of Alberta) Odelia Schwartz (Salk Institute and Albert Einstein College of Medicine) Fei Sha (UC Berkeley) Yoram Singer (Google and Hebrew University) [Co-Chair] Mark Steyvers (UC Irvine) Alan Stocker (New York University) Yee Whye Teh (Gatsby Unit, UCL) Nikos Vlassis (Technical University of Crete) Ulrike von Luxburg (MPI for Biological Cybernetics) Chris Williams (University of Edinburgh) Andrew Zisserman (University of Oxford) Deadline for Paper Submissions: June 8, 2007, 23:59 Universal Standard Time (4:59pm Pacific Daylight Time). From vferrier at hfsp-publishing.org Thu May 31 09:14:56 2007 From: vferrier at hfsp-publishing.org (Valerie Ferrier) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 15:14:56 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: first issue of the HFSP Journal now available online Message-ID: <200705311315.l4VDFLj0011581@grapenut.srv.cs.cmu.edu> HFSP Publishing is proud to announce the publication of the first issue of the HFSP Journal, Frontiers of Interdisciplinary Research in the Life Sciences which is available online free of charge at http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=HFSPJX&Volume=LASTVOL&Issue=LASTISS The HFSP Journal is a new journal which aims to foster communication between scientists publishing high quality, innovative interdisciplinary research at the interface between biology and the physical sciences. The first issue features: ? An Editorial from the Editor-in-Chief Arturo Falaschi from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste and the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa in Italy which discusses the new frontiers of research in the life sciences, many of which require approaches from other scientific disciplines. ? An Editorial from the President of HFSP Publishing, Mark Bisby from Ottawa, Canada which explains that the HFSP Journal aims to further the goals of the Human Frontier Science Program to promote innovative basic research at the interface between the life sciences and the physical sciences. ? A Commentary from Paul De Koninck from the Centre de Recherche Universit? Laval Robert Giffard, Universit? Laval, Qu?bec, in Canada and his colleagues which discusses a recent study of synaptic signaling and remodeling by quantum dot imaging from Daniel Choquet?s group. ? A Commentary from Jonathon Howard and Iva Tolic-Norrelykke from the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany which discusses two recent articles from Fran?ois N?d?lec?s group which address the issue of how cortex-microtubule interactions position the mitotic spindle by a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches. ? A Perspective from pioneers in the fields of single molecule imaging and manipulation of single molecules, Yoshiharu Ishii and Toshio Yanagida from the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences at the University of Osaka in Japan, which reviews the insight such approaches have provided into the visualization of the dynamic operations of molecular motors, enzymatic reactions, structural dynamics of biomolecules, and cell signaling processes. ? A Perspective from Kenji Doya from the Neural Computational Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in, Japan which reviews basic the theoretical framework of reinforcement learning which was developed in the artificial intelligence community and discusses its recent and future contributions toward the understanding of animal behaviors and human decision making. ? An Article from the Wiltschko lab at J. W. Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany and Thorsten Ritz at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of California in, Irvine, California reporting on an interdisciplinary study combines behavioral zoology neurobiology and biophysics to further the current level of understanding of magnetoreception and bird migration. ? An Article by Ajay and Bhalla from the National Centre for Biological Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bangalore, India who combined experiments and models to shed light onto the mechanisms by which ERKII signaling spreads long distances in apical dendrites of stimulated hippocampal pyramidal neurons. ? Two Articles by Erich Bornberg-Bauer at the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, University of M?nster, Germany and his coworkers and by Dan Tawfik and colleagues from the Department of Biological Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science in, Rehovot, Israel which together report on a multidisciplinary study combining theory, computational and experimental work that offers an intriguing new perspective on the evolution of new functions. The study by Bornberg-Bauer and colleagues addresses the biophysical basis of how mutational paths that seem to be neutral with respect to the dominant phenotype under selection can allow adaptive evolution by selecting a latent phenotype. The article by Tawfik et al. reports on an experimental analysis of protein evolution and provides the first direct evidence of the existence of latent evolution. The Editorial Board of the HFSP Journal represents 5 distinguished scientists from different disciplines but each with a strong focus on living systems:- * Arturo Falaschi (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Trieste and Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy). * Marcelo Magnasco (Department of Physics, Rockefeller University), * Peter Seeberger (Department of Chemistry, ETH Zurich, Switzerland), * Dan Kiehart (Department of Biology, Duke University) and * Mitsuo Kawato (ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Kyoto University, Japan) The HFSP Journal offers its authors the option to pay a fee to make their research articles Open Access immediately upon publication. For other articles, access is limited to subscribers for the first 6 months after publication, and access will be free thereafter. The HFSP Journal is be published online and in print. 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