From b.kappen at science.ru.nl Mon Jun 16 09:52:13 2008 From: b.kappen at science.ru.nl (Bert Kappen) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:52:13 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: full professor position in stochastics and theoretical neuroscience Message-ID: <575C3C18-7997-4BF8-8246-71573830A091@science.ru.nl> Dear all, At the Radboud university in Nijmegen there is a tenured position available in the department of mathematics for a full-time professor of stochastics. The selected candidate is expected to explore collaborations in the area of theoretical neuroscience and/or machine learning. Please find attached the advertisement for this position. Best regards, -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: advert.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 30471 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080616/c0ed317a/advert-0001.pdf -------------- next part -------------- Bert Kappen B.Kappen at science.ru.nl www.snn.ru.nl/~bertk 024 3614241 06 52078210 From jose.millan at jrc.it Wed Jun 18 09:40:48 2008 From: jose.millan at jrc.it (Jose del R. Millan) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:40:48 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Open PhD positions on Brain-Computer Interaction at IDIAP Message-ID: <4845033E00000AC9@cheetah-1.jrc.it> The Idiap research institute (http://www.idiap.ch) seeks *several* PhD students in the field of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to work in the team of Prof. Jos? del R. Mill?n (http://people.epfl.ch/jose.millan). The doctoral student will work in the framework of European and Swiss projects related to the development of noninvasive brain-actuated devices in areas ranging from communication to neuroprostheses, and from interaction to rehabilitation. Projects aim at developing practical BCI technology, but will also investigate basic questions such as online adaptation, cognitive processes, multimodal signal fusion, and brain-robot interaction. The successful candidate will hold a masters degree (or equivalent) in computer science, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, or related fields. She or he should have good background in statistical machine learning, signal processing, EEG analysis, human-machine interaction, and/or intelligent/adaptive robotics. Excellent programming skills are a must. Selected candidates will become doctoral students at the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, http://www.epfl.ch). The positions will remain open until suitable candidates are found. Starting date is November 1, 2008, or at the earliest convenience afterwards. Interested candidates should apply through the Idiap online recruitment system http://jobs.idiap.ch and send the requested material. *About Idiap* Idiap is an independent, non-profit research institute recognized and supported by the Swiss Government, and affiliated with the Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne (EPFL). It is located in the town of Martigny in Valais, a scenic region in the south of Switzerland, surrounded by the highest mountains of Europe, and offering exciting recreational activities, including hiking, climbing and skiing, as well as varied cultural activities. It is within close proximity to Geneva and Lausanne. Although Idiap is located in the French part of Switzerland, English is the working language. Free French lessons are provided. Idiap offers competitive salaries and conditions at all levels in a young, dynamic, and multicultural environment. Idiap is an equal opportunity employer and is actively involved in the "Advancement of Women in Science" European initiative. The Institute seeks to maintain a principle of open competition (on the basis of merit) to appoint the best candidate, provides equal opportunity for all candidates, and equally encourage both genders to apply. -- Prof. Dr. Jos? del R. Mill?n Idiap Research Institute Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) Centre du Parc. Av. des Pr?s-Beudin 20. 1920 Martigny. Switzerland Tel: +41-27-7217.770 Fax: +41-27-7217.712 jose.millan at idiap.ch http://people.epfl.ch/jose.millan From bazhenov at salk.edu Wed Jun 18 16:46:47 2008 From: bazhenov at salk.edu (Maxim Bazhenov) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:46:47 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral position in computational/theoretical neuroscience Message-ID: <48597437.8000705@salk.edu> Postdoctoral position is available starting July 1st, 2008 at the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology (http://www.genomics.ucr.edu/) and the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at the University of California, Riverside (Bazhenov laboratory). The long-range goal of our research program is to understand cellular and network mechanisms underlying normal and paroxysmal oscillations in the brain and the role of neuronal oscillations and synchrony in information processing. The position available involves working with a team of researchers to understand intrinsic and circuit mechanisms underlying slow wave sleep oscillations in the thalamocortical system. It includes developing detailed conductance-based and large-scale reduced network models of thalamic and cortical circuits based on anatomical and physiological data available from our collaborators; simulating the behavior of anatomically realistic thalamocortical networks in different sleep states and to study the role of sleep oscillations in consolidation of memory traces acquired during wakefulness. More information about our research is available at http://www.snl.salk.edu/~bazhenov/ This position requires experience in computational neuroscience and/or computer modeling. Background in electrophysiology and programming experience with C/C++ and Matlab are very desirable. Applicants should send a brief statement of research interests, a CV and the names of three references to Maxim Bazhenov at bazhenov at salk.edu From hinton at cs.toronto.edu Thu Jun 19 14:04:50 2008 From: hinton at cs.toronto.edu (Geoffrey Hinton) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:04:50 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: two postdoctoral fellowships in vision and learning Message-ID: The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research is providing funding for two Junior Fellows in their program on Neural Computation and Adaptive Perception. The Junior Fellows will already have a PhD in Computer Science, Computational Neuroscience or a related discipline and they will already have an exceptional track record of original research. The Junior Fellows will pursue their own research program which should be related to computational approaches to how visual systems can be learned, preferably with some relevance to biological visual systems. The Junior Fellows will have their own travel funds and a stipend of at least 60,000 Canadian dollars per year. They will interact extensively with other fellows and scholars of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, including members of other research programs. The fellowships will last for at least two years starting in late 2008 or early 2009. They can be held at any of the Canadian Universities that already have fellows or scholars of the Program in Neural Computation and Adaptive Perception. These Universities are: U. British Columbia: David Lowe, Kevin Murphy University of Montreal: Yoshua Bengio University of Toronto: David Fleet, Brendan Frey, Aaron Hertzmann, Geoffrey Hinton, Sam Roweis, Richard Zemel York University: Hugh Wilson A description of the Neural Computation and Adaptive Perception program can be found under "research" at http://www.ciar.ca/web/home.nsf/pages/home Applications should be sent to hinton at cs.toronto.edu. Applications should be received by July 31 2008, but late applications will be considered until the fellowships are filled. Applications must consist of emails in plain text with attachments that are individual pdf files. Attachments should include a CV, up to 3 recent papers, and a research plan of at most two pages that includes a clear statement of who the applicant plans to interact with, which university the fellowship will be held at, and a proposed starting date. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080619/1f52a525/attachment.html From hecke at nld.ds.mpg.de Fri Jun 6 03:10:46 2008 From: hecke at nld.ds.mpg.de (hecke) Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:10:46 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: fall course on computational neuroscience in Goettingen, Germany Message-ID: <4848E36A.6040704@nld.ds.mpg.de> Applications are invited for the sixth fall course on COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE in Goettingen, Germany September 22 - 26, 2008 organized by H. Schrobsdorff and J. M. Herrmann The course is intended to provide graduate students and young researchers from all parts of neuroscience with working knowledge of theoretical and computational methods in neuroscience and to acquaint them with recent developments in this field. The course includes tutorials and lectures of the following researchers: * Gaute Einevoll * Daniel Durstewitz * Marc van Rossum * Hamutal Slovin * Alessandro Treves The course takes place at the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics of the Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Selforganization, Bunsenstr. 10, D-37073 Goettingen. A course fee of 100 Euro includes participation in the tutorials, study materials, and part of the social events. The number of participants is limited to about 30. Course language is English. To apply please fill out the application form at: http://www.bccn-goettingen.de/events-1/cns-course by August 8, 2008. Best wishes and looking forward to seeing you in Goettingen Hecke -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: hecke.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 416 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080606/1307cbd2/hecke-0001.vcf From mail at mkaiser.de Fri Jun 6 10:17:57 2008 From: mail at mkaiser.de (mail@mkaiser.de) Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:17:57 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: Research Assistant/Associate position in spike train analysis (CARMEN Neuroinformatics project) Message-ID: <200806061400.m56E0WLk025643@post.webmailer.de> On behalf of my colleague Prof. Stuart Baker, I would like to draw your attention to the following RA position which is tenable for 27 months: Applications are invited for a Research Associate/Assistant, to work within the Institute of Neuroscience (http://www.ncl.ac.uk ) in the lab of Prof. Stuart Baker (http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/stuart.baker/ ). The position forms part of ?Work Package 5? of the EPSRC-funded CARMEN project (http://www.carmen.org.uk ). CARMEN seeks to produce an e-Science infrastructure for Neuroscience, by generating a data repository and analysis server for neural recordings from multiple electrode arrays and optically derived signals. You will develop novel algorithms to optimise data yield from multiple electrode recordings in vivo; this will require design, coding and testing of new statistical approaches. Additionally, you will develop methods for real-time data streaming from an experimental recording straight into the CARMEN data store, allowing distant collaborators to view raw and processed data in near-real time. This will involve collaboration with an experimental hardware manufacturer for which travel to the US will be required. You will have excellent computing skills, with experience of a wide range of software development. A high level of ability in mathematics and statistics is also required, as are good interpersonal skills to work with the many partners of the CARMEN project. The project would suit an experienced computer scientist or mathematician interested in applying their skills to researching brain function. The appointment may be made at either Research Associate (post-doctoral) or Research Assistant (pre-PhD) level. For more information, check http://www15.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_newcastle02.asp?newms=jj&id=24453 (don't be discouraged by the closing date and contact Stuart directly if you are interested in the position) Best, Marcus -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. 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 terry at salk.edu Mon Jun 9 21:38:32 2008 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:38:32 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - April/May/June - 2008 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 20, Number 4 - April 1, 2008 The Diffusion Decision Model: Theory and Data for Two-Choice Decision Tasks Roger Ratcliff and Gail McKoon Spike Train Decoding Without Spike Sorting Valerie Ventura Constrained Subspace ICA Based on Mutual Information Optimization Directly Marc Van Hulle Dynamical Constraints on Using Precise Spike Timing to Compute in Recurrent Cortical Networks Arunava Banerjee, Peggy Seriès, and Alexandre Pouget Dynamics and Computation of Continuous Attractors Si Wu, Kosuke Hamaguchi, and Shun-ichi Amari Predictive Coding and the Slowness Principle: An Information-Theoretic Approach Felix Creutzig and Henning Sprekeler A Homomorphic Neural Network for Modelling and Prediction Maciej Pedzisc and Danilo Mandic Almost Periodic Solutions of a Class of Delayed Neural Networks with Discontinuous Activations Tianping Chen and Wenlian Lu A Study on Neural Learning on Manifold Foliations: The case of the Lie Group SU(3) Simone Fiori ----- Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 20, Number 5 - May 1, 2008 Searching for Memories, Sudoku, Implicit Check-Bits, and the Iterative Use of Not-Always-Correct Rapid Neural Computation John Hopfield Unsupervised Learning of Individuals and Categories from Images Stephen Waydo and Christof Koch Populations of Tightly Coupled Neurons: the RGC/LGN System Lawrence Sirovich Messages of Oscillatory Correlograms - a Spike Train Model Gaby Schneider Two Computational Regimes of a Single-Compartment Neuron Separated by a Planar Boundary in Conductance Space Brian Lundstrom, Sungho Hong, Matthew Higgs, and Adrienne Fairhall A Sparse Generative Model of V1 Simple Cells with Intrinsic Plasticity Cornelius Weber and Jochen Triesch Phase Precession Through Synaptic Facilitation Richard Kempter, Kay Thurley, Christian Leibold, Anja Gundlfinger, and Dietmar Schmitz Parameters of Spike Trains Observed in a Short Time Window Zbynek Pawlas, Lev Klebanov, Martin Prokop, and Petr Lansky Sequential Fixed-Point ICA Based on Mutual Information Minimization Marc Van Hulle A One-layer Recurrent Neural Network with a Discontinuous Activation Function for Linear Programming Jun Wang and Qingshan Liu ----- Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 20, Number 6 - June 1, 2008 Analysis of the Interaction Between the Dendritic Conductance Density and Activated Area in Modulating-Motoneuron on EPSP: Statistical Computer Model Gideon Gradwohl and Yoram Grossman Discrimination with Spike Times and ISI distributions Kukjin Kang and Shun-ichi Amari A Canonical Neural Circuit for Cortical Nonlinear Operations Minjoon Kough and Tomaso Poggio Figure-Ground Separation by Cue Integration Xiangyu Tang and Christoph von der Malsburg Solving the Problem of Negative Synaptic Weights in Cortical Models Christopher Parisien, Charles Anderson, and Chris Eliasmith A New Multi-Neuron Spike-Train Metric Conor Houghton and Kamal Sen A Classification Method to Distinguish Cell-Specific Responses Elicited by Current Pulses in Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Cells Jose Ambros-Ingerson, Larry Grover, and William Holmes The Berkeley Wavelet Transform: A biologically-inspired Orthogonal Wavelet Transform Deterministic Neural Classification Kar-Ann Toh Robust Boosting Algorithm Against Mislabeling in Multi-Class Problems Takashi Takenouchi, Shinto Eguchi, Noboru Murata, and Takafumi Kanamori Representational Power of Restricted Boltzmann Machines and Deep Belief Networks Nicolas LeRoux and Yoshua Bengio ----- ON-LINE - http://neco.mitpress.org/ SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2008 - VOLUME 20 - 12 ISSUES Electronic only USA Canada* Others USA Canada* Student/Retired $60 $63.60 $123 $54 $57.24 Individual $110 $116.60 $173 $99 $104.94 Institution $849 $899.94 $912 $756 $801.36 * 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 israel at cc.huji.ac.il Mon Jun 16 09:20:12 2008 From: israel at cc.huji.ac.il (Israel Nelken) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:20:12 +0300 Subject: Connectionists: The ICNC Ph.D. program is becoming international! Message-ID: <5c3b379c0806160620x2c548c50g4cc75602772d3e0c@mail.gmail.com> The Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computations (ICNC) at the Hebrew University solicits applications for its Ph.D. Program in computational neuroscience. The Ph.D. Program exists since 1992, and currently has about 60 students, with 12-15 new admissions every year. Graduate studies are expected to last 5 years. Starting from the beginning of the next academic year, course language will be English. The program welcomes students with various backgrounds, including biology, physics, chemistry, psychology, computer science, engineering and mathematics. The program supports its students with comfortable fellowships and covers 50% of the tuition fees. Limited travel allowances are available. For a description of the program, see *http://icnc.huji.ac.il/phd/general_info.php*. Examples of Ph.D. theses of ICNC students are available at * http://icnc.huji.ac.il/phd/theses/*. The faculty members of the ICNC at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are involved in creating a new and exciting approach to solving the mysteries of the brain, capitalizing on unusually intense scientific collaboration among its members. The center is renowned for its scientific achievements and its unique Ph.D. Program. The center supports cutting edge research projects on brain research; it organizes and sponsors international research workshops; and hosts post-doctorate fellows from around the world who come to take part in research at the ICNC. Selected publications by ICNC members are available at *http://icnc.huji.ac.il/publications/index.php?issueno=4*. Candidates should send the following information to Ms. Ruthi Suchi, the administrative director of the ICNC (*icnc at alice.nc.huji.ac.il*): 1. Updated CV 2. A 1-page statement of the scientific interests and objectives of the candidate 3. Two or more recommendation letters 4. Transcripts of each university attended, in electronic form or scanned and saved as a .pdf file Submission deadline for foreign students is July 15. Candidates who will pass the initial screening will be interviewed remotely by the selection committee of the program. Successful candidates will be invited for a personal interview at the Hebrew University. For further information, please contact Prof. Israel Nelken (director of the program), *israel at cc.huji.ac.il*. -- Prof. Israel Nelken Dept. of Neurobiology The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences Edmond Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904, ISRAEL Tel: ++972-2-6584229 Fax: ++972-2-6586077 israel at cc.huji.ac.il -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080616/77371947/attachment-0001.html From pcomp at hunter.cuny.edu Tue Jun 17 23:20:10 2008 From: pcomp at hunter.cuny.edu (pcomp@hunter.cuny.edu) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:20:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Connectionists: Workshop CFP:Psychocomputational Models of Human Language Acquisition (PsychoCompLA-2008) Message-ID: <20080617232010.APU03416@mirapoint.hunter.cuny.edu> Apologies for multiple postings. *********************** First Call for Participation *************************** Psychocomputational Models of Human Language Acquisition (PsychoCompLA-2008) July 23rd at CogSci 2008 - Washington, D.C. http://www.colag.cs.hunter.cuny.edu/psychocomp/ Workshop Topic: The workshop is devoted to psychologically-motivated computational models of language acquisition. That is, models that are compatible with research in psycholinguistics, developmental psychology and linguistics. Invited Speakers: * Rens Bod, Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands * Damir Cavar, University of Indiana, USA and Zadar University, Croatia * Gary Marcus, New York University, USA * Jeffery Lidz, University of Maryland, USA * Gary Marcus, New York University, USA * Josh Tenenbaum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Workshop History: This is the fourth meeting of the Psychocomputational Models of Human Language Acquisition workshop following PsychoCompLA-2004, held in Geneva, Switzerland as part of the 20th International Conference on Computational Linguistics (COLING-2004), PsychoCompLA-2005 as part of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL-2005) held in Ann Arbor, Michigan where the workshop shared a joint session with the Ninth Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning (CoNLL-2005), and PsychoCompLA-2007 held in Nashville, Tennessee as part of the 29th meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci-2007). Workshop Description: The workshop will present research and foster discussion centered around psychologically-motivated computational models of language acquisition, with an emphasis on the acquisition of syntax. In recent decades there has been a thriving research agenda that applies computational learning techniques to emerging natural language technologies and many meetings, conferences and workshops in which to present such research. However, there have been only a few (but growing number of) venues in which psychocomputational models of how humans acquire their native language(s) are the primary focus. Psychocomputational models of language acquisition are of particular interest in light of recent results in developmental psychology that suggest that very young infants are adept at detecting statistical patterns in an audible input stream. Though, how children might plausibly apply statistical 'machinery' to the task of grammar acquisition, with or without an innate language component, remains an open and important question. One effective line of investigation is to computationally model the acquisition process and determine interrelationships between a model and linguistic or psycholinguistic theory, and/or correlations between a model's performance and data from linguistic environments that children are exposed to. Special Theme: Although the workshop program speaks to many facets of psychocomputational language acquisition modeling, the theme of the workshop this year is: * Computational resources: How much is just right, and does it matter? The computational resources (e.g., number of calculations per input datum, size of memory store, etc.) employed by current psychocomputational modeling efforts vary tremendously from model to model. However, two important questions have rarely been addressed. How well do a particular acquisition model's resources parallel the resources employed by a human language learner? And, how relevant (or not) is it to establish such a relationship? Topics and Goals: * Models that address the acquisition of word-order; * Models that combine parsing and learning; * Formal learning-theoretic and grammar induction models that incorporate psychologically plausible constraints; * Comparative surveys that critique previously reported studies; * Models that have a cross-linguistic or bilingual perspective; * Models that address learning bias in terms of innate linguistic knowledge versus statistical regularity in the input; * Models that employ language modeling techniques from corpus linguistics; * Models that employ techniques from machine learning; * Models of language change and its effect on language acquisition or vice versa; * Models that employ statistical/probabilistic grammars; * Computational models that can be used to evaluate existing linguistic or developmental theories (e.g., principles & parameters, optimality theory, construction grammar, etc.) * Empirical models that make use of child-directed corpora such as CHILDES. This workshop intends to bring together researchers from cognitive psychology, computational linguistics, other computer/mathematical sciences, linguistics and psycholinguistics working on all areas of language acquisition. Diversity and cross-fertilization of ideas is the central goal. Workshop Organizer: William Gregory Sakas, City University of New York (sakas at hunter.cuny.edu) Workshop Co-organizer: David Guy Brizan, City University of New York (dbrizan at gc.cuny.edu) Program Committee: Rens Bod, Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands David Guy Brizan, City University of New York, USA Damir Cavar, University of Indiana, USA and Zadar University, Croatia Gary Marcus, New York University Nick Chater, University of College London, UK Alex Clark, Royal Holloway University of London, UK Rick Dale, University of Memphis, USA Jeffery Lidz, University of Maryland, USA Gary Marcus, New York University, USA Lisa Pearl, University of California, Irvine, USA William Gregory Sakas, City University of New York, USA Josh Tenenbaum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Charles D. Yang, University of Pennsylvania, USA Contact: Psycho.Comp at hunter.cuny.edu with "PsychoCompLA-2008" somewhere in the subject line. From morgado at uma.pt Tue Jun 3 12:46:21 2008 From: morgado at uma.pt (Morgado Dias) Date: Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:46:21 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: Several positions: PhD, PostDoc, ... Message-ID: <200806031645.m53GjkCw017856@folhado.uma.pt> Dear connectionists: We are looking for PhD and PostDoc candidates for two areas: . Programmable Hardware for neural networks . Wind energy production modelling The PostDoc candidates are expected to have experience in the areas proposed and to contribute to their work plan. The candidates for the hardware area are expected to have a strong electronics and neural networks background. The candidates for the wind energy production are expected to have experience in modelling, including with neural networks. The candidates will work at the CCM at the University of Madeira. The CCM is a research center with the Excellent classification in the portuguese system. http://www.uma.pt http://ccm.uma.pt/ The candidates might also be eligible for teaching the University of Madeira. Life quality at the Madeira island has very high standards with its unique fauna and flora and the simultaneous presence of the mountain and the sea. Please reply to this e-mail with short CVs. Morgado Dias Morgado Dias Professor Auxiliar http://dme.uma.pt/morgado/ Director do curso de Licenciatura em Engenharia Electr?nica e Telecomunica??es Departamento de Matem?tica e Engenharias http://dme.uma.pt/ University of Madeira http://www.uma.pt Bolsas http://dme.uma.pt/alban From arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl Wed Jun 4 06:04:16 2008 From: arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl (Arjen van Ooyen) Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:04:16 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD and Postdoc positions on neuronal morphogenesis and network formation Message-ID: <4846689B.5050905@falw.vu.nl> Applications are invited for PhD and Postdoctoral positions in the Neuroinformatics Group of the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), VU University Amsterdam. The positions are funded by an EU-FP7 grant for the collaborative project ?Self-Constructing Computing Systems? (SECO) and by the NWO Computational Life Sciences project ?Neuronal Network Formation through Reciprocal Interactions between Activity and Structure? (NETFORM). The aim of our research is to investigate the principles by which neurons grow out and assemble themselves into functioning circuits. The first research line focuses on the development of dendritic and axonal growth models. We will create computational models of neuronal morphogenesis in which cell-type specific axonal and dendritic trees develop through neurite elongation and branching as mediated by the actions of growth cones and in interaction with the cellular environment. A major challenge is to find a balanced level of description of neurite outgrowth based on cellular, biophysical mechanisms (e.g., cytoskeletal dynamics) that will be suitable for an algorithmic implementation. The models will be used to study, for example, competitive interactions in neuronal morphogenesis, the impact of electrical activity on neuronal morphology, the formation of aberrant neuronal morphology in brain diseases, and axonal navigation in the development of cortical and thalamic circuitry. The second research line focuses on the reciprocal interactions between neuronal network structure and activity dynamics in developing neural circuits. Using computational models, we will explore the impact of activity-dependent plasticity rules (modulating neuronal morphology, structural connectivity, synaptic strengths, and intrinsic neuronal excitability) on the evolution of developing neuronal networks under their own (spontaneous) firing activity. One important open question that we will address is whether homeostatic, activity-dependent processes at the local synapse or neuron level are capable of achieving homeostasis of global network activity. We will study whether networks will evolve towards self-consistent states, in which firing patterns stabilizes the synaptic connectivity structure that also gives rise to these firing patterns. Ideal candidates should combine a strong neurobiological interest and knowledge with an excellent background in computational/biophysical modeling (research line 1) or computational neuroscience/neuronal network modeling (research line 2). PhD positions are for a period of 4 years, Postdoctoral positions between 2 to maximally 4 years. For further information about these positions, please contact Dr. Arjen van Ooyen, arjen.van.ooyen at cncr.vu.nl, or Dr. Jaap van Pelt, jaap.van.pelt at cncr.vu.nl. Application letters including a CV, research experience, a short statement of research interests, and contact details of two referees should be sent by email to Dr. Arjen van Ooyen before the 7th July 2008. -- Dr. Arjen van Ooyen Neuroinformatics Group Department of Experimental Neurophysiology Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research VU University Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands E-mail: arjen.van.ooyen at cncr.vu.nl Phone: +31.20.5987090 Fax: +31.20.5987112 Room: B-451 Web: http://www.bio.vu.nl/enf/vanooyen From pkoenig at uos.de Fri Jun 6 03:53:55 2008 From: pkoenig at uos.de (=?ISO-8859-15?Q?Peter_K=F6nig?=) Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:53:55 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: =?iso-8859-15?q?PhD_positions_Cognitive_Science_?= =?iso-8859-15?q?=40_University_Osnabr=FCck?= Message-ID: <4848ED03.80909@uos.de> PhD position in Cognitive Neuroscience / Visual Psychophysics - University Osnabr?ck, Germany The research group for Neurobiopsychology (Prof. Dr. Peter K?nig http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/~NBP/) has two vacancies for positions of a PHd student. (Scholarships are for a maximum of three years, to start at November 1st, 2008. ) The positions involve research within the Research Training Group Adaptivity in Hybrid Cognitive Systems (http://www.cogsci.uos.de/PhD/GK) in the area of processing of visual, auditory and tactile information and sensorimotor integration under natural conditions and includes the statistical analysis of natural stimuli, simulation of multimodal sensory systems, integration of experimental data on the neuronal activity with visual and auditory stimulation and the implementation on autonomous systems. Furthermore, the position involves participation in teaching Cognitive Science courses with an emphasis on Neurobiopsychology. The position offers the possibility of further academic qualification. The Research Training Group is associated with the Institute of Cognitive Science and research groups from the Institutes of Informatics and Psychology. It includes research groups in Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, Neurobiopsychology, Neuroinformatics, Philosophy of Cognition, Knowledge Based Systems, and Differential Psychology. The Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabr?ck is one of the largest European centres in Cognitive Science, offering degree programmes for BSc, MSc, and PhD in Cognitive Science and carries out research on a broad range of cognitive processes. The Research Training Group Adaptivity in Hybrid Cognitive Systems combines a curricular PhD study programme with an interdisciplinary research programme in Cognitive Science. The language of instruction is English. Candidates are expected to have a university degree (diploma/Master or PhD) and a good research record in at least one of the following areas: Computer simulation of neuronal systems, electrophysiology, and visual psychophysics, as well as a good command of the English language. The University of Osnabr?ck strives to increase the number of women in research and teaching. Women are therefore explicitly encouraged to apply. Applications with the usual documentation should be submitted no later than 18. July 2008 to the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr?ck, Albrechtstra?e 28, 49076 Osnabr?ck. Further information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Peter K?nig, (peter.koenig at uni-osnabrueck.de). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080606/0bc6913c/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: pkoenig.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 185 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080606/0bc6913c/pkoenig-0001.vcf From neuralassembly at yahoo.co.jp Wed Jun 11 08:39:56 2008 From: neuralassembly at yahoo.co.jp (Takashi KANAMARU) Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:39:56 +0900 (JST) Subject: Connectionists: A new paper on stochastic synchrony of chaos in PNN Message-ID: <20080611123956.22658.qmail@web3506.mail.bbt.yahoo.co.jp> Dear all, I would like to announce a new paper on stochastic synchrony of chaos in PNN is available from the following page. http://brain.cc.kogakuin.ac.jp/~kanamaru/research/ Takashi Kanamaru and Kazuyuki Aihara, "Stochastic synchrony of chaos in a pulse coupled neural network with both chemical and electrical synapses among inhibitory neurons," Neural Computation, vol.20, no.8 (2008) pp.1951-1972. http://brain.cc.kogakuin.ac.jp/~kanamaru/research/kanamaru-nc2008.pdf Simulator (Please note that Java simulator would be launched.) http://brain.cc.kogakuin.ac.jp/~kanamaru/Chaos/e/sSync/ [Abstract] The synchronous firing of neurons in a pulse coupled neural network composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons is analyzed. The neurons are connected by both chemical synapses and electrical synapses among the inhibitory neurons. By introducing electrical synapses, periodically synchronized firing as well as chaotically synchronized firing is widely observed. Moreover, we find stochastic synchrony where the ensemble-averaged dynamics shows synchronization in the network but each neuron has a low firing rate and the firing of the neurons seems to be stochastic. Stochastic synchrony of chaos corresponding to a chaotic attractor is also found. Best regards, Takashi KANAMARU http://brain.cc.kogakuin.ac.jp/~kanamaru/ Department of Innovative Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Global Engineering, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano, Hachioji-city, Tokyo 192-0015, Japan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080611/23ab5945/attachment-0001.html From tetiana.aksenova at cea.fr Thu Jun 19 09:05:54 2008 From: tetiana.aksenova at cea.fr (AKSENOVA Tetiana 218551) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:05:54 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position in neural engineering for an excellent PhD student at the Centre of Atomic Energy (CEA) Grenoble, France Message-ID: PhD position in neural engineering for an excellent PhD student at the Centre of Atomic Energy (CEA) Grenoble, France. http://www-instn.cea.fr/Publication_Sujet.php3?nomfichier=SL-DRT-08-148&lang=EN&id_rubrique=140 Applicants are invited for a PhD position in the field of neural engineering with the focus on Brain Computer Interface. The successful applicant will perform research in signal processing, modelling from experimental data, machine learning, and fast calculations for on-line real time applications. The aim of the project is the development of self paced ECoG based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) by means of a multidisciplinary study combining modelling and experiments. Brain-Computer Interfaces aim to provide an alternative communication pass and control system for the individuals with severe disabilities to send the commands to the external world using the measures of brain activity The candidate will have to interact with other researchers in a mixed team of mathematicians and engineers using mathematical and computational methods as well as of experimentalists performing BCI in animals and humans. Candidates should have, or expect to obtain, MSc in a relevant discipline (Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or Physics). Programming experience with Matlab and C(C++) as well as statistical knowledge is welcome. The work will be performed at the Centre of Atomic Energy (CEA, Grenoble, France) at the Research Group of Microelectronics for Health, LETI-Minatec, CEA. LETI is a CEA laboratory located in Grenoble which is one of the main European research centres. For more information look at http://www-leti.cea.fr/scripts/home/publigen/content/templates/show.asp?P=256&L=EN The PhD position is associated with the study at Doctoral School - Engineering for Health, Cognition and Environment (EDISCE), University Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1 (UJF) under direction of Dr.Tetiana Aksenova. The position is for three years, starting on October-November 2008 and is funded by CEA. Applications including a CV, a motivation letter and the names of two references must be sent electronically to Dr. Tetiana Aksenova (tetiana.aksenova at cea.fr ), Dr.Stephane Bonnet (stephane.bonnet at cea.fr), Mr.Regis Guillemaud (regis.guillemaud at cea.fr). For more information please e-mail Dr.Tetiana Aksenova (tetiana.aksenova at cea.fr ). _____________________ Tetiana Aksenova, PhD CEA L?ti MINATEC D?partement des micro-Technologies pour la Biologie et la Sant? (DTBS) Laboratoire LE2S 17 Rue des Martyrs - 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 Tel: +33 438 78 03 20 Fax: +33 438 78 54 56 Email : tetiana.aksenova at cea.fr -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080619/97e6a7fc/attachment-0001.html From mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk Fri Jun 20 07:56:35 2008 From: mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk (Mark Plumbley) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:56:35 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Papers: ICArn International Workshop 2008 Message-ID: <3399496864F99445B051FD9556FF3B6F01219C5E@staff-mail1.vpn.elec.qmul.ac.uk> Call for Papers *** DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 4 July 2008 *** ICA Research Network International Workshop 25-26 September, 2008, Liverpool, U.K. www.icarn.org The ICA Research Network is sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the U.K., and is aimed at improving communications in the area of Blind Source Separation (BSS) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). The 2008 ICA Research Network Workshop will be held at the University of Liverpool covering the latest developments and techniques in the area of source separation and ICA. Submissions from international participants are most welcome. Topics The workshop will feature keynote addresses and technical presentations (oral and poster), which will be included in the registration. Papers are solicited on topics in the area of source separation or ICA, including but not limited to: Algorithms and Architectures (Non-linear ICA, Probabilistic Models, Sparse Coding, etc), Theory (Optimization, Complex Methods, Time-Frequency Representations, etc), Applications (Audio, Bio-Informatics, Biomedical Engineering, Communications, Finance, Image Processing, Psychology, etc), and novel methods (compressed sensing, non-negative matrix factorization). A special feature of this workshop will be a special poster session where authors will have the opportunity to present their current work in progress. Authors should indicate their preference at the submission stage and submit short papers. Full Paper Submission Procedure Prospective authors are invited to submit camera-ready papers of no more than four A4-size pages in the PDF format. Please use the template and the electronic submission procedure described at the workshop homepage (www.icarn.org). At least one author of each accepted paper must undertake to attend the workshop. Prospective authors can seek clarification using the email address icarnw08 at liverpool.ac.uk. Accepted papers will be published in a bound volume. Authors of the most innovative papers will be invited to submit substantially extended and updated versions of their papers for further review and possible publication in the IET Signal Processing journal. There will be one Best Student Paper Award for the best paper presented at the workshop by a student. Registration costs will include attendance in all the sessions, a copy of the bound proceedings, mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments as well as buffet lunches on both days, and the Workshop dinner on the evening of 25 September 2008. Important Dates/Deadlines Submission of papers : 4 July, 2008 (extended) Notification of acceptance : 24 July, 2008 Submission of camera-ready accepted paper : 14 August, 2008 Early registration and author registration : 14 August, 2008 Final date for registration : 08 September, 2008 Workshop : 25-26 September, 2008 Website: www.icarn.org Chair A K Nandi Vice-Chair X Zhu Organising Committee A K Nandi X Zhu W Al-Nuaimy M E Davies J Gao M D Plumbley Programme Committee National P Baxter M E Davies R Everson C Fyfe M Girolami C J James A K Nandi M D Plumbley S Sanei X Zhu International J F Cardoso A Cichocki P Comon C Jutten E Oja P Smaragdis -- Dr Mark D Plumbley Centre for Digital Music Department of Electronic Engineering Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 7518 Fax: +44 (0)20 7882 7997 Email: mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk http://www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/people/markp/ From d.polani at herts.ac.uk Fri Jun 20 14:48:29 2008 From: d.polani at herts.ac.uk (Daniel Polani) Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:48:29 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD (Research) Studentship in Information-Based Self-Motivated Learning in Robots Message-ID: Research Studentship University of Hertfordshire Science and Technology Research Institute Applications are invited from candidates for a PhD studentship on self-motivated learning in robots based on information-theoretical principles. Project and Requirements: Based on a class of recently developed information-theoretic techniques and models, the project will study candidate mechanisms for the generation of biologically plausible self-motivated learning and behaviour dynamics for robots. The project will involve the intrinsically driven identification of intelligent behaviours based on informational criteria, and their incremental acquisition, refinement and expansion. The methods will be first developed in simulation and will then ideally be transferred to hardware robots. The prospective candidates should have a keen interest in contributing to a new and dynamic research area and a strong background in Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics or another relevant computational discipline. In particular, they should demonstrate very strong programming skills in one or more major computer languages. A good mathematical/numerical background would be desirable, ideally including probability theory and data modelling/neural network techniques. Successful candidates may be eligible for a research studentship award from the University (equivalent to £12,940 per annum bursary plus the payment of the standard UK student fees). The envisaged research will take place in a vibrant and enthusiastic research environment as a part of the Adaptive Systems Research Group in the School of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. The university is located in Hatfield, less than 25 minutes by train from London Kings Cross and with convenient access to Stansted, Luton and Heathrow airports and not far from the historic town of St. Albans. Contact for informal inquiries on the research topic: Dr. Daniel Polani (E-mail: d.polani at herts.ac.uk) For further information on the application process and an application form, contact Mrs Lorraine Nicholls Research Student Administrator STRI, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences University of Hertfordshire College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, UK. Tel: 01707 286083 Fax: 01707 284185 or email: L.Nicholls at herts.ac.uk The short-listing process will begin on 25th July 2007, but earlier application is encouraged. From julien.mayor at psy.ox.ac.uk Mon Jun 23 05:19:29 2008 From: julien.mayor at psy.ox.ac.uk (Julien Mayor) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:19:29 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Last call for the 11th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop, Oxford Message-ID: <177EE5C0-B3C0-427D-868E-6444A484E8B1@psy.ox.ac.uk> ***Apologies for cross-postings*** *** LAST CALL FOR REGISTRATION *** NCPW11 11th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop Oxford, UK 16-18 July 2008 http://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/babylab/NCPW/index.html ***** We cordially invite you to participate in the 11th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop (NCPW11), to be held at University of Oxford, from Wednesday 16th to Friday 18th July 2008. This well-established and lively workshop aims at bringing together researchers from different disciplines such as artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, neurobiology, philosophy and psychology to discuss their work on models of cognitive processes. Previous themes have encompassed categorisation, language, memory, development, action. There will be no specific theme, but papers must be about emergent models -- frequently, but not necessarily -- of the connectionist/neural network genre, applied to cognition. These workshops have always been characterised by their limited size, high quality papers, the absence of parallel talk sessions, and a schedule that is explicitly designed to encourage interaction among the researchers present in an informal setting. ***** DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: July 7th, 2008 For more information see the conference website at: http://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/babylab/NCPW/index.html ***** (and please mention if you require a vegetarian meal for the conference dinner!) --------------------------------------------- Dr Julien Mayor Dept of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford OX1 3UD # +44-1865-271400 Email: julien.mayor at psy.ox.ac.uk http://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/babylab/personal/julien.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080623/0743b5ae/attachment-0001.html From dayan at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk Tue Jun 24 09:09:48 2008 From: dayan at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk (Peter Dayan) Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:09:48 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: postdoc position in fMRI decoding at Maguire Lab at UCL Message-ID: <20080624130948.GA4550@flies.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk> [I am posting this ad on behalf of my colleague, Eleanor Maguire] There is a vacancy for a post-doctoral researcher in the Maguire Memory Lab at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK: Post-doctoral Research Associate: Decoding Memories from fMRI Signals A Wellcome Trust funded Post-doctoral Research Associateship is available under the supervision of Professor Eleanor Maguire. The appointee will play a key role in researching spatial and episodic memory using multivariate analysis of high spatial resolution functional MRI data. Application of decoding techniques to the human hippocampus and related brain areas offers an exciting new avenue for exploring how memories are coded by the neurons of the brain. The appointee will benefit from interactions with a critical mass of cognitive neuroscience researchers, methodologists and technologists at the Centre that contribute to an excellent environment for conducting the highest quality research. Applicants should have a PhD in computer science, mathematics, physics, cognitive neuroscience or a related discipline. They should have advanced skills in programming (e.g. Matlab, C++) combined with experience of or an interest in applying these skills to biological questions relating to human memory. Experience of analysing fMRI data, and of machine learning/multivariate analysis techniques is also highly desirable. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a consistently outstanding academic record, including publications. Excellent organisational and communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, are also required. This post is available from 1^st October 2008 and is funded for three years. Starting salary on the UCL Grade 7 scale in the range ??30,939 - ??36,429 pa inclusive, superannuable. Further details should first be obtained from Miss Katy Brinded, Personnel Officer, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG (tel: 020 7676 2191; email: personnel at ion.ucl.ac.uk ). Informal enquiries welcome to: e.maguire at fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk From inaki at cs.utexas.edu Thu Jun 26 08:46:19 2008 From: inaki at cs.utexas.edu (Faustino Gomez) Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:46:19 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD Studentship at the Swiss AI lab - evo2008 Message-ID: <09BF3F32-19EE-44BC-A101-116E4DF05094@cs.utexas.edu> We are seeking an outstanding PhD student in the field of evolutionary computation, with experience / interest in at least some of the following topics: genetic algorithms, evolutionary strategies, co-evolution, evolutionary reinforcement learning, evolving (recurrent) neural networks, evolutionary dynamics, fitness estimation, linkage learning, ensemble methods. Goal: to advance the state of the art in evolutionary algorithms, and to solve challenging reinforcement learning tasks for virtual or real robots, etc. Salary: ~ SFR 48,000 per year ~ US$ 48,000 (15 April 2008) Start: now or soon To apply, please follow the instructions under http://www.idsia.ch/~tino/evo2008.html regards, Faustino Gomez -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080626/a5adb0e2/attachment.html From vroth at inf.ethz.ch Tue Jun 24 12:28:37 2008 From: vroth at inf.ethz.ch (Volker Roth) Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:28:37 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Open PhD positions at ETH Zurich/University of Basel (Switzerland) Message-ID: <486120B5.8010509@inf.ethz.ch> *ETH Zurich/University of Basel (Switzerland): * Applications are invited for two fully-funded PhD positions for the EU project "Similarity-based Pattern Analysis and Recognition (SIMBAD)", which is a joint FET-STREP project involving ETH Zurich, University of Basel, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), IST Lisbon (Portugal), University of Venice (Italy), University of Verona (Italy), and University of York (England). The project attempts to break new ground in similarity based pattern recognition where we will explore models and associated learning algorithms for non-Euclidean data and non-metric data situations. Application domains of this type arise in computer vision (e.g., shape analysis), in medical image processing and in bioinformatics where often short distances can be reliably estimated but for large distances, the signal to noise ratio drops below one. As a part of the SIMBAD project, the Swiss group, comprising of ETH Zurich and University of Basel, will focus on structure-preserving embeddings of non-metric data into Euclidean spaces and applications thereof to analyze tissue Microarray images. Successful applicants will work under the supervision of Prof. Joachim Buhmann (Zurich) and Prof. Volker Roth (Basel). We are looking for highly motivated applicants who should have a profound knowledge in mathematical modeling and in algorithmics. Furthermore, the project requires substantial programming skills and a genuine interest to build a decision support system for pattern analysis. A prerequisite for starting PhD studies at ETHZ/Univ Basel are a Masters degree in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Mathematics or Physics. An ideal researcher will have a strong background in Statistics and Machine Learning, complemented with a solid programming experience. Excellent oral and written communication skills would be additional assets (English). The two positions are planned for 3 years. The salary (approx. 64000CHF/year) and conditions at ETH Zurich/University of Basel are very attractive. Applications (preferably in electronic form) should be sent to Ms Rita Klute >, Tel.(secret.): +41-44-63 26496, Fax: +41-44-63 21562 Institute for Computational Science, ETH Zentrum, CAB G 69.1, Universit?tstrasse 6, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland For further inquiries, please contact: Joachim M. Buhmann: jbuhmann at inf.ethz.ch Volker Roth: volker.roth at unibas.ch To apply, email the following to the above mentioned contacts: 1. Your full CV 2. A page discussing your interests and motivation towards the topic. 3. At least one academic reference. From terry at salk.edu Sat Jun 28 14:39:27 2008 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:39:27 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - July 2008 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 20, Number 7 - July 1, 2008 On-line Learning with Hidden Markov Models Gianluigi Mongillo and Sophie Deneve Theory of Input Spike Auto- and Cross-Correlations and Their Effect on the Response of Spiking N eurons Ruben Moreno-Bote, Alfonso Renart, and Nestor Parga Effects of Synaptic Synchrony on the Neuronal Input-Output Relationship Xiaoshen Li and Giorgio Ascoli Extending Cable Theory to Heterogeneous Dendrites Claude Meunier and Boris Lamotte d'Incamps Spike Train Probability Models for Stimulus-Driven Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Neurons Shinsuke Koyama and Robert Kass Temporal Coding: Assembly Formation Through Constructive Interference Thomas Burwick Fast Recursive Filters for Simulating Nonlinear Dynamic Systems J.H. van Hateren Adaptive Integration in the Visual Cortex by depressing Recurrent Cortical Circuit Mark van Rossum, Matthijs van der Meer, Dengke Xiao, and Mike Oram Spectral Algorithms for Supervised Learning Laura Lo Gerfo, Lorenzo Rosasco, Francesce Odone, Ernesto De Vito, and Alessandro Verri ----- ON-LINE - http://neco.mitpress.org/ SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2008 - VOLUME 20 - 12 ISSUES Electronic only USA Canada* Others USA Canada* Student/Retired $60 $63.60 $123 $54 $57.24 Individual $110 $116.60 $173 $99 $104.94 Institution $849 $899.94 $912 $756 $801.36 * 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 martin.giese at tuebingen.mpg.de Mon Jun 30 05:57:47 2008 From: martin.giese at tuebingen.mpg.de (Martin Giese) Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:57:47 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc + Phd position Message-ID: POSTDOC AND PHD POSITION: BIOLOGICALLY-INSPIRED COMPUTER VISION (University of Tuebingen, Germany) ============================================================ The Institute for Computational Sensomotorics at the Center for Integrative Neurosciences, University of Tuebingen invites applications for a Postdoc and a PhD student available immediately, with a maximum duration of 3 years. The position is funded within a EC research project. The highly interdisciplinary project aims at the development of neural architectures for human movement recognition in the context of technical applications, exploiting principles inspired by biological visual systems. The project is realized in collaboration the Fraunhofer Society, the University of Ulm and INRIA (Sophia Antipolis, France). Tuebingen is a leading German center for neuroscience hosting a variety of experimental and theoretical groups. The Center for Integrative Neuroscience is organized jointly with the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, a world leading center for experimental neuroscience and machine learning. The positions focus on the development of novel learning architectures that combine principles for flexible information processing from neuroscience, machine vision, and machine learning. The ideal candidate should have the following qualifications: * Masters (PhD) degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related fields * programming experience (Matlab, C/C++, ...) * knowledge about neural models of vision or image processing / computer vision * English speaking and writing skills. Committed to Equal Opportunities. -------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Martin Giese Institute for Computational Sensomotorics Center for Integrative Neuroscience & Hertie Center for Clinical Brain Research University of Tuebingen Frondsbergstr. 23 D-72076 Tuebingen GERMANY Tel.: +49 7071 365 9880 Fax: +49 7071 360 021 Email: martin.giese at uni-tuebingen.de Web: http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/uni/knv/arl/ -------------------------------------------------------- From mail at jan-peters.net Sat Jun 28 09:22:29 2008 From: mail at jan-peters.net (Jan Peters) Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:22:29 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: Call For Papers: Autonomous Robots - Special Issue on Robot Learning Message-ID: <122B352E-6CA4-4BE0-A72B-85B240A8F762@jan-peters.net> = = = ======================================================================== Call For Papers: Autonomous Robots - Special Issue on Robot Learning = = = ======================================================================== Quick Facts ========= Editors: Jan Peters, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Andrew Y. Ng, Stanford University Journal: Autonomous Robots Submission Deadline: November 8, 2008 Author Notification: March 1, 2009 Revised Manuscripts: June 1, 2009 Approximate Publication Date: 4th Quarter, 2009 Abstract ====== Creating autonomous robots that can learn to act in unpredictable environments has been a long standing goal of robotics, artificial intelligence, and the cognitive sciences. In contrast, current commercially available industrial and service robots mostly execute fixed tasks and exhibit little adaptability. To bridge this gap, machine learning offers a myriad set of methods some of which have already been applied with great success to robotics problems. Machine learning is also likely play an increasingly important role in robotics as we take robots out of research labs and factory floors, into the unstructured environments inhabited by humans and into other natural environments. To carry out increasingly difficult and diverse sets of tasks, future robots will need to make proper use of perceptual stimuli such as vision, lidar, proprioceptive sensing and tactile feedback, and translate these into appropriate motor commands. In order to close this complex loop from perception to action, machine learning will be needed in various stages such as scene understanding, sensory-based action generation, high-level plan generation, and torque level motor control. Among the important problems hidden in these steps are robotic perception, perceptuo-action coupling, imitation learning, movement decomposition, probabilistic planning, motor primitive learning, reinforcement learning, model learning, motor control, and many others. Driven by high-profile competitions such as RoboCup and the DARPA Challenges, as well as the growing number of robot learning research programs funded by governments around the world (e.g., FP7-ICT, the euCognition initiative, DARPA Legged Locomotion and LAGR programs), interest in robot learning has reached an unprecedented high point. The interest in machine learning and statistics within robotics has increased substantially; and, robot applications have also become important for motivating new algorithms and formalisms in the machine learning community. In this Autonomous Robots Special Issue on Robot Learning, we intend to outline recent successes in the application of domain-driven machine learning methods to robotics. Examples of topics of interest include, but are not limited to: ? learning models of robots, task or environments ? learning deep hierarchies or levels of representations from sensor & motor representations to task abstractions ? learning plans and control policies by imitation, apprenticeship and reinforcement learning ? finding low-dimensional embeddings of movement as implicit generative models ? integrating learning with control architectures ? methods for probabilistic inference from multi-modal sensory information (e.g., proprioceptive, tactile, vision) ? structured spatio-temporal representations designed for robot learning ? probabilistic inference in non-linear, non-Gaussian stochastic systems (e.g., for planning as well as for optimal or adaptive control) From several recent workshops, it has become apparent that there is a significant body of novel work on these topics. The special issue will only focus on high quality articles based on sound theoretical development as well as evaluations on real robot systems. Time Line ======== Submission Deadline: November 8, 2008 Author Notification: March 1, 2009 Revised Manuscripts: June 1, 2009 Approximate Publication Date: 4th Quarter, 2009 Editors ====== Inquiries on this special issue should be send to one of the editors listed below. Jan Peters (http://www.jan-peters.net/) Senior Research Scientist, Head of the Robot Learning Laboratory Department for Machine Learning and Empirical Inference, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany Andrew Y. Ng (http://ai.stanford.edu/~ang/) Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA From ala at csc.kth.se Sun Jun 29 18:18:11 2008 From: ala at csc.kth.se (Anders Lansner) Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:18:11 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: Open postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience/neuroinformatics in Stockholm Message-ID: <001301c8da36$012a7cf0$e8e0ed82@nt.nada.kth.se> Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience / neuroinformatics at the KTH Computational Biology department for collaborative research within Stockholm Brain Institute (SBI). SBI is a newly formed brain research consortium in Stockholm, which is joint between Karolinska institutet, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and Stockholm University and has a focus on cognitive and computational neuroscience. The CBN research group is specialized in large-scale modelling and simulation of the neuronal networks of the brain as well as brain-inspired computational architectures and algorithms. The group is part of SBI and manages its computational and modelling platform. An important aspect of the work is software development for and use of large-scale neuronal network simulations, including simulators and tools for model specification and visualization. A focus is on parallel computing in a Linux environment with a 1K processor IBM Blue Gene/L cluster computer as a dedicated resource. The ideal candidate has a PhD in computer science - mathematics - physics with a profile towards algorithms, computational science, and/or biophysics as applied to computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics. A strong interest in brain research as well as good collaborative and communicative skills are necessary. Documented experience from a cross-disciplinary environment towards experimental brain research is a merit. For more information see: http://www.csc.kth.se/forskning/cb/index.php.en http://www.stockholmbrain.se/ For more details and formalities see http://www.kth.se/aktuellt/2.1445/1.20791?l=en_UK /Anders Lansner, ala at csc.kth.se From a.silver at ucl.ac.uk Fri Jun 27 11:02:14 2008 From: a.silver at ucl.ac.uk (Angus Silver) Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:02:14 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD Studentship - Neural Networks - at UCL Message-ID: <004001c8d866$f0179400$350fa8c0@AngusOffice> PhD Studentship investigating signal processing in neural networks with biologically realistic models at University College London Applications are invited for a 3 year PhD Studentship in Computational Neuroscience in Professor Silver's Laboratory, Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, UK. The studentship covers fees and provides a stipend for UK and EU nationals. The project will explore signal processing in cortical networks using biologically realistic models. This will involve using an advanced software tool, neuroConstruct created in the Silver Lab, for constructing biologically realistic neural networks in 3D space (http://www.neuroConstruct.org ). Development of large scale network models will also require software development, particularly in a parallel computing environment. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of experimental biologists, physicists and computational biologists. Related papers include: 1) Gleeson, P. Steuber, V. and Silver, R.A. (2007). neuroConstruct: A tool for modeling networks of neurons in 3D space. Neuron, 54, 219-35 2) Mitchell SJ, Silver RA. (2003) Shunting inhibition modulates neuronal gain during synaptic excitation. Neuron. 38, 433-45. 3) Steuber, V., Mittmann, W., Hoebeek, F.E., Silver, R.A., De Zeeuw, C.I., Hausser, M. and De Schutter, E. (2007). Cerebellar LTD and pattern recognition by Purkinje cells. Neuron 54, 121-136. 4) Traub RD, Contreras D, Cunningham MO, Murray H, LeBeau FE, Roopun A, Bibbig A, Wilent WB, Higley MJ, Whittington MA. Single-column thalamocortical network model exhibiting gamma oscillations, sleep spindles, and epileptogenic bursts. J Neurophysiol. 2005, 93(4):2194-232. Applicants should have excellent software development skills and a good degree in mathematics, computer science, physics or biological sciences. Previous experience in neuroscience is not required but would be an advantage. Applications should include a CV, the contact details of two referees and a short statement of research interests. These should be sent by email to Angus Silver (a.silver at ucl.ac.uk). R. Angus Silver Professor of Neuroscience, Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow, Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, University College London, Gower Street, London. WC1E 6BT Tel: +44 207 679 7830 http://www.physiol.ucl.ac.uk/research/silver_a/index.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20080627/2479887c/attachment-0001.html