From aapo.hyvarinen at helsinki.fi Wed Apr 6 09:19:56 2011 From: aapo.hyvarinen at helsinki.fi (=?UTF-8?B?QWFwbyBIeXbDpHJpbmVu?=) Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:19:56 +0300 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc position in MEG/EEG signal analysis Message-ID: <4D9C687C.80509@helsinki.fi> Applications are invited for a *** Postdoctoral position *** in a project on two-person neuroscience in Helsinki, Finland. This is a joint project with Aapo Hyvarinen (Univ of Helsinki) and Riitta Hari (Aalto University, formerly called Helsinki Univ of Technology). The postdoctoral position consists of developing new models and methods for analysing data from brain imaging experiments using MEG and EEG. While almost all brain imaging data are currently analyzed by simple methods which constrain the experiments to simple laboratory situations, we develop new methods with which we can analyse brain activity in situations closer to everyday-life. The setting we consider in this particular project is "two-person neuroscience", in which two subjects are in social interaction with each other, while both of their brains are scanned. The post-doc position is located in Aapo Hyvarinen's group at the University of Helsinki, which is one of the world's leading groups in unsupervised machine learning and its applications in neuroscience. The work is done in close collaboration with Riitta Hari's group at the Brain Research Unit of Aalto University, world-famous for its pioneering work in the development of MEG. Riitta Hari's group is currently developing a system in which two interacting persons' MEG signals can be recorded at the same time. The selected candidate will thus receive world-class post-doctoral training in a highly multidisciplinary and paradigm-shifting project. Applications from candidates with a PhD degree in signal processing, computer science, statistics, or similar, are welcome. Candidates with experience in neuroscience are preferred but exceptionally strong candidates with a strong future commitment to neuroscience are also eligible. Candidates who are likely to obtain a PhD degree in the next few months can also apply. The starting date and the duration are flexible. Please send your application to: aapo.hyvarinen [at] helsinki.fi . Attach at least: CV, publication list, short statement of research interests, and names and email addresses of 2-3 people willing to give their opinion on your competence. Review of applications will start on 5th May 2011 and continue until the position is filled. Aapo Hyvarinen -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dept of Mathematics and Statistics & Dept of Computer Science University of Helsinki www.cs.helsinki.fi/aapo.hyvarinen/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Benjamin.Schrauwen at elis.ugent.be Wed Apr 6 08:32:18 2011 From: Benjamin.Schrauwen at elis.ugent.be (Benjamin Schrauwen) Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 14:32:18 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD research position in photonic reservoir computing Message-ID: <15AA7BF8-E2B4-4B22-8C11-4F8901BC0D16@elis.ugent.be> An immediately fillable, fully funded PHD RESEARCH POSITION at the intersection of machine learning, photonics and dynamical systems theory at the ELectronics and Information Systems (ELIS) department, Ghent University, Belgium This position is opened in the context of the European ERC Grant NaResCo. This prestigious research grant involves the design of integrated photonic analog computers based on a machine learning technique called Reservoir Computing. For this technique, a complex nonlinear dynamical system (the reservoir) is considered to be computing a number of functions of its past and present inputs in its state variables. To perform useful computation with such a system, these functions can be linearly combined to approximate a desired input/output behavior. The overall nature of the state functions is generally affected by some global parameters which can be tuned to best accommodate the desired functionality. The output weights can be optimized by traditional online or offline machine learning techniques. An initial bottom-up exploration for specific photonic implementations has shown competitive performance to simulated systems for several tasks. It has also identified some of the strengths and weaknesses of photonics in building reservoirs. Your research will follow a top-down approach, aiming at the identification of relationships between task properties and the desirable properties of reservoirs optimally tuned to solve these tasks. We offer an exciting job in a stimulating environment, with a nice amount of flexibility and academic liberty. Your research will be supported by our own research group, with a thorough expertise in machine learning and reservoir computing, as well as the photonics research group in the INTEC department (group of prof. P. Bienstman, also at Ghent University). Applicants should have a Master's degree in electronics, photonics or computer engineering, machine learning, control engineering, computational neuroscience, mathematics, theoretical physics, signal processing, or similar fields and be very fluent in English. The ideal candidates should have a background or previous experience in as many as possible of the subjects listed below: - Dynamical systems theory - (Integrated) photonics - Machine learning, neural networks or AI - Signal theory and stochastic processes - Control theory For more information or to send your letter of application, CV, copies of academic certificates, and possibly samples of published work, mail to Benjamin.Schrauwen at UGent.be. In a second stage of the application process, two recommendation letters will be required. ---------------------------- - Prof. dr. ir. Benjamin Schrauwen - - Reservoir Lab, Electronics and Information Systems Department - Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ghent University - - St. Pietersnieuwstraat 41, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium - phone: +32-9-264.95.26 - website: http://reslab.elis.ugent.be ---------------------------- From bowlby at bu.edu Mon Apr 4 08:54:08 2011 From: bowlby at bu.edu (Brian Bowlby) Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 08:54:08 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: 15th ICCNS Conference: Call for Registration Message-ID: <80843676-2D71-4B45-93C1-DB96D55F5D71@bu.edu> FIFTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS May 11?14, 2011 Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA http://cns.bu.edu/meetings/ Sponsored by the Boston University Center for Adaptive Systems, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (http://cns.bu.edu/), and Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (http://celest.bu.edu) with financial support from the National Science Foundation This interdisciplinary conference is attended each year by approximately 300 people from 30 countries around the world. As in previous years, the conference will focus on solutions to the questions: HOW DOES THE BRAIN CONTROL BEHAVIOR? HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY EMULATE BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE? The conference is aimed at researchers and students of computational neuroscience, cognitive science, neural networks, neuromorphic engineering, and artificial intelligence. It includes invited lectures and contributed lectures and posters by experts on the biology and technology of how the brain and other intelligent systems adapt to a changing world. The conference is particularly interested in exploring how the brain and biologically-inspired algorithms and systems in engineering and technology can learn. Single-track oral and poster sessions enable all presented work to be highly visible. Three-hour poster sessions with no conflicting events will be held on two of the conference days. Posters will be up all day, and can also be viewed during breaks in the talk schedule. CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS Edward Adelson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) The perception of materials and surfaces George Alvarez (Harvard University) How does neural architecture constrain attentional selection? Daphne Bavelier (University of Rochester) Action video games as an exemplary learning tool Ed Boyden (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Controlling brain circuits with light: New tools for analyzing neural systems Marvin Chun (Yale University) Competitive interactions in memory encoding and retrieval James DiCarlo (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Untangling object recognition in the ventral visual stream Howard Eichenbaum (Boston University) The hippocampus in space and time Michale Fee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Prime movers of the brain: Neural circuits that drive complex motor behavior Michael Goldberg (Columbia University) [Plenary Speaker] Attention and arousal in the parietal cortex Stephen Grossberg (Boston University) Neural dynamics of invariant object recognition, sequential memory, and action Takao Hensch (Harvard University) Shaping neural circuits by early experience Okihide Hikosaka (National Institutes of Health) [Plenary Speaker] Basal ganglia mechanisms for reward-based learning Nancy Kopell (Boston University) [Plenary Speaker] Multiple gamma rhythms and their functional implications Laurence Maloney (New York University) Perception, action, and uncertainty John Maunsell (Harvard Medical School) A neuronal population code for attentional state Michael Paradiso (Brown University) Saccadic eye movements and their role in neural coding and perception Ning Qian (Columbia University) Low- and high-level contributions to face perception: An adaptation study Kamal Sen (Boston University) At a cocktail party for songbirds David Sheinberg (Brown University) From shape to action Barbara Shinn-Cunningham (Boston University) Understanding individual differences in auditory attention: From physiology to behavior Herbert Terrace (Columbia University) [Plenary Speaker] Missing links in the evolution of language Steven Zucker (Yale University) Learning long-range horizontal connections in visual cortex REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Early registration is recommended using the registration form below. Student registrations must be accompanied by a letter of verification from a department chairperson or faculty/research advisor. REGISTRATION FORM Fifteenth International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems May 11?14, 2011 Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA Fax: +1 617 353 7755 Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof:_____________________________________________________ Affiliation:_________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________ City, State, Postal Code:______________________________________________ Phone and Fax:_____________________________________________________ Email:____________________________________________________________ The registration fee includes a copy of the conference proceedings volume, a reception on Friday night, and 3 coffee breaks each day. CHECK ONE: ( ) $150 Conference (Regular) ( ) $95 Conference (Student) METHOD OF PAYMENT: [ ] Enclosed is a check made payable to "Boston University" Checks must be made payable in US dollars and issued by a US correspondent bank. Each registrant is responsible for any and all bank charges. [ ] I wish to pay by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card only) Name as it appears on the card:___________________________________________ Type of card: _____________________________ Expiration date:________________ Account number: _______________________________________________________ Signature:____________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110404/46e8d487/attachment-0001.html From laurent.perrinet at incm.cnrs-mrs.fr Fri Apr 1 05:48:34 2011 From: laurent.perrinet at incm.cnrs-mrs.fr (Laurent Perrinet) Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 10:48:34 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: computational and theoretical neuroscience References: <12d82f9389b8cb0092ad54a78746f6de@lists.plos.org> Message-ID: <051FD6EE-3BD3-4CA6-987A-D66F133E6A58@incm.cnrs-mrs.fr> Dear list A recent paper in PLoS Computational Biology > The Roots of Bioinformatics in Theoretical Biology > Paulien Hogeweg > Volume 7(3) March 2011 http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002021 makes a point in the evolution of the meaning of the field of bioinformatics with the advent of data-driven modeling. The same seems to have appeared in computational neuroscience. The sense slowly drifted from the original papers (such as Science, Vol. 241, No. 4871, 1988, pp. 1299-1306. by T. J. Sejnowski, C. Koch, P. S. Churchland) which I believed is perfectly captured in the sentence: "The ultimate aim of computational neuroscience is to explain how electrical and chemical signals are used in the brain to represent and process information." (this does not exclude using computers of course). It seems to be solely a semantical problem, but this may generate some confusion (realpolitik translation: "and this may hinder the efficiency of your grant proposal"). Recently an (anonymous) colleague told me they called their group "computational AND theoretical neuroscience" (just as these two fields where separated) out of the lack of consensus on the meaning of words and to not exclude anyone. Nowadays, even in the university, there is a continuum of fields combining biology, mathematics or computer science and all computational neuroscientists reflect this as individuals. so what's the situation in 2011? I often asked to fellow colleagues this question, "what is computational neuroscience?" and often got one of these answers (I try to be unbiased - please correct me): [ ] it is a field of neuroscience involving the use of computers (von Neumann machines, Dell boxes, macbooks, ...) to simulate and analyze data obtained from experimental neuroscience and advance our knowledge from this dialogue. Theoretical neuroscience is different in the sense that it proposes mathematical models of how it works. [ ] it is the field of neuroscience studying how information is represented and processed in neural activity. This involves a dialogue with experimental neuroscience to analyze and propose experiments. It proposes models, that is theories for the relation between function and structure. Theoretical neuroscience is a subset of computational neuroscience that tries to express these models in standard mathematical language. [ ] it is some field of neuroscience and why would you care to give an exact definition? its frontiers are moving and it has many facets, theoretical neuroscience being just one example. it cares about being less ignorant on relation between function and structure in neuroscience. If you want to express your opinion, you can so in one click: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDc5X2dJRS1zMHRiSndSNERWelBkQlE6MQ results : https://spreadsheets.google.com/lv?key=0AueMPskll6yrdDc5X2dJRS1zMHRiSndSNERWelBkQlE&hl=fr&f=0&rm=full#gid=0 cheers, Laurent (what a lousy and serious message for april's fool day...) -- Laurent Perrinet - INCM (UMR6193)/CNRS http://www.incm.cnrs-mrs.fr/LaurentPerrinet From tim.fawcett at cantab.net Sat Apr 2 07:15:30 2011 From: tim.fawcett at cantab.net (Tim Fawcett) Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 12:15:30 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD studentship at Univ. Bristol, UK: The evolution of psychological and physiological mechanisms for behaviour Message-ID: PHD STUDENTSHIP ON 'THE EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS FOR BEHAVIOUR' Supervisors: Prof. Alasdair Houston, Prof. John McNamara & Dr Tim Fawcett Modelling Animal Decisions (MAD) Group, University of Bristol We are seeking a talented and enthusiastic student for a PhD position in our group, as part of an exciting new ERC-funded project on ?The evolution of mechanisms controlling behaviour?. This is an ambitious, interdisciplinary project which aims to shed light on the internal workings of behaviour and lead to a better understanding of how evolution has shaped decision making in a wide variety of animals, from invertebrates to humans. THE PROJECT The PhD project will involve the development of mathematical and computational models of animal behaviour, based on evolutionary theory. A key part of the work will be to integrate mechanistic considerations into evolutionary models, in order to understand how behaviour is affected by constraints in evolved psychological and physiological systems. Within the general aims of the project, the candidate will have the freedom to develop the work along the lines that interest them most. The issues we are currently working on include: - The evolution of irrational preferences. Animals (including humans) value rewards (food, money, etc.) in a subjective and sometimes inconsistent way. For example, gains and losses often seem to matter more than the animal?s final state. We are using evolutionary models to try to explain this apparently irrational behaviour. - The evolution of patience. In some situations animals act impulsively, seeking instant gratification, while in other situations they are willing to wait for a greater reward. We are trying to understand what ecological factors favour impulsive behaviour and what factors favour patience. - The evolution of obesity. One hypothesis for the rise in obesity in the developed world is that our evolved foraging strategies no longer work well in environments where energy-rich food is readily available. We are using evolutionary models of dietary preferences to examine whether this is a plausible explanation. - The evolution of emotions. Although animal behaviour is complex, it seems to be related to a small number of motivational drives, for example fear, hunger and sexual arousal. We are building models of the evolution of emotional states to help us understand why behaviour is organised in this way. We collaborate closely with empirical biologists working on a range of different systems, but the PhD project will be theoretical. The major techniques we use include optimality theory, game theory, dynamic programming, genetic algorithms, neural networks and genetic programming. Training in these methods will be provided, but we are seeking a student with good skills in mathematics or computer science. McNamara, J. M. & Houston, A. I. 2009. Integrating function and mechanism. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24: 670-675. THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT The successful candidate will join a new, dynamic research group under the leadership of Profs Alasdair Houston and John McNamara, world leaders in theoretical approaches to studying animal behaviour. The Modelling Animal Decisions (MAD) group (www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/research/behaviour/mad) is based in the School of Biological Sciences and has strong links with researchers in Mathematics, Computer Science, Psychology, Philosophy and Animal Welfare. We have ongoing collaborations with experts elsewhere in Britain and throughout the EU, and there will be opportunities to travel to international workshops and conferences as part of the PhD project. The University of Bristol is one of the top research universities in the UK and is the pre-eminent institute for mathematical approaches to studying animal behaviour. Students have access to world-class library and computing facilities and are immersed in a vibrant research environment, with several active seminar series, frequent visits from prominent international scientists and an active social scene. The School of Biological Sciences runs a special training scheme for graduate students, offering a variety of modules and workshops to improve skills in statistics, communication, collaboration, time management, peer review, public engagement and much more besides. WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR We are seeking a student with good mathematical and/or computational skills. Applicants should have (or expect to obtain) a degree in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science or a related discipline. We also encourage applications from Biological Sciences students whose degree includes a substantial (i.e. > 30%) mathematical component. A keen interest in evolutionary biology is essential. The studentship is open to all EU students. Those from within the UK need at least an upper second-class Bachelors degree before they can take up the position. The studentship is available for three and a half years with a stipend of ?13,590 per annum, and will start in October 2011 or as soon as possible thereafter. HOW TO APPLY The deadline for applications is 21 APRIL 2011. To apply, please send the following documents to tim.fawcett at cantab.net: (i) a CV including the names and contact details (e-mail address, postal address and phone number) of two academic referees (ii) a cover letter explaining why you want to do a PhD and why this particular project interests you. -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr Tim W. Fawcett Room B72 School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Woodland Road Bristol BS8 1UG United Kingdom +44 117 9287478 (office) +44 7789 126382 (mobile) tim.fawcett at cantab.net www.timwfawcett.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110402/6a0b0846/attachment.html From david.weston at imperial.ac.uk Thu Apr 7 08:03:16 2011 From: david.weston at imperial.ac.uk (Weston, David J) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 12:03:16 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: CFP: IDA 2011 Portugal 29-31 Oct, 2011 Message-ID: <36F7D69B47DF8C498D7EEE78A83B8B0B0136BC@icexch-m4.ic.ac.uk> THE TENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLIGENT DATA ANALYSIS 29-31 Oct, 2011 Porto, Portugal. http://www.ida2011.org When the biennial IDA Symposium series started in 1995, it focused on the problem of end-to-end intelligent support for data analysis. IDA 2011 will refocus on an important and still emerging class of problems: modeling and analyzing complex dynamical systems such as economic systems, gene regulatory networks, social networks, systems of natural resources, and cognitive systems. The Symposium seeks "first look" papers that might elsewhere be considered preliminary but contain potentially high impact research. The IDA Symposium is open to all kinds of modeling and analysis methods, irrespective of discipline. It is expected to be an interdisciplinary meeting that seeks abstractions that cut across domains. IDA2011 welcomes papers that focus on dynamic and evolving data, models, and structures. In line with the new theme of IDA 2011, the IDA Frontier Prize will be awarded to the most visionary contribution. Submissions considered for this award must present novel and surprising approaches to data analysis in the understanding of complex systems. The award consists of a plaque and a prize of 1000 Euros. CALL FOR PAPERS IDA2011 solicits papers on all aspects of intelligent data analysis, particularly papers on intelligent support for modeling and analyzing complex, dynamical systems. IDA2011 particularly encourages papers about: - Novel applications of IDA techniques to complex systems - Novel modes of data acquisition and the associated issues - Robustness and scalability issues of IDA techniques - Visualization and dissemination of results Intelligent support for data analysis goes beyond the usual algorithmic offerings in the literature. Papers about established technology will only be accepted if the technology is embedded in intelligent data analysis systems, or is applied in novel ways to analyzing and/or modeling complex systems. The conventional reviewing process, which favors incremental advances on established work, can discourage the kinds of papers that IDA 2011 hopes to publish. The reviewing process will address this issue explicitly: referees will evaluate papers against the stated goals of the symposium, and any paper for which at least one senior program committee member writes an informed, thoughtful, positive review will be accepted irrespective of other reviews. The proceedings of IDA2011 will appear in Springer's Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. For more details on submission and review process, see the conference webpage (http://www.ida2011.org) or contact the program chairs. IMPORTANT DATES: Deadline for submissions: 14 May 2011 Author notification: 13 July 2011 Camera-ready papers due: 13 August 2011 ORGANIZATION: Conference Chair Jo?o Gama, University of Porto, Portugal Program Chairs Liz Bradley, University of Colorado, US Jaakko Hollm?n, Aalto University, Finland Poster Chair Fazel Famili, CNRC, Canada Local Organization Chair Pedro Pereira Rodrigues, University of Porto, Portugal Publicity Chairs David Weston, Imperial College, UK Carlos Ferreira, University of Porto, Portugal Frontier Prize Chairs Michael Berthold, University Konstanz, Germany Niall M. Adams, Imperial College, UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110407/852998fb/attachment-0001.html From francisco.pereira at gmail.com Thu Apr 7 09:54:36 2011 From: francisco.pereira at gmail.com (Francisco Pereira) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 09:54:36 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Fwd: ADHD-200 Global Competition In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I think this may be of interest to some of the members of the list, my apologies if you receive this multiple times. Francisco ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Milham Date: Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 10:20 AM Subject: [ML-news] ADHD-200 Global Competition To: ml-news at googlegroups.com Despite advances in understanding aspects of the etiology of some developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, translating these insights into clinical practice has remained daunting. Significant obstacles include the lack of reliable and valid biomarkers and an insufficient understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. We believe that a community-wide effort focused on advancing functional and structural imaging examinations of the developing brain will accelerate the rate at which neuroscience can inform clinical practice. To recruit the global scientific community to address childhood psychiatric illness, we are pleased to announce the 'ADHD-200 Global Competition.' Investigators across all disciplines and at all levels of training are invited to participate in a competition to identify: 1) The Highest Performance Imaging-Based Diagnostic Classification Algorithm for ADHD. Participants will develop and train a diagnostic classifier (ADHD-Combined type, ADHD-Inattentive type, typically developing control) based on the ADHD-200 datasets (http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi/adhd200/index.html) that contain structural and resting-state fMRI datasets for 285 individuals diagnosed with ADHD and 491 typically developing individuals. On July 1, 2011 a test set comprised of previously unreleased datasets will be distributed via NITRC, without diagnostic labels. Participants will be asked to submit their diagnostic classifications for the unlabeled datasets by August 15th, 2011, along with a brief report outlining their analytic approach. The winning entry will be chosen based upon prediction accuracy. Note: The test set will include unreleased datasets from sites included in the ADHD-200 release, as well as additional sites whose data were not included in the release. 2) The Most Innovative Neuroscientific Examination of ADHD. Participants are invited to use the ADHD-200 datasets released on March 1st to address the pathophysiology of ADHD, and to submit a novel manuscript reporting their findings by August 1, 2011. Each entry will be independently scored by five 'blind' judges based upon innovation, potential impact, and elegance of analytic approach. A single winning entry will be selected based upon their composite score. Eligibility: Individuals from all disciplines and training levels are invited to participate. Team-based and single-person entries are allowed. For team-based entries, a team representative should be specified for the purpose of communications and travel to Washington D.C. if selected as the winning entry. Individuals or teams interested in participating should notify Michael Milham of their intent by July 1, 2011 (MMilham at NKI.RFMH.ORG); entry submission directions will be provided at that time. Award: ADHD-200 global competition winners will be invited to attend the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) pre-conference symposium preceding the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., where they will be publicly recognized for their accomplishment and given the opportunity to present their work. Travel costs for a representative from each winning entry will be covered courtesy of NIDA. Award Notification Date: September 1, 2011 Sincerely, Mike ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael P. Milham, MD, PhD Research Psychiatrist Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research Leon Levy Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry NYU Langone Medical Center Associate Director, Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, NYU Child Study Center -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Machine Learning News" group. To post to this group, send email to ml-news at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to ml-news+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ml-news?hl=en. From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Thu Apr 7 10:36:07 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 16:36:07 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Call for applications ----- NWG-Course: Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology, Freiburg, Germany In-Reply-To: <001401cb0d47$5fc842b0$1f58c810$@uni-freiburg.de> References: <001401cb0d47$5fc842b0$1f58c810$@uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <000801cbf531$223d33b0$66b79b10$@uni-freiburg.de> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% NWG-Course: Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology %% %% October 16-21, 2011 %% %% Application deadline: June 30, 2011 %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Aim of the course The course is intended to provide advanced Diploma/Masters and PhD students, as well as young researchers from the neurosciences with approaches for the analysis of electrophysiological data and the theoretical concepts behind them. http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/events/conferences/20111016-nwgcourse The course includes various topics such as ? Neuron models and spike train statistics ? Point processes and correlation measures ? Systems and signals ? Local field potentials and synaptic plasticity The course will consist of lectures in the morning and and matching exercises using Matlab and Mathematica. Experience with these software packages will be helpful but is not required for registration. The participants should have a basic understanding of scientific programming. This course is designated especially for advanced diploma/master-students and PhD-students (preferentially in their first year). Organisation and teaching: ? Dr. Stefan Rotter, Bernstein Center Freiburg, University of Freiburg ? Dr. Sonja Gruen, Kernforschungszentrum J?lich ? Dr. Ulrich Egert, Biomicrotechnology, Department of Microsystems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Freiburg ? Dr. Ad Aertsen, Neurobiology & Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Contact: Dr. Janina Kirsch, Bernstein Center Freiburg Germany Tel: +49 761 203 9575 Fax: +49 761 203 9559 Email: nwg-course at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Application Please apply by sending an email containing your CV and a meaningfull letter of motivation to nwg-course at bcf.uni-freiburg.de The course is limited to 20 participants. Course fees: NWG members: 50 Euro others: 125 Euro Course venue: Bernstein Center Freiburg, Computerlab (ground floor), Hansastr. 9a, 79104 Freiburg, Germany From cchrist at cs.ucy.ac.cy Thu Apr 7 11:20:30 2011 From: cchrist at cs.ucy.ac.cy (Chris Christodoulou) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 18:20:30 +0300 (MEDT) Subject: Connectionists: New Paper: MARL: Spiking and Nonspiking Agents in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, We would like to draw your attention to our recently published paper: Vassiliades, V., Cleanthous, A. and Christodoulou, C. (2011). Multiagent Reinforcement Learning: Spiking and Nonspiking Agents in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, 22(4), 639-653. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TNN.2011.2111384 Abstract -------- This paper investigates multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) in a general-sum game where the payoffs' structure is such that the agents are required to exploit each other in a way that benefits all agents. The contradictory nature of these games makes their study in multiagent systems quite challenging. In particular, we investigate MARL with spiking and nonspiking agents in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma by exploring the conditions required to enhance its cooperative outcome. The spiking agents are neural networks with leaky integrate-and-fire neurons trained with two different learning algorithms: 1) reinforcement of stochastic synaptic transmission, or 2) reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity with eligibility trace. The nonspiking agents use a tabular representation and are trained with Q- and SARSA learning algorithms, with a novel reward transformation process also being applied to the Q-learning agents. According to the results, the cooperative outcome is enhanced by: 1) transformed internal reinforcement signals and a combination of a high learning rate and a low discount factor with an appropriate exploration schedule in the case of non-spiking agents, and 2) having longer eligibility trace time constant in the case of spiking agents. Moreover, it is shown that spiking and nonspiking agents have similar behavior and therefore they can equally well be used in a multiagent interaction setting. For training the spiking agents in the case where more than one output neuron competes for reinforcement, a novel and necessary modification that enhances competition is applied to the two learning algorithms utilized, in order to avoid a possible synaptic saturation. This is done by administering to the networks additional global reinforcement signals for every spike of the output neurons that were not "responsible" for the preceding decision. -------- Please contact me if you would like a personal reprint. Kind regards, Chris Christodoulou * * * Dr Chris Christodoulou cchrist at cs.ucy.ac.cy Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus 75 Kallipoleos Ave, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel. (+357) 22 892752, Fax (+357) 22 892701 From gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Thu Apr 7 12:44:59 2011 From: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu (Mark Gluck) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 09:44:59 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Computational cognitive models of prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal interactions in Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: A copy of our new in-press paper: Moustafa, A. A. & Gluck, M. A. (2011). Computational cognitive models of prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal interactions in Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. Neural Networks. In press (doi:10.1016/j.neunet.2011.02.006) is available on line at : http://www.gluck.edu/pdf/Moustafa2011NeuralNetworks.pdf.pdf A b s t r a c t Disruption to different components of the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and hippocampal circuits leads to various psychiatric and neurological disorders including Parkinson?s disease (PD) and schizophrenia. Medications used to treat these disorders (such as levodopa, dopamine agonists, antipsychotics, among others) affect the prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal circuits in a complex fashion. We have built models of prefrontal-striatal and striatal-hippocampal interactions which simulate cognitive dysfunction in PD and schizophrenia. In these models, we argue that the basal ganglia is key for stimulus-response learning, the hippocampus for stimulus-stimulus representational learning, and the prefrontal cortex for stimulus selection during learning about multidimensional stimuli. In our models, PD is associated with reduced dopamine levels in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex. In contrast, the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are associated primarily with hippocampal dysfunction, while the occurrence of negative symptoms is associated with frontostriatal deficits in a subset of patients. In this paper, we review our past models and provide new simulation results for both PD and schizophrenia. We also describe an extended model that includes simulation of the different functional role of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex, a dissociation we argue is essential for understanding the nonuniform effects of levodopa, dopamine agonists, and antipsychotics on cognition. Motivated by clinical and physiological data, we discuss model limitations and challenges to be addressed in future models of these brain disorders. ___________________________________ Dr. Mark A. Gluck, Professor Director, Rutgers Memory Disorders Project Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Rutgers University 197 University Ave. Newark, New Jersey 07102 Web: http://www.gluck.edu Email: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Ph: (973) 353-3298 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110407/fc75138f/attachment-0001.html From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Fri Apr 8 05:58:05 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 11:58:05 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: BC11: Announcement and Call for Abstracts References: <001401cb0d47$5fc842b0$1f58c810$@uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <001301cbf5d3$752e1510$5f8a3f30$@uni-freiburg.de> === Announcement and Call for Abstracts === BC11: Computational Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Bernstein Conference and Neurex Annual Meeting 2011 October 4-6, 2011 The Bernstein Conference is the central scientific meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience (www.nncn.de). This year, it is organized by the Bernstein Center Freiburg and will take place on October 4-6, 2011, in association with the Annual Meeting of the tri-national neuroscience network Neurex (www.neurex.org). BC11 is a single-track conference, covering all aspects of Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (CN & NT). We invite the submission of abstracts for poster presentations from all relevant areas of CN & NT, including, but not limited to: - sensory processing - motor control - learning and plasticity - neural encoding and decoding - neurons, networks and dynamical systems - data analysis and machine learning - brain-related diseases, network dysfunction, intervention - neurotechnology, brain-machine interfaces The abstracts will be published in the journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. CONFERENCE DATE AND VENUE: October 4-6, 2011 Bernstein Center Freiburg and University of Freiburg, Germany NNCN PhD-STUDENT SYMPOSIUM: "Perspectives - beyond the PhD" October 7, 2011 Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany For registration and abstract submission, please visit the Conference Website: http://www.bc11.de IMPORTANT DATES: Abstract submission deadline: August 23, 2011 Early registration closes: August 23, 2011 Regular registration closes: September 27, 2011 ORGANIZATION: Ulrich Egert (General Chair) Ad Aertsen, Simone Cardoso de Oliveira, Florence Dancoisne, Gunnar Grah, Gundel Jaeger, Bernd Wiebelt We look forward to seeing you at BC11 !! From morgado at uma.pt Mon Apr 11 09:38:20 2011 From: morgado at uma.pt (Morgado Dias) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:38:20 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD and Postdoc Positions at the University of Madeira Message-ID: <4DA3044C.5050603@uma.pt> Dear connectionists: We are looking for PhD and PostDoc candidates for two areas: . Neural networks . Reneawable Energy The candidates must be suitable for FCT (Science and Technology Portuguese Foundation) scholarships. (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/) The PostDoc candidates are expected to have experience in the areas proposed and to contribute to their work plan. The candidates will work at the CCM at the University of Madeira. http://www.uma.pt Life quality at the Madeira island has very high standards with its unique fauna and flora and the simultaneous presence of mountain and sea. Please reply to this e-mail with short CVs. Morgado Dias -- Com os melhores cumprimentos, Morgado Dias *Universidade da Madeira * *Morgado Dias * Electr?nica e Telecomunica??es Pr?-Reitor da Universidade da Madeira *morgado at uma.pt* Tel.: 291-705307 *10^th CONTROLO July 2012 Funchal* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110411/dff93caf/attachment.html From moritzgw at tuebingen.mpg.de Mon Apr 11 05:18:46 2011 From: moritzgw at tuebingen.mpg.de (Moritz Grosse-Wentrup) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:18:46 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PASCAL2 Thematic Programme on Cognitive Inference and Neuroimaging Message-ID: <4DA2C776.2080404@tuebingen.mpg.de> Dear all, I would like to draw your attention to the PASCAL2 Thematic Programme (TP) on "Cognitive Inference and Neuroimaging". The TP provides the opportunity to apply for funding of workshops and educational events that foster collaborations between the domains of neuroimaging and machine learning. Furthermore, the TP can provide travel stipends for visits by scientists working in cognitive inference and neuroimaging to members of PASCAL2. More information on the TP and how to apply for funding is available at http://mlin.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de. Best regards, Moritz Grosse-Wentrup -- Dr.-Ing. Moritz Grosse-Wentrup Project Leader & Senior Research Scientist Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Dept. Sch?lkopf Spemannstra?e 38 72076 T?bingen Telephone: +49-7071-601-547 moritzgw at tuebingen.mpg.de http://brain-computer-interfaces.net From pascal.hitzler at wright.edu Mon Apr 11 23:25:10 2011 From: pascal.hitzler at wright.edu (Pascal Hitzler) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:25:10 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Final Call for Papers: 7th International Workshop on Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning (NeSy11 at IJCAI 2011) Message-ID: <4DA3C616.2040102@wright.edu> FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS 7th International Workshop on Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning (NeSy.11) http://www.neural-symbolic.org/NeSy11/ Following the success of NeSy 2010 at AAAI, Atlanta, please find below a call for papers for NeSy 2011, which will take place in conjunction with IJCAI, Barcelona, 17 July 2011. (A NeSy'10 workshop report is available at http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~aag/AI-magazineNeSy10.pdf) The Workshop on Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning attracts researchers and practitioners from different areas such as Neural Computation, Artificial Intelligence, Logic, Complex Networks, Cognitive Science, Computer Vision, Fraud Prevention, Semantic Web, Verification and Validation. NeSy is intended to create an atmosphere of exchange of ideas, providing a forum for the presentation and discussion of the key multidisciplinary topics related to neural-symbolic integration. Topics of interest include: 1. Representation and computation of symbolic knowledge by neural networks; 2. Machine learning for neural-symbolic networks; 3. Knowledge extraction from complex networks; 4. Logical reasoning in neural-symbolic networks; 5. New neuro-symbolic cognitive models; 6. Uncertainty in neural-symbolic networks; 7. Biologically-inspired neuro-symbolic integration; 8. Applications in robotics, simulation, fraud prevention, semantic web, fault diagnosis, bioinformatics, etc. Submission You are invited to submit papers in pdf format through easychair at: http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=nesy11. Submitted papers must not have been published elsewhere and should not exceed 6 pages in the case of research and experience papers or 3 pages in the case of position papers. All submitted papers will be refereed based on their quality, relevance, originality, significance and soundness. Keynote Talk Robert Kowalski: The Connection Graph method as a Symbolic-Connectionist Model of the Mind Presentation Accepted papers must be presented during the workshop. The workshop will also include extra time for discussion, allowing the audience to get a better understanding of the issues, challenges and ideas being presented. Publication Accepted papers will be published by CEUR and will be included in the official workshop proceedings, which will be distributed during the workshop. Authors of the best papers will be invited to submit a revised and extended version of their paper to the Journal of Logic and Computation, reasoning and learning corner, A. S. d'Avila Garcez and L. Valiant (eds.), Oxford University Press. Important Dates Paper submission deadline: 18 April 2011 Notification of acceptance: 13 May 2011 Camera-ready paper due: 20 May 2011 Workshop date: 17 July 2011 IJCAI-11 dates: 16 to 22 July 2011 Workshop Organisers Artur d.Avila Garcez (City University London, UK) Pascal Hitzler (Kno.e.sis Center, Wright State University, Dayton, USA) Luis C. Lamb (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) Programme Committee Sebastian Bader, University of Rostock, Germany Howard Blair, Syracuse University, New York, U.S.A. Claudia d'Amato, University of Bari, Italy Ben Goertzel, Novamente LLC, U.S.A. Barbara Hammer, TU Clausthal, Germany Ioannis Hatzilygeroudis, University of Patras, Greece Steffen H?lldobler, TU Dresden, Germany Henrik Jacobsson, Google Kristian Kersting, Fraunhofer IAIS, Sankt Augustin, Germany Ekaterina Komendantskaya, Sophia Antipolis, France Kai-Uwe K?hnberger, University of Osnabr?ck, Germany Florian Roehrbein, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, U.S.A. Anthony K. Seda, University College Cork, Ireland Hava Siegelmann, University of Massachusetts Amherst, U.S.A. Ron Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, U.S.A. Frank van der Velde, Leiden University, The Netherlands Gerson Zaverucha, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Workshop Website: http://www.neural-symbolic.org/NeSy11/ -- Prof. Dr. Pascal Hitzler Dept. of Computer Science, Wright State University, Dayton, OH pascal at pascal-hitzler.de http://www.knoesis.org/pascal/ Semantic Web Textbook: http://www.semantic-web-book.org Semantic Web Journal: http://www.semantic-web-journal.net From fjaekel at uos.de Thu Apr 14 11:25:45 2011 From: fjaekel at uos.de (Frank =?ISO-8859-1?Q?J=E4kel?=) Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:25:45 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Workshop on 'Natural Computation in Hierachies' Message-ID: <1302794745.13495.61.camel@birke.ikw.Uni-Osnabrueck.DE> Workshop announcement (2nd call): (Apologies for duplicate postings) Dear Colleague, we would like to invite you to register for the 1st Osnabrueck Computational Cognition Alliance Meeting (OCCAM 2011) on 'Natural Computation in Hierarchies'. The workshop will take place in Osnabrueck, Germany, from the 22nd to the 24th June 2011 and will be hosted by the Institute of Cognitive Science (University of Osnabrueck). Details can be found below and on the following webpage: http://www.occam-os.de Registration is open until April 30th, 2011 (first come first served). The registration fee is 100,- Euros. This fee covers the workshop attendance incl. coffee and lunch breaks as well as 2 dinners (buffet on 22nd June and conference dinner on 24th June), but not accommodation. The goal of this workshop is to foster our understanding of mechanisms and principles of information processing in self-organized hierarchical systems. Our knowledge of self-organized information processing in hierarchical systems is still very limited despite being a focus of research for many years. This workshop aims at assembling the latest results from various research branches in order to combine them into a broader and more comprehensive picture of the state of the art in hierarchical systems. The workshop will concentrate on three complementary major topics: 1. Coding and representation of information in hierarchical systems 2. Adaptation, self-organization and learning in hierarchical systems 3. Complex systems, networks and their dynamics These three topics will consequently lead to the ultimate question of how information is processed in natural hierarchical systems. A central aspect of the workshop is to elucidate principles of communication between different brain modules. We believe that this is important because large scale interactions in the brain are presumably self-organized. Since the visual and the motor system are the systems that we know best, the workshop will naturally focus on these two. Confirmed speakers are: Sophie Deneve Jozsef Fiser Claus Hilgetag Herbert Jaeger James Kilner Konrad Kording Frank Pasemann Peggy Series Fritz Sommer Shimon Ullman Paul Verschure Angela Yu Tim Kietzmann Johannes Schumacher Niklas Wilming There will also be a poster session where conference participants will have the opportunity to present their work. Furthermore, guided tours will help making these contributions highly visible. Best regards, Frank Jakel, Peter Konig, Gordon Pipa (Organizing committee) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature Size: 6204 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110414/902a5830/smime.bin From jonrubin at pitt.edu Fri Apr 15 13:06:57 2011 From: jonrubin at pitt.edu (Jonathan Rubin) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:06:57 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: OCNS membership and CNS*2011 meeting Message-ID: <29170063-DC80-4BAE-A680-A0B76DA9EFBE@pitt.edu> We are happy to announce that application for membership in the Organization for Computational Neuroscience (OCNS) and registration for the CNS*2011 meeting are now open! Membership application and CNS*2011 registration: https://ocns.memberclicks.net/ OCNS membership and dues: http://www.cnsorg.org CNS*2011 registration fees: http://www.cnsorg.org/2011/reg_fees.shtml early registration deadline: May 31, 2011 We strongly encourage CNS*2011 registrants to become a member of OCNS before registering for the meeting because this entitles you to discounted meeting registration fees plus a number of other benefits. To speed up the application and registration process, you can pay your membership dues (duties) immediately and pay registration fees after applying. We will check and approve your OCNS membership application as soon as possible. In case of problems, a full reimbursement will be made. The goal of OCNS is to provide services to the broad field of computational neuroscience. This includes organizing scientific conferences, promoting publications in the field, representing the interests of the field and its scientists wherever deemed useful, outreach and educational activities, etc. The change to a member-based organization will not affect the spirit and style of the CNS meetings, but OCNS reaches out to and also wants to represent those colleagues that do not regularly attend the CNS meetings. Members are entitled to be candidate directors of OCNS and to vote in elections that will take place later this year. As membership grows, so will the benefits. We expect CNS*2011 in Stockholm to be another record breaking CNS meeting. We received over 400 abstracts and have very attractive main meeting and workshop programs! Erik De Schutter OCNS President -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110415/70f83329/attachment.html From morgado at uma.pt Thu Apr 14 15:35:18 2011 From: morgado at uma.pt (Morgado Dias) Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:35:18 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Artificial Neural Networks Survey Message-ID: <4DA74C76.8060406@uma.pt> Dear connectionists: We invite the connectionists to answer a very short survey about Artificial Neural Networks usage. The survey takes only 2 minutes to fill and your help will be deeply apreciated. The survey can be found at: https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dExPZ1QxUnhLZ2tuVEVacURnTG1jcXc6MQ Best regards, Morgado Dias -- Com os melhores cumprimentos, Morgado Dias *Universidade da Madeira * *Morgado Dias * Electr?nica e Telecomunica??es Pr?-Reitor da Universidade da Madeira *morgado at uma.pt* Tel.: 291-705307 *10^th CONTROLO July 2012 Funchal* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110414/d8faf0ee/attachment-0001.html From dong at wi-lab.com Sun Apr 17 10:39:30 2011 From: dong at wi-lab.com (Juzhen Dong) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:39:30 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: (Extended Deadline) - Brain Informatics 2011 Message-ID: <4DAAFBA2.6090102@wi-lab.com> [Apologies if you receive this more than once] =============================================================== At the request from many authors, the NEW deadline of submission of BI 2011 is moved to *** April 22, 2011 ***. =============================================================== ############################################################### Brain Informatics 2011 CALL FOR PAPERS ############################################################### 2011 International Conference on Brain Informatics (BI 2011) September 7-9, 2011, Lanzhou, China Homepage: http://wi-consortium.org/conferences/amtbi11/ Mirror page: http://uais.lzu.edu.cn/amtbi11 Co-organized by IEEE Task Force on Brain Informatics (IEEE TF-BI) Web Intelligence Consortium (WIC) Co-sponsored by Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science ################################################################## # Papers Due: *** April 22, 2011 *** (Extended) # Accepted papers will be published by Springer as a volume of # the series of LNCS/LNAI. # Extensions of selected papers from the proceedings will be # considered for publication in special issues of journals, ################################################################## Brain Informatics (BI) is an emerging interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research field that focuses on studying the mechanisms underlying the human information processing system (HIPS). BI investigates the essential functions of the brain, ranging from perception to thinking, and encompassing such areas as multi- perception, attention, memory, language, computation, heuristic search, reasoning, planning, decision-making, problem-solving, learning, discovery, and creativity. One goal of BI research is to develop and demonstrate a systematic approach to an integrated understanding of macroscopic and microscopic level working principles of the brain, by means of experimental, computational, and cognitive neuroscience studies, as well as utilizing advanced Web Intelligence (WI) centric information technologies. Another goal is to promote new forms of collaborative and interdisciplinary work. New kinds of BI methods and global research communities will emerge, through infrastructure on the wisdom Web and knowledge grids that enables high speed and distributed, large-scale analysis and computations, and radically new ways of data/knowledge sharing. The series of Brain Informatics Conferences started with The First WICI International Workshop on Web Intelligence meets Brain Informatics (WImBI'06), held at Beijing, China, December 15-16, 2006. The second conference, Brain Informatics 2009, was held again in Beijing, China, October 22-24, 2009. And the third International Conference on Brain Informatics (BI 2010) was jointly held with the 2010 International Conference on Active Media Technology (AMT10) in Toronto, Canada. The Brain Informatics Conferences provide a leading international forum to bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse fields, such as computer science, information technology, artificial intelligence, Web intelligence, cognitive science, neuroscience, medical science, life science, economics, data mining, data and knowledge engineering, intelligent agent technology, human computer interaction, complex systems, and system science, to explore the main research problems in BI lie in the interplay between the studies of human brain and the research of informatics. On the one hand, one models and characterizes the functions of the human brain based on the notions of information processing systems. WI centric information technologies are applied to support brain science studies. For instance, the wisdom Web and knowledge grids enable high-speed, large-scale analysis, simulation, and computation as well as new ways of sharing research data and scientific discoveries. On the other hand, informatics-enabled brain studies, e.g., based on fMRI, EEG, MEG significantly broaden the spectrum of theories and models of brain sciences and offer new insights into the development of human-level intelligence on the wisdom Web and knowledge grids. Brain Informatics 2011 will be jointly held with the 2011 International Conference on Active Media Technology (AMT 2011). The two conferences will have a joint opening, keynote, reception, and banquet. Attendees only need to register for one conference and can attend workshops, sessions, exhibits and demonstrations across the two conferences. The WIC decided to organize BI 2011 and AMT 2011 in memoriam of Herbert Simon. +++++++++++++++++++ Topics of Interest +++++++++++++++++++ CONFERENCE TOPICS AND AREAS INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO - Thinking and perception-centric investigations of HIPS: * Human reasoning mechanisms (e.g., principles of human deductive/inductive reasoning, common-sense reasoning, decision making, and problem solving) * Human learning mechanisms (e.g., stability, personalized user/student models) * Emotion, heuristic search, information granularity, and autonomy related issues in human reasoning and problem solving * Human higher cognitive functions and their relationships * Human multi-perception mechanisms and visual, auditory, and tactile information processing * Methodologies for systematic design of cognitive experiments * Investigating spatiotemporal characteristics and flow in HIPS and the related neural structures and neurobiological process * Cognitive architectures; their relations to fMRI/EEG/MEG * HIPS meets complex systems * Modeling brain information processing mechanisms (e.g., neuro-mechanism, mathematical, cognitive and computational models of HIPS). - Information technologies for the management and use of brain data: * Human brain data collection, pre-processing, management, and analysis * Databasing the brain and constructing data brain models * Data brain modeling and formal conceptual models of human brain data * Multi-media brain data mining and reasoning * Multi-aspect analysis in fMRI/EEG/MEG activations * Simulating spatiotemporal characteristics and flow in HIPS * Developing brain data grids and brain research support portals * Knowledge representation and discovery in neuroimaging * Multimodal information fusion for brain image interpretation * Statistical analysis and pattern recognition in neuroimaging - Applications * Neuro-economics and neuro-marketing * Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) * Brain/Cognition inspired artificial systems * Wisdom Web systems based on new cognitive and computational models * MCI and AD diagnosis * e-Science, e-Health and e-Medicine ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On-Line Submissions and Publication ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ High-quality papers in all BI related areas are solicited. Papers exploring new directions will receive a careful and supportive review. All submitted papers will be reviewed on the basis of technical quality, relevance, significance, and clarity. The proceeding of the conference will be published by Springer as a volume of the series of Lecture Notes in Computer Science/Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNCS/LNAI). Authors are strongly encouraged to use Springer LNCS/LNAI manuscript submission guidelines (available at http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html) for their initial submissions (a maximum of 12 pages in Springer LNCS/LNAI style file). All papers must be submitted electronically in PDF format only, using the conference management tool. We will also have poster, demonstration, and late breaking result paper sessions. More detailed instructions and a paper submission form can be found the BI'11 Web page at http://wi-consortium.org/conferences/amtbi11/ A selected number of the best papers from BI'11 will be expanded and revised for possible inclusion in "Knowledge and Information Systems: An International Journal" (http://www.cs.uvm.edu/~kais/) by Springer and "Cognitive Systems Research: An International Journal" (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13890417) by Elsevier. +++++++ Awards +++++++ BI 2011 best paper awards will be conferred on the authors at the conference. ++++++++++++++++ Important Dates ++++++++++++++++ Electronic submission of full papers (12 pages in Springer LNAI/LNCS style file): *** April 22, 2011 *** (Extended) Notification of paper acceptance: June 1, 2011 Camera-ready of accepted papers: June 24, 2011 Conference: September 7-9, 2011 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Conference Organization ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Conference General Chairs Lin Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Ning Zhong, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Japan Program Chairs Bin Hu, Lanzhou University, China Jiming Liu, Hong Kong Baptist University, HK Organizing Chairs Yuejia Luo, Beijing Normal University, China Mariano Alcaniz, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain Cristina Botella Arbona, University Jaume I, Spain Publicity Chairs Li Liu, Lanzhou University, China Daniel Tao, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Yi Zeng, Beijing University of Technology, China IEEE-CIS-TFBI Chair Ning Zhong, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Japan WIC Co-Chairs/Directors Ning Zhong, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Japan Jiming Liu, Hong Kong Baptist University, HK WIC Advisory Board Edward A. Feigenbaum, Stanford University, USA Setsuo Ohsuga, University of Tokyo, Japan Benjamin Wah, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Philip Yu, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA L.A. Zadeh, University of California, Berkeley, USA WIC Tech. Committee Jeffrey Bradshaw, UWF/Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, USA Nick Cercone, York University, Canada Dieter Fensel, University of Innsbruck, Austria Georg Gottlob, Oxford University, UK Lakhmi Jain, University of South Australia, Australia Jianchang Mao, Yahoo! Inc., USA Pierre Morizet, Mahoudeaux Compiegne University of Technology, France Hiroshi Motoda, Osaka University, Japan Toyoaki Nishida, Kyoto University, Japan Andrzej Skowron, Warsaw University, Poland Jinglong Wu, Okayama University, Japan Xindong Wu, University of Vermont, USA Yiyu Yao, University of Regina, Canada *** Contact Information *** Li Liu, liliu at lzu.edu.cn Yi Zeng, yizeng at bjut.edu.cn From jonathan.touboul at gmail.com Sun Apr 17 04:31:23 2011 From: jonathan.touboul at gmail.com (Jonathan Touboul) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:31:23 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Two PhD positions in mathematical neurosciences, College de France/INRIA Paris Message-ID: Mathematical Neuroscience Group, CIRB - Coll?ge de France (Paris) NeuroMathComp Laboratory, INRIA Paris Two PhD positions in Mathematical Neuroscience Applications are invited for a PhD position in the future Mathematical Neuroscience Team at the Coll?ge de France (Paris) and in the NeuroMathComp Project (INRIA/ ENS Paris), on the exciting subject of the application of mathematics (stochastic processes, measure theory, PDEs and dynamical systems) to neurosciences, in particular for the understanding of single neuron models and collective dynamics in stochastic nonlinear neural networks models. Detailed subjects can be found on the INRIA webpage: Probabilities and Stochastic processes: http://www.inria.fr/institut/recrutement-metiers/offres/theses/campagne-2011/(view)/details.html?id=PGTFK026203F3VBQB6G68LONZ&LOV5=4509&LG=FR&Resultsperpage=20&nPostingID=5370&nPostingTargetID=10455&option=52&sort=DESC&nDepartmentID=28 Nonsmooth dynamical systems: http://www.inria.fr/institut/recrutement-metiers/offres/theses/campagne-2011/(view)/details.html?id=PGTFK026203F3VBQB6G68LONZ&LOV5=4509&LG=FR&Resultsperpage=20&nPostingID=5372&nPostingTargetID=10457&option=52&sort=DESC&nDepartmentID=28 Applicants should have a strong background in mathematics, either in stochastic processes, dynamical systems or PDEs. Programing skills will be appreciated. interested applicants should provide a recent CV and relevant publications to jonathan.touboul at inria.fr and post their application online following the above links. The thesis will take place in the historic building of the Coll?ge de France, very well located in the quartier latin of Paris, in close relationship with different high level institutions (ENS Paris, Institut Curie, Coll?ge de France). The scientific life in Paris is very exciting and lively. -- Jonathan Touboul, PhD NeuroMathComp Laboratory, INRIA/ ENS Paris 23 avenue d'Italie 75013 Paris Phone: (+33) 1 39 63 57 10 http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Jonathan.Touboul/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110417/020cfcd4/attachment.html From L.Berthouze at sussex.ac.uk Mon Apr 18 10:29:21 2011 From: L.Berthouze at sussex.ac.uk (Luc Berthouze) Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:29:21 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD student position available in Mathematical Neuroscience Message-ID: PhD student position available in Mathematical Neuroscience Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, School of Informatics University of Sussex, UK Start date: October 2011 A fully funded PhD studentship is available at the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, University of Sussex, as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the University of Sussex and the UCL Institute of Neurology. The successful candidate will work with Dr Luc Berthouze (CCNR, University of Sussex & UCL Institute of Child Health) and Dr Simon Farmer (UCL Institute of Neurology). Our research aims to shed light on fundamental principles underlying early brain development. The focus of this studentship is on the recently proposed notion that the brain may be poised in a critical state. This notion is supported by a number of findings from neurophysiology showing that human MEG and EEG recordings exhibit a slow decay in their auto-covariance function, indicating that the brain networks carry a memory of past dynamics for hundreds of seconds. This project seeks to establish what are the processes underlying the emergence of such a regime, and to explore its functional benefits. The studentship is formally attached to the University of Sussex but the successful candidate will also be expected to frequently travel to the UCL Institute of Neurology in London (Queen Square) to participate in lab meetings and other activities. Applicants should have a strong background in mathematics (stochastic processes, network theory) and good programming skills. A keen interest in neuroscience is essential. Enquiries and applications should be made to Luc Berthouze (L.Berthouze at sussex.ac.uk). To apply, please send: - An academic CV - Official academic transcripts of marks, and certificates - Contact details for two suitable referees - A personal statement outlining your suitability for the project, why you want to do a PhD, your research experience to date relevant to the project, and why this particular project interests you. Funding notes: The studentship provides full support that includes tuition fees, all associated research costs, and an annual tax-free stipend at Research Council Rates (was ?13,590 in 2010/11). The successful candidate will be required to teach up to a maximum of 60 hours per year. Residency eligibility: In order to be eligible for a full award (fees and stipend) you must be a UK national or have 'settled' status in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the three years immediately prior to the start of your funding. If you are an EU national you are also eligible for a full award if you have been living in the UK for the three years immediately prior to the start of your funding. If you have been living elsewhere in the EU you would be eligible for an award covering the cost of fees only. The deadline for applications is June 1st. Dr Luc Berthouze, Senior Lecturer Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR) School of Informatics University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9QH, UK Tel: +44 1273 877206 Fax: +44 1273 877873 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110418/68a96e92/attachment-0001.html From mbethge at tuebingen.mpg.de Sat Apr 16 12:23:29 2011 From: mbethge at tuebingen.mpg.de (Matthias Bethge) Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:23:29 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Symposium, June 8/9: "Retinal coding in light of clinical applications" Message-ID: %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Symposium, June 08 - 09: "Retinal coding in light of clinical applications" organized by the Bernstein Center Tuebingen %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% To promote the interchange of ideas about principles of neural information processing in the visual system we are organizing a two-day joint symposium with the CIN (Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, http://www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de/) on June 8 and June 9th. The symposium is titled "Retinal coding in light of clinical applications" and will be held at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tuebingen (http://tuebingen.mpg.de/en/facilities/max-planck-house.html). It will start on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (registration opens at 1 p.m.) and the official program ends on Thursday with lunch. The time after lunch is free for discussions. Confirmed speakers are: Richard H. Masland (Harvard Medical School/MEEI, Boston, USA) Sheila Nirenberg (Cornell University, New York, USA) Rolando Berlinguer-Palmini (New Castle University, Newcastle, UK) Eberhart Zrenner (Institute for Opthalmic Research, T?bingen, Germany) Eizaburo Doi (New York University, New York, USA) Robert G. Smith (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA) Martin Greschner (Salk Institute, San Diego, USA) In addition to the talks we will also have a poster session on Wednesday evening. The registration fee is 35 Euro. Coffee breaks, as well as dinner on Wednesday and lunch on Thursday will be provided. For registration and further details see http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/events/symposium-a.html Please register at your earliest convenience as we can accommodate only a limited number of participants. We look forward to seeing you Thomas Euler & Matthias Bethge -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110416/c09feeb0/attachment.html From venkateshrao1976 at gmail.com Sun Apr 17 10:12:35 2011 From: venkateshrao1976 at gmail.com (Venkateswara Rao) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:12:35 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Draft paper submission deadline extended: IICAI-11, December 2011, India Message-ID: *Draft paper submission deadline extended: IICAI-11, December 2011, India* The 5th Indian International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IICAI-11) will be held during December 14-16, 2011 in Tumkur (near Bangalore), India. Website: http://www.iiconference.org. The draft paper submission date is extended. The conference consists of paper presentations, tutorials, invited papers, keynote speeches, local tours, etc. We invite draft paper submissions. We particularly encourage submissions on neural networks, computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics. The primary goal of IICAI is to promote research and developmental activities in AI and related fields in India and the rest of the world. Another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between AI researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working in India and abroad. The conference will be held every two years to make it an ideal platform for people to share views and experiences in AI and related areas. Sincerely Venkateswara Rao Organizing Committee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110417/f459de8f/attachment.html From daniel.margulies at gmail.com Tue Apr 19 04:33:19 2011 From: daniel.margulies at gmail.com (Daniel Margulies) Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:33:19 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: NEURO-BUREAU: ADHD-200 Processed Data Now Available Message-ID: <1B267370-BD58-4483-88AA-8114CBF01B44@gmail.com> In order to bring the ADHD-200 Global Competition to a wider audience, The Neuro Bureau is making preprocessed versions of the competition data freely available to the general public (http://neurobureau.projects.nitrc.org/ADHD200). These openly downloadable datasets include both preprocessed versions of structural and functional dataset previously made available by the ADHD-200 consortium, as well as initial standard subject-level analyses (e.g., fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations, connectivity maps for 10 commonly observed resting state networks (Smith et al. PNAS 2009)). We hope this release will open collaborative possibilities and contributions from researchers not traditionally addressing brain data -- for those whose specialties lay outside of MRI and fMRI data processing, the competition is now one step easier. The preprocessing pipelines will include: 1) The Athena: resting state fMRI and voxel-based morphometry preprocessing (grey matter) using AFNI and FSL [released] 2) The Burner: voxel-based morphometry processing (grey matter and white matter) using DARTEL in SPM [coming soon] 3) The NIAK: resting state fMRI preprocessing using the NeuroImaging Analysis Kit on CBRAIN [coming soon] 4) The CIVET: cortical thickness measures extracted using the CIVET pipeline on CBRAIN [coming soon] Additionally, for May 1, we anticipate the release of extracted timeseries data (in .csv format) and corresponding full- and partial-correlation matrices for a variety of brain parcellation schemes. For more information and to download data please visit: http://neurobureau.projects.nitrc.org/ADHD200. A NITRC account is required to download data. Cheers, Cameron Craddock, Daniel Margulies, and The Neuro Bureau -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110419/409e69db/attachment.html From daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be Mon Apr 18 11:51:35 2011 From: daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be (Daniele Marinazzo) Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:51:35 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position - analysis of neuroimaging data Message-ID: A PhD position is available at the department of Data Analysis, Ghent University, Belgium (http://www.da.ugent.be). The PhD student will be part of a research group focusing on the development and validation of new methods for the analysis of neuroimaging data. The candidate has ideally a master degree in physics, mathematics or engineering, knows at least one programming language (matlab, R, C, etc) and has an interest for multidisciplinary research. The University of Gent hosts a vibrant research community and offers excellent facilities to students and employees. for information contact Daniele Marinazzo (daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be) -- Daniele Marinazzo -- http://www.da.ugent.be Department of Data Analysis, Gent University Henri Dunantlaan 1, B-9000 Gent, Belgium -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110418/c2e137ca/attachment-0001.html From ianfasel at cs.arizona.edu Tue Apr 19 21:53:17 2011 From: ianfasel at cs.arizona.edu (Ian Fasel) Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:53:17 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Two postdoctoral positions at the University of Arizona Message-ID: The School of Information: ?Science, Technology and Arts (SISTA) at the University of Arizona seeks two postdoctoral researchers to work on several projects in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, and other closely related areas under the direction of Professors Kobus Barnard, Carole Beal, Paul Cohen, Ian Fasel, and Clay Morrison.?Ideal candidates will have experience in one or more of the following: - Cognitive semantics or similar approaches to language semantics - Scene and/or object understanding - Human activity understanding - Multi-modal inference (combining image, video, text, audio, etc.) - Reinforcement learning and learning from demonstration - Bayesian modeling and inference - Machine learning, optimization, and statistical methods - Real-time object localization and/or tracking - Cognitive and/or developmental robotics - Human-robot interaction - Human pose estimation and/or tracking Postdocs are encouraged to work on both their primary project and other projects in the UofA and global community through collaborations and participation in professional services and activities. ?The length of the appointment is expected to be two years, with possibility of renewal. ?Applications will be considered until the position is filled. Candidates are expected to have (or be about to defend) a PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Cognitive Science, or related areas, with demonstrated experience and publications in the main conferences and journals in their field. To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including the names and email addresses of three references to ljacobo @ email.arizona.edu. If possible please attach up to three representative publications (unpublished manuscripts such as soon-to-be-defended Ph.D. theses are welcome). The University of Arizona is an extraordinarily collaborative place, especially for work in cognitive science. We all work with faculty in several other departments. Tucson is a beautiful environment for both scholarship and sport, and the sun shines almost every day. From ro at cs.uni-frankfurt.de Wed Apr 20 08:13:14 2011 From: ro at cs.uni-frankfurt.de (Roland Memisevic) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:13:14 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD positions in Machine Learning, University of Frankfurt Message-ID: <20110420121314.GA1374@paris.rbi.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de> PhD positions in Machine Learning, University of Frankfurt Two PhD studentships in Machine Learning are available in the Department of Computer Science, University of Frankfurt, Germany, starting in summer 2011 (subject to final budgetary approval). PhD students will be associated with a new machine learning group at Frankfurt as well as with the Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology (BFNT) Frankfurt (www.bfnt-frankfurt.de). PhD students will work under the supervision of Prof. Roland Memisevic (www.cs.uni-frankfurt.de/~ro), and will have the opportunity to collaborate also with members of the Visual Sensorics and Information Processing lab (www.vsi.cs.uni-frankfurt.de). Research will involve the development of scalable machine learning methods with applications in computer vision. It will involve statistical modeling and non-linear optimization, and it will touch upon topics in computational neuroscience and in high performance computing. A key focus is the scalability to very large data-sets. Ideal candidates will have a MSc or equivalent degree in Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or in a related area, and have a strong interest and experience in machine learning, statistics and/or scientific computing. The duration of the contract is subject to the legal provisions of the "Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz" (law regulating time limited contracts for scientists) together with the "Hessische Hochschulgesetz" (Hessian Law for Higher Education). Wages and salaries are according to the collective agreements on salary scales which apply at Goethe-University (TV-G-U). Salaries for both positions are according to pay-scale E 13 TV-G-U, 75%. The positions are initially for a period of up to three years. Goethe-University is committed to increasing the proportion of female scientific staff and applications from women are especially welcome. Where qualifications are equal, preference will be given to people with disabilities. To apply, please send the following documents in a single pdf-file to ml_jobs at cs.uni-frankfurt.de (1) Your Curriculum Vitae (2) A brief statement of relevant research interests and/or experience (preferably one page, at most two) (3) Transcripts for previous degrees if available (4) Names of two or three referees who are able to comment on the applicant's qualifications. We will contact references of short-listed candidates only. Applications will be considered until the positions are filled. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. -- Roland Memisevic, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Frankfurt ro at cs.uni-frankfurt.de http://www.cs.uni-frankfurt.de/~ro From smart at neuralcorrelate.com Thu Apr 21 19:22:53 2011 From: smart at neuralcorrelate.com (Susana Martinez-Conde) Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:22:53 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: TOP 10 FINALIST ILLUSIONS! Message-ID: <013c01cc007b$0a8b71f0$1fa255d0$@com> The Best Illusion of the Year Contest is happy to announce that the TOP TEN illusions have been chosen!! The Contest Gala will be on Monday, May 9th, 5pm, in the Philharmonic Center of Arts (Naples Fl). The 2011 Contest Gala will be hosted by Peter Thompson! Everybody is invited!!! Who will the TOP THREE winners be??? That's up to YOU! The audience will choose them from the current TOP TEN list. For more details, please visit our webpage: http://illusionoftheyear.com 2011 TOP TEN ILLUSION CONTESTANTS (alphabetical order): To see the illusions themselves. you must come to the CONTEST!!! "Illusions from rotating rings", by Stuart Anstis & Patrick Cavanagh "Grouping by Contrast", by Erica Dixon, Arthur Shapiro & Kai Hamburger "Fishbone Tactile Illusion", by Nakatani Masashi "The Exchange of Features, Textures and Faces", by Arthur Shapiro & Gideon Caplovitz "Silencing awareness of change by background motion", by Jordan Suchow Title TBA, by Peter Tse, Patrick Cavanagh, David Whitney & Stuart Anstis "Impossible Illusory Triangle", by Christopher Tyler "The more-or-less morphing face illusion", by Rob van Lier & Arno Koning "Mask of Love", by Gianni Sarcone & Marie-Jo Waeber Title TBA, by Mark Wexler On behalf of the Neural Correlate Society, Susana Martinez-Conde (Executive Producer, Best Illusion of the Year Contest) Neural Correlate Society Executive Committee: Jose-Manuel Alonso, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Luis Martinez, Xoana Troncoso, Peter Tse The Neural Correlate Society is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the public awareness of vision research. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD Director, Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience Barrow Neurological Institute 350 W. Thomas Rd. Phoenix AZ 85013 USA Phone: +1 602 406-3484 Fax: +1 602 406-4192 Email: smart at neuralcorrelate.com http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110421/d9392fc2/attachment.html From akarniel at bgu.ac.il Fri Apr 22 04:45:40 2011 From: akarniel at bgu.ac.il (Amir Karniel) Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:45:40 GMT Subject: Connectionists: Call for papers - IEEE ToH special issue on Haptic Human-Robot Interaction Message-ID: Dear Connectionists, We wish to invite you to submit your best "Haptics Human-Robot Interaction" related results to the special issue described below See for further details at http://www.computer.org/portal/web/toh Guests Editors Dr. Amir Karniel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Dr. Angelika Peer, Technische Universit?t M?nchen Dr. Opher Donchin, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Dr. Ferdinando A. Mussa-Ivaldi, Northwestern University Dr. Gerald E. Loeb, University of Southern California The IEEE Transactions on Haptics seeks articles for a 2012 special issue on Haptic Human-Robot Interaction. Touch is an inevitable component of interaction in collaborative environments. Haptic human-robot interaction is still largely underrepresented compared to other fields of interaction research such as communication via speech and gestures. Safe and intuitive haptic human-robot interactions will be essential for future robotic systems that interact directly with humans, assist them in performing physical tasks, enhance motor training and rehabilitation, and even interact socially such as shaking hands and dancing. The Guest Editors invite papers addressing all aspects of haptic human-human and human-robot interaction. Potential authors should also note that the first tournament for handshake algorithms and handshake classification will be held in June, 2011 as part of a workshop funded by the Israel Science Foundation at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Participants will be encouraged to submit papers to the Special Issue to report their findings, describe the rationale behind their algorithms and interpret their results. Articles are due by 15 September 2011. Visit http://www.computer.org/toh to view the complete call for papers and submission instructions. -- ---------------------------------- Amir Karniel, PhD Department of Biomedical Engineering Ben-Gurion University of the Negev P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, ISRAEL Email: akarniel at bgu.ac.il URL: http://www.bgu.ac.il/~akarniel/ ---------------------------------? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110422/94cc5890/attachment-0001.html From tohru-nitta at aist.go.jp Fri Apr 22 01:54:33 2011 From: tohru-nitta at aist.go.jp (Tohru Nitta) Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:54:33 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: First CFP - Special Session on Clifford Algebraic Neural Networks Message-ID: <20110422144514.A026.222E6AA6@aist.go.jp> Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce that a Special Session on Clifford Algebraic Neural Networks will be organized at the 2011 International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP2011): http://202.120.38.2/ICONIP/index.html The conference will be held in Shanghai, China on November 14-17, 2011. The deadline for paper submission is June 1, 2011. Special sessions organizers: Tohru Nitta (AIST, Japan) Yasuaki Kuroe (Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan) The complex-valued neural networks (CVNNs) have been widening the scope of applications not only in electronics and informatics, but also in social systems. The fields are, namely, optoelectronics, imaging, remote sensing, quantum neural devices and systems, intelligent transport systems, and so on. One of the most important characteristics of the CVNNs is the proper treatment of complex-amplitude information, e.g., the treatment of wave-related / rotation-related phenomena such as electromagnetism, lightwaves, quantum waves, oscillatory phenomena even including traffic signal control, and color image processing based on adaptive signal rotation in the RGB space. Recently there were several Special Sessions (SSs) on complex-valued neural networks in, for example, KES 2001-2003, ICONIP 2002, 2004, ICANN/ICONIP 2003 Istanbul, ICANN 2007 and IJCNN2006, 2008-2010 where we had large audience and enjoyed heated and encouraging discussions successfully. The series indicates the increasing importance of this new area. Clifford algebraic neural network (CANN) is an extension of real, complex, and quaternionic-valued NNs to higher dimensions. Now we hold a SS on Clifford algebraic neural networks in the ICONIP2011 for a wider audience to develop further investigations both in theoretical and application fields. We will present the latest results and considerations, and discuss prospective possibilities of the CANNs, which naturally includes complex-valued neural networks. Papers that are, or might be, related to the CANNs are widely solicited. Topics include, but are not limited to: * Complex-valued Neuron Dynamics * Complex-valued Associative Memories * Chaos in Complex Domain * Spatiotemporal CANN Processing * CANN-based N-dimensional Information Transform * CANN-based Periodic Information Processing * Fourier Domain CANN Processing * Phase-Sensitive Radar Signal Processing * Coherent Optoelectronic Applications * Speech, Sonic and Ultrasonic Applications * Adaptive Quantum Devices * Quantum Computation and Quantum Neural Networks * CANNs in Color Image Processing * CANNs in Traffic Control * CANNs in Robotics For more information you may contact session organizers Tohru Nitta tohru-nitta at aist.go.jp Yasuaki Kuroe kuroe at kit.ac.jp From bowlby at bu.edu Mon Apr 25 10:29:25 2011 From: bowlby at bu.edu (Brian Bowlby) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:29:25 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: 15th ICCNS Conference: Final Call for Registration Message-ID: <533091BE-5F45-485A-AFD6-8B643E3BCC83@bu.edu> FIFTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS May 11?14, 2011 Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA http://cns.bu.edu/meetings/ Sponsored by the Boston University Center for Adaptive Systems, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (http://cns.bu.edu/), and Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (http://celest.bu.edu) with financial support from the National Science Foundation This interdisciplinary conference is attended each year by approximately 300 people from 30 countries around the world. As in previous years, the conference will focus on solutions to the questions: HOW DOES THE BRAIN CONTROL BEHAVIOR? HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY EMULATE BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE? The conference is aimed at researchers and students of computational neuroscience, cognitive science, neural networks, neuromorphic engineering, and artificial intelligence. It includes invited lectures and contributed lectures and posters by experts on the biology and technology of how the brain and other intelligent systems adapt to a changing world. The conference is particularly interested in exploring how the brain and biologically-inspired algorithms and systems in engineering and technology can learn. Single-track oral and poster sessions enable all presented work to be highly visible. Three-hour poster sessions with no conflicting events will be held on two of the conference days. Posters will be up all day, and can also be viewed during breaks in the talk schedule. CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS Edward Adelson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) The perception of materials and surfaces George Alvarez (Harvard University) How does neural architecture constrain attentional selection? Daphne Bavelier (University of Rochester) Action video games as exemplary learning tools Ed Boyden (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Controlling brain circuits with light: New tools for analyzing neural systems Marvin Chun (Yale University) Competitive interactions in memory encoding and retrieval James DiCarlo (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Untangling object recognition in the ventral visual stream Howard Eichenbaum (Boston University) The hippocampus in space and time Michale Fee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Prime movers of the brain: Neural circuits that drive complex motor behavior Michael Goldberg (Columbia University) [Plenary Speaker] Attention, sccades, and arousal in the parietal cortex Stephen Grossberg (Boston University) Neural dynamics of invariant object recognition, sequential memory, and action Takao Hensch (Harvard University) Shaping neural circuits by early experience Okihide Hikosaka (National Institutes of Health) [Plenary Speaker] Long-term reward experience influences basal ganglia neuronal activity and oculomotor behavior Nancy Kopell (Boston University) [Plenary Speaker] Multiple brain rhythms: Temporal structure and its functional implications Laurence Maloney (New York University) Perception, action, and uncertainty John Maunsell (Harvard Medical School) A neuronal population code for attentional state Michael Paradiso (Brown University) Saccadic eye movements and their role in neural coding and perception Ning Qian (Columbia University) Low- and high-level contributions to face perception: An adaptation study Kamal Sen (Boston University) Competition between target natural sounds and background maskers unveils spatial tuning at the cortical level David Sheinberg (Brown University) From shape to action Barbara Shinn-Cunningham (Boston University) Understanding individual differences in auditory attention: From physiology to behavior Herbert Terrace (Columbia University) [Plenary Speaker] Some missing links in the evolution of language Steven Zucker (Yale University) Learning long-range horizontal connections in visual cortex REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Early registration is recommended using the registration form below. Student registrations must be accompanied by a letter of verification from a department chairperson or faculty/research advisor. REGISTRATION FORM Fifteenth International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems May 11?14, 2011 Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA Fax: +1 617 353 7755 Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof:_____________________________________________________ Affiliation:_________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________ City, State, Postal Code:______________________________________________ Phone and Fax:_____________________________________________________ Email:____________________________________________________________ The registration fee includes a copy of the conference proceedings volume, a reception on Friday night, and 3 coffee breaks each day. CHECK ONE: ( ) $150 Conference (Regular) ( ) $95 Conference (Student) METHOD OF PAYMENT: [ ] Enclosed is a check made payable to "Boston University" Checks must be made payable in US dollars and issued by a US correspondent bank. Each registrant is responsible for any and all bank charges. [ ] I wish to pay by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card only) Name as it appears on the card:___________________________________________ Type of card: _____________________________ Expiration date:________________ Account number: _______________________________________________________ Signature:____________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110425/f2b1e7f4/attachment-0001.html From R.Borisyuk at plymouth.ac.uk Wed Apr 27 10:17:43 2011 From: R.Borisyuk at plymouth.ac.uk (Roman Borisyuk) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:17:43 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: CRNS Prof and Lecturer positions Message-ID: <6CD19ED93A7A8F4593955A11621242C237287F4287@ILS133.uopnet.plymouth.ac.uk> The Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems (CRNS) at the University of Plymouth UK is seeking applicants for two positions in the fields of robotics and/or computational neuroscience: Full Professor or Associate Professor (Reader) - permanent post http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ACN743/professor-associate-professor-reader-in-robotics-and-neural-systems/ Lecturer - initially a 3-year post http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ACN747/lecturer-in-cognitive-robotics-computational-neuroscience/ These new posts are part of the University's strategic investment in research, following the success of the Centre at the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE2008). For informal enquiries, email: angelo.cangelosi at plymouth.ac.uk For more information on the CRNS Centre, visit http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/SoCCE/CRNS/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110427/0d33163a/attachment.html From terry at salk.edu Tue Apr 26 19:23:46 2011 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:23:46 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - May, 2011 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 23, Number 5 - May 1, 2011 ARTICLES Hidden Markov Models for the Stimulus-Response Relationships of Multi-state Neural Systems Sean Escola, Alfredo Fontanini, Don Katz, and Liam Paninski Revisiting Tests for Neglected Nonlinearity Using Artificial Neural Networks Jin Seo Cho, Isao Ishida, and Halbert White NOTE On the Performance of Voltage Stepping for the Simulation of Adaptive, Nonlinear, Integrate-and-Fire Neuronal Networks. Mohamed Ghaith Kaabi, Arnaud Tonnelier, and Dominique Martinez LETTERS Detection of Hidden Structures in Nonstationary Spike Trains Ken Takiyama and Masato Okada The Dynamics of Integrate-and-Fire: Mean vs. Variance Modulations and Dependence on Baseline Parameters Joanna Pressley and Todd W. Troyer Traveling Bumps and Their Collisions in a Two-Dimensional Neural Field Yao Lu, Yuzuru Sato, and Shun-ichi Amari Mechanisms That Modulate the Transfer of Spiking Correlations Robert Rosenbaum and Kresimir Josic Refinements of Universal Approximation Results for Deep Belief Networks and Restricted Boltzmann Machines Guido Montufar and Nihat Ay Time-Free Spiking Neural P Systems Linqiang Pan, Xiangxiang Zeng, and Xingyi Zhang Divergence-Based Vector Quantization Thomas Villmann and Sven Haase ----- ON-LINE - http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/neco SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2011 - VOLUME 23 - 12 ISSUES USA Others Electronic only Student/Retired $67 $130 $62 Individual $118 $181 $110 Institution $986 $1,049 $882 Canada: Add 5% 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 daniel.margulies at gmail.com Wed Apr 27 14:42:21 2011 From: daniel.margulies at gmail.com (Daniel S Margulies) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:42:21 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: NEURO-BUREAU ANNOUNCES THE BRAIN-ART COMPETITION 2011 Message-ID: The Brain-Art Competition http://www.neurobureau.org/BrainArt/ Submission Deadline: 11:59PM CDT, Sunday, June 5th, 2011 *Award Notification: *June 28th, 9PM at the Cirque du Cerveau Gala (during the OHBM Annual Meeting), Mus?e National des Beaux-Arts du Qu?bec.** In order to recognize the beauty and creativity of artistic renderings emerging from the neuroimaging community, we are launching the first annual *Brain-Art Competition.* Countless hours are devoted to the creation of informative visualizations for communicating neuroscientific findings. The Brain-Art Competition aims to recognize this often unappreciated aspect of the publication process, and highlight the artistic creativity of our community. We are inviting researchers to submit their favorite unpublished works for entry. Both team and single-person entries are welcomed. The competition will have four award categories: 1) Best 3-Dimensional Brain Rendering 2) Best Representation of the Human Connectome 3) Best Abstract Brain Illustration 4) Best Comical Brain Illustration Additionally, we will have a Best Hand-Drawing of the Brain ?door-prize? competition beginning at 8pm at the *Cirque du Cerveau Gala* to be held on June 28th at the *2011 OHBM Annual Meeting in Quebec City*. Materials for hand-drawing will be provided at time of entry to gala. A digital gallery containing submissions will be made available prior to the gala. Sincerely, Daniel Margulies, Cameron Craddock & The Neuro Bureau -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110427/99db903e/attachment-0001.html From beckmann at fmrib.ox.ac.uk Wed Apr 27 15:31:15 2011 From: beckmann at fmrib.ox.ac.uk (Christian F. Beckmann) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:31:15 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Imaging Neurosciences at KFSH&RC Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Message-ID: <9E78A7DD-D40B-405B-BD56-34B1916BED14@fmrib.ox.ac.uk> Functional MRI Postdoctoral Position ? Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre Biomedical Physics Department Job Description The Molecular and Functional Imaging Group, Biomedical Physics Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC), is currently recruiting a post-doctoral fellow or research associate interested in functional imaging of autism in infants and toddlers. The individual will have access to a state-of the-art 3T MRI, 32-channel MRI-compatible EEG machines and computing facilities. The fellow will work as part of a multidisciplinary team of Neuroscientists, Neurologists and Radiologists interested in developing imaging research as part of an Autism research consortium in Saudi Arabia, which includes groups working in genetics, diagnosis and treatment of Autism. The successful candidate will be expected to work on other functional imaging projects as well as given the flexibility to explore own ideas and research as time permits. The position will be co-supervised by Dr. Rami Niazy (KFSH&RC) and Dr. Christian Beckmann (Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Netherlands). Requirements Minimum qualifications for a successful candidate include: - Completion of doctoral degree in Cognitive neuroscience / psychology, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Medical Physics or other relevant field of study. - Significant prior neuroimaging experience with functional MRI/EEG, strong skills in the usage of one or more of the common functional neuroimaging platforms (FSL, SPM, AFNI), and programming skills using MATLAB and/or C++. Conditions of Employment One full-time equivalent (FTE) postdoctoral position is available for a two-year period. Start date is between May-October 2011. The expected salary is equivalent to 3000 - 4000 euros / month, net (tax free). In addition, KFSH&RC provides medical coverage for employees and their dependants. There are 36 annual leave days in addition to 18 government holidays. For additional information and application please contact Dr. Rami Niazy at rniazy at kfshrc.edu.sa. Please include a statement of research interest, your CV and names of two persons who can provide references. From baluja at yahoo.com Thu Apr 28 16:48:42 2011 From: baluja at yahoo.com (shumeet baluja) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:48:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Connectionists: The Silicon Jungle [Book Announcement] Message-ID: <462358.73422.qm@web81902.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Colleagues, If you teach courses about, or are interested in, scientific responsibility and ethics, in particular with respect to data privacy and machine learning, please read on. Princeton has just published The Silicon Jungle. It is a fictionalized account of data mining and machine learning in today's largest internet companies. It is written for a general audience and is easily accessible for a non-specialist. Though it provides a gentle introduction to concepts in data mining and machine learning, the lessons are on data safety, scientific responsibility, and how data can be constructively used as well as misused when not handled carefully. If you, or faculty in your department, may be interested in using this book for undergraduate courses (typical courses will use novels from Sinclair, Orwell, Huxley, etc) or simply as a "what-not-to-do-with-user- data" manual, please let me know - course materials will follow based on interest. Thank you, Shumeet Baluja Google, Inc. p.s. because of my current and previous affiliations, I must emphasize that though the lessons are real, the events are not. ~~~~~~ The Silicon Jungle: A Novel of Deception, Power, and Internet Intrigue What happens when a naive intern is granted unfettered access to people's most private thoughts and actions? Young Stephen Thorpe lands a coveted internship at Ubatoo, an Internet empire that provides its users with popular online services, from a search engine and shopping to e-mail and social networking. When Stephen's boss asks him to work on a project with the American Coalition for Civil Liberties, Stephen innocently obliges, believing he is mining Ubatoo's vast databases to protect the ever-growing number of people unfairly targeted in the name of national security. But nothing is as it seems. Suspicious individuals--do-gooders, voyeurs, government agents, and radicals--surface, doing all they can to access the mass of desires and vulnerabilities gleaned from scouring Ubatoo's wealth of intimate information. Entry into Ubatoo's vaults of personal data need not require technical wizardry--simply knowing how to manipulate a well-intentioned intern may be enough. Set in today's cutting-edge data mining industry, The Silicon Jungle is a cautionary tale of data mining's promise and peril, and how others can use our online activities for political and personal gain just as easily as for marketing and humanitarian purposes. A timely thriller, The Silicon Jungle raises serious ethical questions about today's technological innovations and how our most confidential activities and minute details can be routinely pieced together into rich profiles that reveal our habits, goals, and secret desires--all ready to be exploited in ways beyond our wildest imaginations. [amazon hardback] [kindle] [bn] [nook] Selected Reviews: "A cerebral, cautionary tale. Credible and scary."--Vint Cerf, Google Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist and one of the "Fathers of the Internet" "Clever and prophetic. The Silicon Jungle will be required reading from Silicon Valley to Washington, DC."--Marc Rotenberg, Electronic Privacy Information Center "This novel will open your eyes to issues of privacy on the internet and to the hazards of placing uncritical, blind trust in the people overseeing this vast enterprise. Baluja tells a story about something that could happen to any of us--if you're even modestly concerned about information privacy, this is an important book to read."--Roy Maxion, Carnegie Mellon University Bio: Shumeet Baluja is a senior staff research scientist at Google, focusing on data mining, statistical machine learning, and computer vision. He was formerly the chief technology officer of Jamdat Mobile and chief scientist at Lycos. He holds a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University and has served as an adjunct faculty member in both the computer science department and the Robotics Institute at CMU. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110428/00a81379/attachment.html From heimel at ioi.knaw.nl Fri Apr 29 05:11:24 2011 From: heimel at ioi.knaw.nl (Alexander Heimel) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:11:24 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position in Neuroscience of Vision, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Message-ID: Within the research group ?Molecular Visual Plasticity? at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam, a position is available for a *PhD student in the Neuroscience of Vision* Project information The aim of the research is to understand more of the neurobiological mechanisms behind information processing in the visual cortex. The research involves in vivo electrophysiology and in vivo two-photon microscopy to record responses to visual stimuli in rodents. Optogenetic tools and transgenic mouse models will be used to manipulate specific parts of the processing circuit in order to probe the computational mechanisms behind vision. The PhD student will work under supervision of Dr. J.A. Heimel and will collaborate with members of the Molecular Visual Plasticity headed by Dr. Christiaan Levelt and the Vision and Cognition group of Prof. Pieter Roelfsema. Requirements The ideal candidate will have an MSc or equivalent degree in Biology or Physics, or in a related area and have a strong interest in the question how the brain functions. Candidates with previous experience in neurophysiology, imaging or programming are particularly encouraged to apply. Appointment This position is temporary for the duration of one year. Following an evaluation, when suitable for the position, the appointment will be extended with 3 years (i.e. 4 years total). The position is available immediately. Salary The gross monthly salary coming with a fulltime appointment will amount to ? 2.042,- in the first year to ? 2.612,- in the fourth year (P-scale of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities; CAO NU), excluding 8% holiday allowance and a 8.3% year-end bonus. We offer an extensive package of fringe benefits. Location The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), Amsterdam. The NIN is a prestigious research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The NIN carries out fundamental and strategic research in the neurosciences with an emphasis on research of the brain and the visual system. Application Send your application letter (including CV) before June 1st 2011 to Dr J. Alexander Heimel (lastname @ nin.knaw.nl). Telephone: +31-20-5664529. From huajin.tang at gmail.com Sat Apr 30 09:16:29 2011 From: huajin.tang at gmail.com (Huajin) Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:16:29 +0800 Subject: Connectionists: CFP: Special Session on Brain-Realistic Models for Learning, Memory and Embodied Cognition In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: > Dear colleagues, > > We are pleased to invite your submissions to the following special session and conference: > > Special Session on Brain-Realistic Models for Learning, Memory and Embodied Cognition > The 18th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP 2011) > November 14-17, 2011, Shanghai, China > > OVERVIEW > > It has been a challenge in neuroscience and computer science for many years to implement brain-style intelligence in an artificial neural system. Artificial intelligence, developed by computer scientists is highly limited in adaptive behavior and learning ability. Therefore, the synthetic neural modeling approach, by developing brain-realistic models and related algorithms with robotic simulation has become a prevailing method to target the core problem of brain-style intelligence. Based on neuro-anatomic and physiological features of local cortical regions and hippocampus as well as their integrated neuropsychological characteristics, the synthetic neural systems are then embedded in robotic system to emulate brain-style cognition and autonomy in a physical environment. > > The ICONIP 2011 special session on ?Brain-Realistic Models for Learning, Memory and Embodied Cognition? aims to reflect the efforts and achievements of the current research stream, by inviting scientists and researchers to report their state-of-the-art technologies and theories on computational modeling, theory, experiments and applications. > > TOPICS > > The main theme of the special session is brain-realistic models and algorithms for learning, memory and embodied cognition with applications to robotics. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: > > ? Cognitive Memory (Associative Memory, Episodic Memory, LTM, STM, Working Memory, etc.) > ? Neural Circuits Modeling and Theory. > ? Neural Information Encoding and Decoding. > ? Learning and Computing in Neural Systems (STDP, recognition, inference, decision making, etc). > ? Micro- or Macroscopic Brain Model for Behavior and Dynamic Cognition. > ? Embodied Cognition, Neuro-Robotics, Robotic Cognition and Autonomy, etc. > > SUBMISSION > > All special session submissions are to follow the Springer LNCS format with a limit of ten (10) A4 format pages. More information on paper submission can be found at the ICONIP 2011 website at http://iconip2011.sjtu.edu.cn/. Please select the category of special session ?Brain-Realistic Models for Learning, Memory and Embodied Cognition? during the paper submission process. All submitted papers will be fully refereed. Accepted papers will be published in the ICONIP 2011 Proceedings as a Springer LNCS volume. Extended version of selected papers may be invited for publication in special issues of international journals. > > Submission deadline: June 1, 2011. > Notice of acceptance: August 1, 2011. > SPECIAL SESSION CHAIRS: > > Dr. Huajin Tang, > Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore > Email: htang at i2r.a-star.edu.sg > Webpage: http://www1.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/~htang/ > > Dr. Jun Tani, > RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Tokyo, Japan > Email: tani at brain.riken.jp > Webpage: http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani/ > > Sincerely, > > Huajin Tang, PhD > Research Scientist > Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110430/91993c99/attachment-0001.html