CSCI6508/NESC4177

Neural Computation / Theoretical Neuroscience 2013

Instructor

Dr. Thomas Trappenberg

Office: Room 4216 in Mona Campbell Building on Coburg RD (main) and Room 313 in Goldberg building (office hour)

Email: tt@cs.dal.ca

TA: Paul Hollensen (paulhollensen@gmail.com)

Office hour: Mondays 4:30-5:30 and after appointment (write email)

Course Description

This course is an introduction to computational neuroscience and brain style information processing and includes an introduction to the MATLAB programming environment and some required mathematical back- ground.

Schedule (tentative, can change)

Date	Content	Reference	Assignment out	Assignment due
Jan 8	Overview	Chapter 1, slides 1
Jan 10	Neuron1: Overview and synaptic transmission	2.1, 2.2, slides 2
Jan 15	MATLAB 1: General programming	Appendix E
Jan17	Basic Calculus	Appendix B	Assignment 1
Jan 22	MATLAB 2: ODE	Appendix E and B
Jan 24	Neuron 2: Axon and conductance-based compartmental models	2.3,2.4	Assignment 2	Assignment 1
Jan 29	Spiking models	3.1,3.2, slides 3
Jan 31	Rate models	3.3,3.4	Assignment 3	Assignment 2
Feb 5	Plasticity 1: associators and physiology	4.1,4.2, slides 4
Feb 7	Plasticity 2: Mathematical descriptions	4.3,4.4	Assignment 4	Assignment 3
Feb 12	Networks 1: Background	5.1,5.2, slides 5
Feb 14	Network of Izhikevich neurons	5.3	Assignment 5	Assignment 4
Feb 19	Multilayer Perceptron 1	6.1, 6.2, slides 6
Feb 21	Multilayer Perceptron 2	(6.3,6.4) or application	Assignment 6	Assignment 5
March 5	PPP (Phenomenal Perceptron Project)
March 7	PPP (Phenomenal Perceptron Project)
March 12	Self-Organizing Maps	7.1,7.2, slides 7
March 14	Dynamic Neural Fields	7.3-7.5	Assignment 7	Assignment 6
March 19	Attractor Networks 1	8.1,8.2, slides 8
March 21	Attractor Networks 2	8.3,8.4	Assignment 8	Assignment 7
March 26	System 1: Examples	9.1-9.5, slides 9
March 28	System 2: Reinforcement learning	9.6	Assignment 9	Assignment 8
April 2	Cognitive Brain 1: Competitive dynamics and dynamic networks	10.1,10.2, slides 10
April 4	Cognitive Brain 2: The anticipating brain	10.3,10.4	Assignment 10	Assignment 9

Textbook

T.P. Trappenberg (2010) Fundamentals of Computational Neuroscience, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN13: 9780199568413, ISBN10: 0199568413.

A brief (biased) guide to writing scientific papers.

Grading Scheme

Quizzes 35%, Assignments & Projects 65%

Academic Integrity & Plegarism

(Based on the sample statement provided at http://academicintegrity.dal.ca. Written by Dr. Alex Brodsky.)

Please familiarize yourself with the university policy on Intellectual Honesty. Every suspected case will be reported.

At Dalhousie University, we respect the values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect. As a student, adherence to the values of academic integrity and related policies is a requirement of being part of the academic community at Dalhousie University.

What does academic integrity mean?

Academic integrity means being honest in the fulfillment of your academic responsibilities thus establishing mutual trust. Fairness is essential to the interactions of the academic community and is achieved through respect for the opinions and ideas of others. Violations of intellectual honesty are offensive to the entire academic community, not just to the individual faculty member and students in whose class an offence occurs. (see Intellectual Honesty section of University Calendar)

How can you achieve academic integrity?

• Make sure you understand Dalhousies policies on academic integrity.

• Give appropriate credit to the sources used in your assignment such as written or oral work, com- puter codes/programs, artistic or architectural works, scientific projects, performances, web page designs, graphical representations, diagrams, videos, and images. Use RefWorks to keep track of your research and edit and format bibliographies in the citation style required by the instructor (http://www.library.dal.ca/How/RefWorks)

• Do not download the work of another from the Internet and submit it as your own.

• Do not submit work that has been completed through collaboration or previously submitted for another assignment without permission from your instructor. • Do not write an examination or test for someone else.

• Do not falsify data or lab results.

These examples should be considered only as a guide and not an exhaustive list.

What will happen if an allegation of an academic offence is made against you?

I am required to report a suspected offence. The full process is outlined in the Discipline flow chart, which can be found at: http://academicintegrity.dal.ca/Files/AcademicDisciplineProcess.pdf and in- cludes the following:

1. Each Faculty has an Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) who receives allegations from instructors.

2. The AIO decides whether to proceed with the allegation and you will be notified of the process.

3. If the case proceeds, you will receive an INC (incomplete) grade until the matter is resolved.

4. If you are found guilty of an academic offence, a penalty will be assigned ranging from a warning to a suspension or expulsion from the University and can include a notation on your transcript, failure of the assignment or failure of the course. All penalties are academic in nature.

Where can you turn for help?

• If you are ever unsure about ANYTHING, contact myself.

• The Academic Integrity website (http://academicintegrity.dal.ca) has links to policies, defini tions, online tutorials, tips on citing and paraphrasing.

• The Writing Center provides assistance with proofreading, writing styles, citations.

• Dalhousie Libraries have workshops, online tutorials, citation guides, Assignment Calculator, Ref- Works, etc.

• The Dalhousie Student Advocacy Service assists students with academic appeals and student discipline procedures.

• The Senate Office provides links to a list of Academic Integrity Officers, discipline flow chart, and Senate Discipline Committee.

Request for special accommodation

Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Students who require academic accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing of tests and exams should make their request to the Advising and Access Services Center (AASC) prior to or at the outset of the regular academic year. Please visit www.dal.ca/access for more information and to obtain the Request for Accommodation – Form A.

A note taker may be required as part of a student’s accommodation. There is an honorarium of $75/course/term (with some exceptions). If you are interested, please contact AASC at 494-2836 for more information.

Please note that your classroom may contain specialized accessible furniture and equipment. It is important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require their usage will be able to participate in the class.