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CNV: Computational Neuroscience of Vision

This is the home page for the School of Informatics course "CNV: Computational Neuroscience of Vision", given by James A. Bednar in January-March 2012.

• Course descriptor
• Lecture notes
• Assessed coursework
• Timetable for course meetings (search for "CNV")
• Bibliography (huge list of all references in the text, for use when writing reports)
• Background readings (various suggestions of classic papers in vision and computational neuroscience)
• Pages from previous year(s) (for reference)

This course uses the Topographica neural simulator and the Computational Maps in the Visual Cortex book; see the topographica.org and computationalmaps.org web sites for more details on the simulator and book.

You will get a chance to run simulations of visual cortex development and function, and gain an understanding of what modeling can achieve, what it cannot, and how modeling can be done well. See the course descriptor or the lecture notes for more details on the topics to be covered.

This course differs from NIP in being much more qualitative, with very little mathematical work required, and by providing extensive background material on vision. It differs from NC by focusing on large numbers of units organized into topographic maps, rather than on more detailed study of individual neurons or small populations. It differs from CCN by being focused only on results from the neuroscience of vision and on models grounded on specific visual areas and circuits within them.

News

• 3 Jan 2012: These pages will be updated regularly once the semester begins, so please check this page and the lecture notes page at least weekly for news. Be sure to refresh both pages in your browser before deciding there is no news.

• 24 Jan 2012: Three MSc projects suitable for CNV students have been posted; see projects P257, P258, and P256.

• 6 Feb 2012: There is a talk that might be of interest to CNV students tomorrow morning:
  Tuesday, 7 Feb 2012, 9am Hugh Robson Building Library: Centre for Integrative Physiology Lecture "Neocortical information processing", Christan Wozny (Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin)

• 17 Feb 2012: Another talk that might be of interest to CNV students:
  Friday, 17 Feb 2012, 12:30pm Hugh Robson Building Lecture Theatre: Centre for Integrative Physiology Lecture "Seeing in depth: axon guidance mechanisms controlling the development of the binocular visual pathways", Dr Lynda Erskine (University of Aberdeen)

• 17 Feb 2012: And yet another interesting talk:
  Friday, 17 Feb 2012, 04:00pm-06:00pm Dugald Stewart Building Room G.06, "Perceiving as Predicting", Andy Clark (University of Edinburgh)

• 5 Mar 2012: Today's lecture will be a guest lecture:
  Monday, 5 Mar 2012, 12:30pm-01:30pm, Hugh Robson Lecture Theatre, George Square, "How Spontaneous Activity Wires the Developing Brain Prior to Experience", Christian Lohmann (Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience)

• 26 Mar 2012: Added additional final exam prep session:
  Thursday, 26 Apr 2012, 12:10am-01:00pm, meeting at the usual room.

Last updated: 2012/05/02 12:03:59