Theoretical Neuroscience

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Comment by Erik Bo Jensen on January 31, 2010 at 3:13am

Dear Hesse. congratulation rounded the 100 members. best Bo Denmark

Comment by carl tropper on January 21, 2010 at 5:18pm

I am a computer scientist who has worked for many years in parallel discrete event simulation. I am interesting in applying my bag of tricks to brain modelling. Can anyone give me some sort of indication about groups that do this sort of work, or good web-sites to start out with?

Comment by Markus A. Dahlem on January 13, 2010 at 2:48am

The Swartz Foundation is now providing a job search listing which is located on the Foundation's web site,www.theswartzfoundation.org. Invited are job seeking post-docs and pre-docs at the 11 Sloan-Swartz centers to enter their particulars and addresses for their c.v.s.

Morover, the listing is open to similar position seekers at other institutions and laboratories in the field, subject to a review for authenticity.

These are then listed at http://www.theswartzfoundation.org/job-board.asp.

Comment by Janet Wise on December 11, 2009 at 3:20pm

Hello everyone!
Will~That was great advice you gave Katrina! I, too, am looking for what niche will satisfy my diverse interests! Thank you for sharing that the ones you thought were the most enjoyable, became trivial, and the trivial ones became enjoyable--even elegant! I have found that to be true about a lot of studies, so synchronicity helped me pay attention to that! ;-) I decided I didn't really like Histology; I'm more of a people person, and my strengths are more communicative and theoretical. I especially like relating different concepts (e.g., quantum mechanics and consciousness studies) and finding the synergy of all the parts. I enjoy analytical thinking and psychology; it is the perspective from which I view human behavior and emotion. Thank you for your comment about looking for a path to follow in terms of trade-offs.

Comment by William H. Nesse on November 6, 2009 at 12:52pm

Hi Katrina,

Welcome. Those are great ambitions. My only advice for choosing your path concerns trade-offs. When choosing a lab to work in, one must understand what the experimental vs. theoretical trade-offs are. Quite often, the hard core molecular mechanisms are done in genetic animals, and in brain slices, which tend to be further removed from any behavioural/informational context, or what the neuron/circuit it is for. On the other hand, model systems where there is excellent understanding of basic function, one usually does not have ideal access to the underlying physiology. Or when you have both, you are working in non mammals with less human relevance. Of course the challenge is to link all your ambitions. It takes cunning, but also prudent choices about what animals/circuits to work with. Talk with the P.I.s and try to asses how your ambitions fit with the experimental trade-offs of the lab. Also, the P.I. has been doing his/her stuff for a while, and probably has a much deeper, clearer view of how you can contribute to the field. In my grad school days, it took a while before I could appreciate some of the overarching goals of the labs I worked with. i.e. some initial interests turned out to be trivial and banal, while other seemingly trivial ideas turned out to be devilishly complex and elegant. Always learning...

Also, make sure you end up with some distinguishable and marketable skills when you are done.


Will.

Comment by Katrina Lynn Wood on November 6, 2009 at 12:12pm

Hi everyone, I too am very green ;) just got my BA and now looking for PhD programs that emphasize the theoretical component of neuroscience -- (also considering neurophilosophy programs for this reason) I figure some of you might have some insight here?

My interests (in summary): theories of decision-making, & neuroeconomics, and motivation - with respect to the computational roles of different signaling molecules/neuromodulators involved (e.g. Dopamine, 5-HT, eCB and opioids).
I'm really interested in learning more about the role of neuronal morphology on the spatial/temporal parameters of 'information processing' and working memory - and if the spatial arrangement of different types of neurotransmitter receptors (on the subcellular level) influences how these neurons and their networks process information, in behaviorally relevant ways.

Comment by Olaf Sporns on November 6, 2009 at 9:24am

Hi all - great to be on board.

Comment by David Deal on November 5, 2009 at 11:19pm

Hi Theoreticians,
Hope all is well for everyone. I am relatively new here but look forward to playing catch-up by reading older comments and such. Until very recently I concentrated in the area of AD, PD, Huntington's disease and neuroblastomas. As a physicist with much experience in materials science, we focused upon the potential of using nanovectors for diagnosis, therapy and imaging. In that I've only been working in neuroscience about four years, I still sometimes feel a bit green behind the ears as it applies to anything beyond my area of research. I will say as a physicist I've found the brain/mind to be as thought-provoking, interesting and as far-reaching as the Cosmos itself. In being fully aware of the protests, fear and trepidation of using nanoparticles, nanotube and even electrodes composed of nanomaterials; I believe we must maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks. Also I can view neuroscience from a personal view making such work even more important. Finally I was glad to see a theoretical group.

Comment by William H. Nesse on October 26, 2009 at 11:18am

Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience video lectures: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=redwood%20center%20AND%20mediatype:movies&sort=-publicdate

Comment by Abhay on October 26, 2009 at 3:04am

Thanks for those links and resources.Very useful for a newbie like me..

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