Neural plasticity underlies the capacity of the central nervous system to encode new information, develop new abilities and adapt to the environment. Plasticity is required for learning and is modulated during development and by disorders of the brain. Recent advances in experimental methodology have led to new insights on the biological mechanisms underlying neural plasticity. The topics if the papers chosen for review will center on recent experimental and theoretical studies of topics such as synaptic plasticity, developmental and activity-dependent changes in sensory and motor maps.

The course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its application in neuroscience. MRI is emerging as the preeminent method to obtain structural and functional information about the living human brain. This methodology has helped to revolutionize neuroscience and the study of human cognition. The specific topics covered in this course will include: introduction to spin gymnastics, survey of imaging methods, structural brain mapping, functional MRI (fMRI), and MR spectroscopy (MRS). Approximately, one third of the course will be devoted to introductory concepts of magnetic resonance, another third to the discussion of MRI methods, and the remaining third will cover a broad range of neuroscience applications. Guest lectures will be incorporated into the course from neuroscientists and psychologists who use MRI in their own research.

This course deals with the science and engineering of computer vision, that is, the analysis of patterns in visual images of the world with the goal of reconstructing and understanding the objects and processes in the world that are producing them. The emphasis is on physical, mathematical, and information processing aspects of vision, but biological and psychological perspectives will also be considered. Topics covered include image formation and representation, multi-scale analysis, segmentation, contour and region analysis, reconstruction of depth based on stereo, texture shading and motion, and analysis and recognition of objects and scenes using statistical and model-based techniques.

10-701 Machine Learning: 12 units
(Cross-listed as 15-781 for CS PhD students only.)

15-686 Computational Neuroscience: Visual Computation in Biological Systems: 12 units

Instructor: Tai Sing Lee
Date/Time: Tue & Thu, 3:00 PM - 4:20PM
Location: Porter Hall A18B

An introduction to the computational neuroscience of vision. This course explores basic neuroscience, as well as the computational principles and mathematical foundations that are relevant to understanding intelligent computation in biological visual systems. Fundamental concepts on signals and systems, pattern analysis, probabilistic inference, representation learning, information and coding theories will be covered in the context of sensory and perceptual processing in the visual systems. Basic knowledge of the biophysics of neurons, neural anatomy and physiology of the visual system, psychological and computational approaches to visual perception and object recognition will be introduced. No prior background in biology or psychology is required. At least one course in computer programming, one course in linear algebra and one course in differential equations or probability are mandatory. Students will master the core concepts and techniques by engaging in a number of Matlab and mathematical exercises, and a term project on related topics.15-686 option requires additional weekly meeting to discuss current papers on visual computation.

This course will provide an overview of parallel-distributed processing models of aspects of perception, memory, language, knowledge representation, and learning. The course will consist of lectures describing the theory behind the models as well as their implementation, and students will get hands-on experience running existing simulation models on workstations.

This course allows the student to explore ways in which the mind shapes language and language shapes the mind. Why are humans the only species with a full linguistic system? Some of the questions to be explored are: What kinds of mental abilities allow the child to learn language? What are the cognitive abilities needed to support the production and comprehension of sentences in real time? How do these abilities differ between people? Are there universal limits on the ways in which languages differ? Where do these limitations come from cognition in general or the specific language facility? Why is it so hard to learn a second language? Are there important links between language change and cultural change that point to links between language and culture?

The general goals of this course are that students become familiar with the basic phenomena and the leading theories of cognitive development, and that they learn to critically evaluate research in the area. Piagetian and information processing approaches will be discussed and contrasted. The focus will be upon the development of childrens information processing capacity and the effect that differences in capacities have upon the childs ability to interact with the environment in problem solving and learning situations. Graduate students only.

The famous psychologist George Miller once said that Psychology should "give itself away." The goal of this course is to look at cases where we have done so -- or at least tried. The course focuses on applications that are sufficiently advanced as to have made an impact outside of the research field per se. That impact can take the form of a product, a change in practice, or a legal statute. The application should have a theoretical base, as contrasted, say, with pure measurement research as in ergonomics. Examples of applications are virtual reality (in vision, hearing, and touch), cognitive tutors based on models of cognitive processing, phonologically based reading programs, latent semantic analysis applications to writing assessment, and measurses of consumers' implicit attitudes. The course will use a case-study approach that considers a set of applications in detail, while building a genera l understanding of what it means to move research into the applied setting. The questions to be considered include: What makes a body of theoretically based research applicable? What is the pathway from laboratory to practice? What are the barriers - economic, legal, entrenched belief or practice? The format will emphasize analysis and discussion by students.

The goal of this seminar is to consider and segregate the contributions to learning from being active, constructive, and interactive. We will read more recent articles from the cognition and instruction literature, focusing on teasing apart these three models of processing in order to infer and attribute more accurately the causal links between learning and being active, constructive and interactive. The requirement of this seminar is two short papers on the topic that expand beyond the articles read in class. The seminar will take several formats that have been proposed as effective instructional methods.

In this course we will examine the functioning of neurons and synapses, the basic units responsible for fast communication within the nervous system. The course will focus on the elegant use of electrical mechanisms by the nervous system, and on the powerful quantitative approach to scientific investigation that is fundamental to neurophysiology. Topics that will be addressed include: principles of electric current flow exploited by the nervous system; the basis of the resting potential of neurons; the structure and function of voltage-gated and neurotransmitter-gated ion channels; generation and propagation of action potentials; the physiology of fast synaptic communication.

This course is a component of the introductory graduate sequence designed to provide an overview of neuroscience. This course provides an introduction to the structure of the mammalian nervous system and to the functional organization of sensory systems, motor systems, regulatory systems, and systems involved in higher brain functions. It is taught primarily in a lecture format with some laboratory work. The course covers in detail the major sensory, motor and behavioral regulatory systems of the brain. The course satisfies the CNBC core requirement in neuroanatomy.

The primary objective of this course is for students to develop critical scientific reasoning by learning to evaluate the essential components of classic research presented in well-written papers. Secondarily, students will gain a solid foundation in neurophysiology by examining, in detail, the underlying principles underlying current flow through a neuron's membrane, the generation and propagation of action potentials, synaptic transmission at the neural muscular junction, and sensory transduction. Course material will consist of papers from Hodgkin, Huxley, Katz, Fatt and others. Complimenting the classic papers will be contemporary work on the same topic.

Students will be expected to have a fundamental understanding of Donnan equilibrium and membrane physiology. Students should have a basic understanding of electrostatics, and an understanding of differential equations.