1 Lecture (Mon, 9/1)

Introduction, course logistics, historical overview, disscussions of readings for next lecture.

Lecture1 notes
Lecture 1 slides

2 Lecture (Wed, 9/3 )

Basic concepts: neural activity, neural coding, mathematical representations of neurons

Lecture2 notes A
Lecture2 notes B

Lecture2 slides A
Lecture2 slides B

Readings:
cells - background reading on cells and synapses.
networks - background reading on neural networks
coding - background reading on coding issues

Homework_coding - due Sunday, 9/7 at 6pm Answers

3 Lecture (Mon, 9/8)

Brain structures, cortex, representation of information, tuning curves

Lecture3_notes
Lecture3 slides

Readings:
mathematical aside - some math concepts needed
cortical networks - basics about brain structures
coding - background reading on coding issues
Lewis JE. Sensory processing and the network mechanisms for reading neuronal population codes. J Comp Physiol [A] 185: 373-378, 1999.

4 Discussion (Wed, 9/10)

Coding, tuning curves, population vectors

Lecture 4 slides

Review all readings and notes assigned so far, especially Lewis 1999. Be prepared to discuss previous homework and lab assignements.

Homework tuning curves - due Sunday, 9/14 at 6pm Answers

5 Lecture (Mon, 9/15)

Learning, plasticity, LTP and Pavlov's dog (a tuning curve and plasticity application)

Lecture5 notes
Lecture 5 slides
Matlab simulation (by Bruce Land) - description

Readings:
LTP - about long term potentiation
Pavlov - about classical conditioning

6 Discussion (Wed, 9/17)

Mini Quizz #1 - review Lectures 1-4 Answers

Plasticity, LTP, tuning curves

Review all readings and notes assigned so far , be prepared to discuss previous homework and lab asignements.

No homework!

7 Lecture (Mon, 9/22)

Beyond firing rates - synchrony, oscillations and cell assemblies

Lecture 7 notes
Lecture 7 slides

Readings:
Synchrony - about oscillations and synchrony
Singer W. Time as coding space? Curr Opin Neurobiol 9: 189- 194, 1999.
Gray CM. The temporal correlation hypothesis of visual feature integration: still alive and well. Neuron, 24 (1), 1999, Pages 31-47
Comments on readings - Singer, Gray

8 Discussion (Wed, 9/24)

Review all readings and notes assigned so far , be prepared to discuss previous homework and lab asignements.

Matlab simulation - description

Homework Oscillations - due Sunday, 9-28 at 6 pm. Answers

9 Lecture (Mon, 9/29)

Associative memory function, delta rule, Hopfield networks

Lecture 9 notes
Lecture 9 slides

Matlab simulation - description

Readings:
Associators: Introduction to linear association
hebb_delta: Introduction to learning rules
Hopfield: Introduction to Hopfield networks

10 Lecture (Wed, 10/1)

Biologically realistic associative memory function and neuromodulation

Lecture10 notes
Lecture10 slides

Readings:
Hasselmo ME, Anderson BP, and Bower JM. Cholinergic modulation of cortical associative memory function. J Neurophysiol 67: 1230-1246, 1992;
Hasselmo ME. Neuromodulation and cortical function: modeling the physiological basis of behavior. Behav Brain Res 67: 1-27, 1995. - not free via Cornell, optional!

Homework - associative memory - due Sunday, 10/5 at 6pm Answers

11 Guest lecture (Mon, 10/6)

Thomas Cleland (Dept. of Psychology): detailed biophysical modeling

12 Discussion (Wed, 10/8)

Mini quiz #2 - review lectures 5-10 - Answers

Associative memory function

Review all readings and notes assigned so far , be prepared to discuss previous homework and lab asignements.

No Homework!

Fall break - no lecture Monday, 10/13

13 Lecture (Wed, 10/15)

Oscillations and tuning curves - hippocampal place fields

Lecture 13 notes
Lecture 13 slides

Readings:
Buzsaki G. Theta rythm of navigation: link between path integration and landmark navigation, episodic and semantic memory. Hippocampus 15: 827-840, 2005.
Huxter J, Burgess N, and O'Keefe J. Independent rate and temporal coding in hippocampal pyramidal cells. Nature 425: 828-832, 2003;

hippocampus: Brief introduction to the hippocampus

Homework - place cells- due Tuesday, 10/21 at midnight - Answers

14 Lecture (Mon, 10/20)

STDP - learning rules constructed from data

Lecture 14 notes

Readings:
Song S, Miller KD, and Abbott LF. Competitive Hebbian learning through spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity. Nat Neurosci 3: 919-926, 2000.
Sjostrom PJ, Turrigiano GG, and Nelson SB. Rate, timing, and cooperativity jointly determine cortical synaptic plasticity. Neuron 32: 1149-1164, 2001.

15 Discussion (Wed, 10/22)

Applications of STDP

Lecture 15 slides

Readings:
Yao H, Shen Y, and Dan Y. Intracortical mechanism of stimulus-timing-dependent plasticity in visual cortical orientation tuning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101: 5081-5086, 2004.
Comments on readings:Yao et al.

Homework - STDP - due Tuesday, 10/28 at midnight - Answers

16 Lecture (Mon, 10/27)

Mini Quiz #3 - Lectures 9-13 - Answers

Tuning curves change

Lecture 16 slides

Knudsen EI. Instructed learning in the auditory localization pathway of the barn owl. Nature 417: 322-328, 2002.
Mehta MR, Quirk MC, and Wilson MA. Experience-dependent asymmetric shape of hippocampal receptive fields. Neuron 25: 707-715, 2000.
Comments on readings: Mehta et al.,

17 Discussion (Wed, 10/29)

Review tuning curves, STDP, be prepared to discuss homework and lab assignements

Lecture 17 slides

Homework - Tuning curves - due Tuesday, 11/4 at midnight

Functional relevance of synchrony

Lecture 18 notes
Lecture 18 slides

Readings:
Riehle A, Grun S, Diesmann M, and Aertsen A. Spike synchronization and rate modulation differentially involved in motor cortical function. Science 278: 1950-1953, 1997
Stopfer M, Bhagavan S, Smith BH, and Laurent G. Impaired odour discrimination on desynchronization of odour-encoding neural assemblies. Nature 390: 70-74, 1997
Diesmann M, Gewaltig MO, and Aertsen A. Stable propagation of synchronous spiking in cortical neural networks. Nature 402: 529-533, 1999.;
Phase_plots: Brief intro to phase_plots

19 Guest lecture (Wed, 11/5)

Mary Hayhoe, U. Texas Austin

Lecture 19 reading

Models of human memory, why do we have a hippocampus, 7+/-2

Lecture 20 notes
Lecture 20 slides

Readings:
Rolls ET, and Kesner RP. A computational theory of hippocampal function, and empirical tests of the theory. Prog Neurobiol 79: 1-48, 2006 - not mandatory
Alvarez P, and Squire LR. Memory consolidation and the medial temporal lobe: a simple network model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 91: 7041-7045, 1994

Lecture 21 slides

Discussion - review previous materials

22 Review (Mon, 11/17)

Mini Quiz #4: Lectures 14-18 - Answers

Review and discussion session with TA.

23 No lecture (Wed, 11/19)

Work on take home final - due December 2nd at 6pm to Christiane at CL243

Key for Take-home

24 Lecture (Mond. 11/24)

Make Quiz after class!
Answers

Models of human memory function continued

Notes
Lecture 24 slides

Readings:
Hasselmo ME, and Wyble BP. Free recall and recognition in a network model of the hippocampus: simulating effects of scopolamine on human memory function. Behav Brain Res 89: 1-34, 1997.
Lisman, J and Idart. Storage of 7 +/- 2 short-term memories in oscillatory subcycles. Science, 10 (1512), 1995

Homework - Due Sunday, 11-30 at 6pm

Thanksgiving break (Wed, 11/26)

25 Discussion (Mon, 12/1)

Mini Quiz #5 Review previous materials - Answers

Models of human memory continued and some other cool stuff

26 Last lecture

Discussion - games - fun