CMC Unit

In Computational Machinery of Cognition Unit we study the principles of adaptive decision-making across species | Co-PIs: @roxana_zeraati and @neuroprinciples

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

First CMC lab's presence at @BernsteinNeuro with one workshop and two posters! Thread below:

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

Some incredibly exciting news that still feels a bit surreal: I am starting my research group @MPICybernetics!
The best part? We are hiring at all levels!
Curious about the science we plan to tackle, read along :)

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

We will also soon have an opening for a postdoc position. For informal inquiries, you can sign up here: https://t.co/rR5c83bzD5

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

If these research directions resonate with you and you're interested in joining our team, we now have 2 open PhD positions!

More information about the positions: https://t.co/S9JbR23Sat

More information about our research: https://t.co/om4PcNeRr6

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

Of course, tackling these interdisciplinary questions requires a village! And we are incredibly lucky to have a fantastic network of collaborators to make this vision a reality, including Peter Dayan, @neuroprinciples, @XindiPoo, @lndriscoll, RoLi Lab & more!

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

To do this, we develop data-driven, species-specific models by integrating:
💻 🤖 computational methods (RL, dynamical systems, AI)
&
🪱🐟🐀🐒👤 behavioral & neural data (from nematodes to primates)
to uncover shared or species-specific mechanisms of adaptive decisions.

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

Our main goal is to understand how animals learn the dynamics of their environment across timescales to adapt their decisions. We study this in the context of foraging behavior, which allows us to link neural, behavioral, and environmental dynamics in naturalistic settings.

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

Now let’s get to the science 🪱🐟🐀🐒👤🤖

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

I also owe a very special thanks to
@neuroprinciples who has helped me navigate every single step, discussing science, mapping out the hidden rules of academia, and teaching me when and how to pivot!

[Roxana Zeraati @roxana_zeraati]

Before talking science, there is no doubt that none of this would be possible without the immense support and trust of my mentors @SelfOrgAnna, @EngelTatiana & Peter Dayan, and all my labmates! I'm so grateful for their endless support and for inspiring me every day!

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

Wanna compare dynamics across different systems? See our fast and furious method developed by us (@ArmanBehrad, @TheSTraveller, @neuroprinciples) together with our wonderful collaborators! You can already use our code: https://t.co/boG5Rw8J1e...

[Arman Behrad @ArmanBehrad]

Wanna compare dynamics across neural data, RNNs, or dynamical systems? We got a fast and furious method🏎️
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: https://t.co/jTVENLHfiV
💻: https://t.co/9SOMlwRkzj
I’ll be @CosyneMeeting - happy to chat 😉

[Shervin Safavi @neuroprinciples]

Thrilled to see the first preprint of the lab out 🤩 Check it out if you need to compare dynamics in your data and RNN (or any other combinations of dynamical systems)! Code is also already available if you want to try it on your data/RNN/...: https://t.co/qzGQgL9pdf

[Arman Behrad @ArmanBehrad]

Wanna compare dynamics across neural data, RNNs, or dynamical systems? We got a fast and furious method🏎️
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: https://t.co/jTVENLHfiV
💻: https://t.co/9SOMlwRkzj
I’ll be @CosyneMeeting - happy to chat 😉

[Naoto Yoshida @movingsloth]

Brain-like features in homeostatic deep reinforcement learning agents (Thank you @neuroprinciples!)
https://t.co/EkrQmLWiIH

[Shervin Safavi @neuroprinciples]

@StphTphsn1 @taherehtoosi Let me (mis)use @taherehtoosi's tweet on her great study, to also draw attention to our approach to bistable perception based on reinforcement learning and decision-making models (which I think brings a complementary perspective): https://t.co/Qq3ABjTwen

[Shervin Safavi @neuroprinciples]

Happy to share my first post-doc paper with Peter Dayan just published at @NeuroCellPress
"Multistability, Perceptual Value, and Internal Foraging"

Paper (free access before Oct 18th): https://t.co/h0Z3RGtO0H
No access? Email me at [email protected]
🧵👇

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

Oops, wrong time in the original post! It will be 15:30 CET 😉

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

Oops, wrong time in the original tweet! It will be 15:30 CET 😉

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

In our Learning Club @CompNeuro_lab today (Sep 25, Thu, 2pm CET), @DengPan18 will tell us about his recent paper (👇) [joint work w/ Rushworth lab]. Want to attend, send an empty email to [email protected] to get the link!

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

In our Learning Club @CompNeuro_lab today (Sep 25, Thu, 2pm CET), @DengPan18 will tell us about his recent paper (👇) [joint work w/ Rushworth lab]. Want to attend, send an empty email to [email protected] to get the link!

[Deng Pan 潘登 @DengPan18]

🚨We believe this is a major step forward in how we study hippocampus function in healthy humans.

Using novel behavioral tasks, fMRI, RL & RNN modeling, and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), we demonstrate the causal role of hippocampus in relational structure learning.

[Deng Pan 潘登 @DengPan18]

🚨We believe this is a major step forward in how we study hippocampus function in healthy humans.

Using novel behavioral tasks, fMRI, RL & RNN modeling, and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), we demonstrate the causal role of hippocampus in relational structure learning.

[CMC Unit @CompNeuro_lab]

In our Learning Club @CompNeuro_lab today (Aug 18, Thursday, 2pm CET), @LiebanaSamuel will tell us about his paper (https://t.co/HCg6GfmN5H) [joint work w/ @SaxeLab & @ArminLak ]. Want to attend, send an empty email to [email protected] to get the link!