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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Hello Everyone,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">We have an exciting neuroscience-related seminar in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science on Thursday at 4:00pm. The information is below. There is availability to meet the speaker on Thursday,
so if you and/or your graduate students/postdocs would like to meet with him, let me know.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Cheers,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Reza<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0cm;text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">When:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Thu., August 8, 2024 @ 4:00PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:1.0cm;text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Where:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white">M3-3127</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white">Speaker:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white">
<a href="https://www.stat.uci.edu/faculty/babak-shahbaba/">Babak Shahbaba</a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><br>
<span style="background:white">University of California, Irvine (UCI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white">Title:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white"> Of rodents and humans: a framework to capture latent representations and dynamics in brain activity
data across species<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Abstract:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;background:white"> In this talk, I will discuss some new statistical machine learning methods to help identify the sequences of brain activity
states that result in specific decisions. Our proposed framework is designed to facilitate visualization, exploration, modeling, and interpretation of the underlying (latent) patterns in high dimensional, multiscale, and multimodal neural data. To achieve
this goal, we have developed a novel deep learning representation and integration method to extract latent states and trajectories from the brain activity. Additionally, we have developed a graph neural network to capture the underlying structure of brain
dynamics. We validate our methods using a one-step decision task (one response for each stimulus), which offers a simpler platform to quantify sequences of brain activity states and structures. I will then discuss their extensions to multi-step planning tasks
as well as to cross-species multimodal data. The long-term goal of this research is to advance our fundamental understanding of the neural mechanisms supporting goal-directed decisions, and to guide follow-up experiments investigating how these principles
change in cognitive disorders.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue"">__________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue"">Reza Ramezan, Ph.D.<br>
Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue"">Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience (CTN)<br>
University of Waterloo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue"">Office: M3 3107<br>
Phone: (519) 888-4567 ext. 48078<br>
E-mail: </span><a href="mailto:rramezan@uwaterloo.ca"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:#0563C1">rramezan@uwaterloo.ca</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black">Web:
</span><a href="http://www.neuroinformatics.ca"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:#0563C1">http://www.neuroinformatics.ca</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue"">Address: 200 University Ave. W.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue""> Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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