Rapid technological advances have recently opened up new possibilities in understanding how the brain works. In particular the number of neurons that can be simultaneously recorded has increased considerably to hundreds (and soon thousands!) of neurons. However, this has led to a big challenge on how to actually process and analyze the resulting big data sets. Solutions for these challenges are part of the new exciting research field of 'Neural Data Science'.

In this module you will learn how methods and approaches from data science and machine learning can be applied to study brain signals and the related cognitive functions. In the first part of the module we will focus on so-called spike trains, how they can be analyzed, visualized, and decoded. In the second part of the module we will look at continuous signals, in particular at neural oscillations. Finally, we will learn about and apply some advanced methods from machine learning, such as dimensionality reduction approaches, reinforcement learning, clustering, and computational statistics. In the lectures I will provide the relevant neurobiological background and explain the computational approaches, which will then be applied in the computer exercises using real neural data sets.

Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt Lecturer

(+49) 234-32-27300 robert.schmidt@rub.de NB 3/68

Course type

Lectures

Credits

5

Term

Winter Term 2022/2023

E-Learning

moodle course available

Lecture

Takes place every week on Monday from 10:00 to 12:00 in room ID 03/653.
First appointment is on 10.10.2022
Last appointment is on 30.01.2023

Exercise

Takes place every week on Friday from 08:00 to 10:00 in room IA 0/158-79 PC-Pool 1.
First appointment is on 14.10.2022
Last appointment is on 03.02.2023

• Basic knowledge of calculus and linear algebra, programming in Python

• any semester Bachelor (typically 5th), successful completion of Introduction to Artificial Intelligence