This is a freely available online course on neuroscience for people with a machine learning background. The aim is to bring together these two fields that have a shared goal in understanding intelligent processes. Rather than pushing for “neuroscience-inspired” ideas in machine learning, the idea is to broaden the conceptions of both fields to incorporate elements of the other in the hope that this will lead to new, creative thinking.

There is a growing recognition and adoption of open and FAIR science practices in neuroscience research. This is predominately regarded as scientific progress and has enabled significant opportunities for large, collaborative, team science. The efforts and practical work that go into creating an open and FAIR landscape extend far beyond just the science.

This course provides several visual walkthroughs documenting how to execute various processes in brainlife.io, an open-source, free and secure reproducible neuroscience analysis platform. The platform allows to analyze Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) data. Data can either be uploaded from local computers or imported from public archives such as OpenNeuro.org.

This couse is the opening module for the University of Toronto's Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics' virtual learning series Solving Problems in Mental Health Using Multi-Scale Computational Neuroscience. Lessons in this course introduce participants to the study of brain disorders, starting from elemental units like genes and neurons, eventually building up to whole-brain modelling and global activity patterns.

The course provides an introduction to the growing field of electrophysiology standards, infrastructure, and initiatives. From data curation on open research infrastructures like EBRAINS, to overviews of national data analytics platforms like Australia's AEDAPT, the lessons in this course highlight already available resources for the global neuroinformatics commuity while also reinforcing the need for and importance of FAIR science principles in future research projects.

There is a broad consensus among researchers, publishers, and funding bodies that open sharing of data is needed to address major reproducibility and transparency challenges that currently exist in all scientific disciplines. In addition to potentially increasing the utilization of shared data through re-analysis and integration with other data, data sharing is beneficial for individual researchers through data citation and increased exposure of research.

In this module, you will work with human EEG data recorded during a steady-state visual evoked potential study (SSVEP, aka flicker). You will learn about spectral analysis, alpha activity, and topographical mapping. The MATLAB code introduces functions, sorting, and correlation analysis.

In this course, you will learn about working with calcium-imaging data, including image processing to remove background "blur", identifying cells based on threshold spatial contiguity, time-series filtering, and principal component analysis (PCA). The MATLAB code shows data animations, capabilities of the image processing toolbox, and PCA.

This course explores ethical and social issues that have arisen, and continue to arise, from the rapid research development in neuroscience, medicine, and ICT. Lectures focus on key ethical issues contained in the HBP – such as the ethics of robotics, dual use, ICT ethical issues, big data and individual privacy, and the use of animals in research.

This module covers fMRI data, including creating and interpreting flatmaps, exploring variability and average responses, and visual eccenticity. You will learn about processing BOLD signals, trial-averaging, and t-tests. The MATLAB code introduces data animations, multicolor visualizations, and linear indexing.

The workshop will include interactive seminars given by selected experts in the field covering all aspects of (FAIR) small animal MRI data acquisition, analysis, and sharing. The seminars will be followed by hands-on training where participants will perform use case scenarios using software established by the organizers. This will include an introduction to the basics of using command line interfaces, Python installation, working with Docker/Singularity containers, Datalad/Git, and BIDS.

Much like neuroinformatics, data science uses techniques from computational science to derive meaningful results from large complex datasets. In this session, we will explore the relationship between neuroinformatics and data science, by emphasizing a range of data science approaches and activities, ranging from the development and application of statistical methods, through the establishment of communities and platforms, and through the implementation of open-source software tools.

This working group is a collaboration between OCNS and INCF. The group focuses on evaluating and testing computational neuroscience tools; finding them, testing them, learning how they work, and informing developers of issues to ensure that these tools remain in good shape by having communities looking after them. Since many members of the WG are themselves tool developers, we will also learn from each other and will work towards improving interoperability between related tools.

This course, consisting of one lecture and two workshops, is presented by the Computational Genomics Lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and University of Toronto. The lecture deals with single-cell and bulk level transciptomics, while the two hands-on workshops introduce users to transcriptomic data types (e.g., RNAseq) and how to perform analyses in specific use cases (e.g., cellular changes in major depression). 

This course contains sessions from the first day of INCF's Neuroinformatics Assembly 2022.

Given the extreme interconnectedness of the human brain, studying any one cerebral area in isolation may lead to spurious results or incomplete, if not problematic, interpretations. This course introduces participants to the various spatial scales of neuroscience and the fundamentals of whole-brain modelling, used to generate a more thorough picture of brain activity.

This course consists of one lesson and one tutorial, focusing on the neural connectivity measures derived from neuroimaging, specifically from methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Additional tools such as tractography and parcellation are discussed in the context of brain connectivity and mental health. The tutorial leads participants through the computation of brain connectomes from fMRI data. 

This course offers lectures on the origin and functional significance of certain electrophysiological signals in the brain, as well as a hands-on tutorial on how to simulate, statistically evaluate, and visualize such signals. Participants will learn the simulation of signals at different spatial scales, including single-cell (neuronal spiking) and global (EEG), and how these may serve as biomarkers in the evaluation of mental health data.

Most neuroscience journals request authors to make their data publicly available in appropriate repositories. The requirements and policies put forward by journals vary, and the services provided for different types of data also differ considerably across repositories.

This course contains sessions from the second day of INCF's Neuroinformatics Assembly 2022.