This lesson is a general overview of overarching concepts in neuroinformatics research, with a particular focus on clinical approaches to defining, measuring, studying, diagnosing, and treating various brain disorders. Also described are the complex, multi-level nature of brain disorders and the data associated with them, from genes and individual cells up to cortical microcircuits and whole-brain network dynamics. Given the heterogeneity of brain disorders and their underlying mechanisms, this lesson lays out a case for multiscale neuroscience data integration.

The state of the field regarding the diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) is discussed. Current challenges and opportunities facing the research and clinical communities are outlined, including appropriate quantitative and qualitative analyses of the heterogeneity of biological, social, and psychiatric factors which may contribute to MDD.

This lesson gives an in-depth introduction of ethics in the field of artificial intelligence, particularly in the context of its impact on humans and public interest. As the healthcare sector becomes increasingly affected by the implementation of ever stronger AI algorithms, this lecture covers key interests which must be protected going forward, including privacy, consent, human autonomy, inclusiveness, and equity. 

This lesson describes a definitional framework for fairness and health equity in the age of the algorithm. While acknowledging the impressive capability of machine learning to positively affect health equity, this talk outlines potential (and actual) pitfalls which come with such powerful tools, ultimately making the case for collaborative, interdisciplinary, and transparent science as a way to operationalize fairness in health equity. 

This lesson delves into the opportunities and challenges of telepsychiatry. While novel digital approaches to clinical research and care have the potential to improve and accelerate patient outcomes, researchers and care providers must consider new population factors, such as digital disparity. 

This lesson explains the fundamental principles of neuronal communication, such as neuronal spiking, membrane potentials, and cellular excitability, and how these electrophysiological features of the brain may be modelled and simulated digitally. 

This lesson describes the principles underlying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), tractography, and parcellation. These tools and concepts are explained in a broader context of neural connectivity and mental health. 

This lesson breaks down the principles of Bayesian inference and how it relates to cognitive processes and functions like learning and perception. It is then explained how cognitive models can be built using Bayesian statistics in order to investigate how our brains interface with their environment. 

This lesson corresponds to slides 1-64 in the PDF below. 

This lecture covers the emergence of cognitive science after the Second World War as an interdisciplinary field for studying the mind, with influences from anthropology, cybernetics, and artificial intelligence.

This lecture covers the history of behaviorism and the ultimate challenge to behaviorism. 

This lecture covers various learning theories.

This lecture covers a lot of post-war developments in the science of the mind, focusing first on the cognitive revolution, and concluding with living machines.

In this lesson, you will learn about the current challenges facing the integration of machine learning and neuroscience. 

This lesson delves into the the structure of one of the brain's most elemental computational units, the neuron, and how said structure influences computational neural network models. 

In this lesson you will learn how machine learners and neuroscientists construct abstract computational models based on various neurophysiological signalling properties. 

This lesson delves into the human nervous system and the immense cellular, connectomic, and functional sophistication therein. 

This lesson characterizes different types of learning in a neuroscientific and cellular context, and various models employed by researchers to investigate the mechanisms involved. 

In this lesson, you will learn about different approaches to modeling learning in neural networks, particularly focusing on system parameters such as firing rates and synaptic weights impact a network. 

This lesson describes spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), a biological process that adjusts the strength of connections between neurons in the brain, and how one can implement or mimic this process in a computational model. You will also find links for practical exercises at the bottom of this page. 

 In this lesson, you will learn about some of the many methods to train spiking neural networks (SNNs) with either no attempt to use gradients, or only use gradients in a limited or constrained way.