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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.

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:09:33
Speaker: : Sean Hill

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.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 1:29:28

This is the first of two workshops on reproducibility in science, during which participants are introduced to concepts of FAIR and open science. After discussing the definition of and need for FAIR science, participants are walked through tutorials on installing and using Github and Docker, the powerful, open-source tools for versioning and publishing code and software, respectively.

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:20:58

This lesson contains both a lecture and a tutorial component. The lecture (0:00-20:03 of YouTube video) discusses both the need for intersectional approaches in healthcare as well as the impact of neglecting intersectionality in patient populations. The lecture is followed by a practical tutorial in both Python and R on how to assess intersectional bias in datasets. Links to relevant code and data are found below. 

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 52:26

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. 

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 1:20:28
Speaker: : Abhi Pratap

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. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:20:42
Speaker: : Etay Hay

This is a continuation of the talk on the cellular mechanisms of neuronal communication, this time at the level of brain microcircuits and associated global signals like those measureable by electroencephalography (EEG). This lecture also discusses EEG biomarkers in mental health disorders, and how those cortical signatures may be simulated digitally.

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:11:04
Speaker: : Etay Hay

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. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:47:22

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. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:28:14

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.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 51:07

This lesson goes over the basic mechanisms of neural synapses, the space between neurons where signals may be transmitted. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 7:03
Speaker: : Marcus Ghosh

Whereas the previous two lessons described the biophysical and signalling properties of individual neurons, this lesson describes properties of those units when part of larger networks. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 6:00
Speaker: : Marcus Ghosh

This lesson goes over some examples of how machine learners and computational neuroscientists go about designing and building neural network models inspired by biological brain systems. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 12:52
Speaker: : Dan Goodman

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

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 8:41
Speaker: : Marcus Ghosh

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

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 3:54
Speaker: : Dan Goodman

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. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 12:50
Speaker: : Dan Goodman

This lesson explores how researchers try to understand neural networks, particularly in the case of observing neural activity. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 8:20
Speaker: : Marcus Ghosh

In this lesson you will learn about the motivation behind manipulating neural activity, and what forms that may take in various experimental designs. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 8:42
Speaker: : Marcus Ghosh

This video provides a very quick introduction to some of the neuromorphic sensing devices, and how they offer unique, low-power applications.

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 2:37
Speaker: : Dan Goodman

This lesson discusses a gripping neuroscientific question: why have neurons developed the discrete action potential, or spike, as a principle method of communication? 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 9:34
Speaker: : Dan Goodman