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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 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 describes the fundamentals of genomics, from central dogma to design and implementation of GWAS, to the computation, analysis, and interpretation of polygenic risk scores. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:28:16
Speaker: : Dan Felsky

This lesson contains the slides (pptx) of a lecture discussing the necessary concepts and tools for taking into account population stratification and admixture in the context of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The free-access software Tractor and its advantages in GWAS are also discussed. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration:
Speaker: : Dan Felsky

This lesson is an overview of transcriptomics, from fundamental concepts of the central dogma and RNA sequencing at the single-cell level, to how genetic expression underlies diversity in cell phenotypes. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 1:29:08

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 discusses what defines an integrative approach regarding research and methods, including various study designs and models which are appropriate choices when attempting to bridge data domains; a necessity when whole-person modelling. 

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 1:28:14
Speaker: : Dan Felsky

This lecture covers different perspectives on the study of the mental, focusing on the difference between Mind and Brain. 

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 1:16:30

This lesson briefly goes over the outline of the Neuroscience for Machine Learners course. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 3:05
Speaker: : Dan Goodman

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

While the previous lesson in the Neuro4ML course dealt with the mechanisms involved in individual synapses, this lesson discusses how synapses and their neurons' firing patterns may change over time. 

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 4:48
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 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

In this lesson, you will learn about one particular aspect of decision making: reaction times. In other words, how long does it take to take a decision based on a stream of information arriving continuously over time?

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Duration: 6:01
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

This lesson provides a basic introduction to clinical presentation of schizophrenia, its etiology, and current treatment options.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 51:49

In this lesson, you will learn about how genetics can contribute to our understanding of psychiatric phenotypes.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Duration: 55:15
Speaker: : Sven Cichon