Mon 17 Mar 12:30: Model-free and model-based methods for estimating neural timescales
Speaker: Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany.
Title: Model-free and model-based methods for estimating neural timescales
Abstract: Ongoing neural activity unfolds across a wide range of timescales that are suggested to reflect the diversity of behavioral timescales. However, to gain a holistic understanding of how neural timescales relate to behavior and cognitive function we need to develop analysis methods to precisely estimate neural timescales from limited data recorded during cognitive tasks. In this talk, I will first give an overview of neural timescales and various findings relating them to behavior. Then, I will dive into different model-free and model-based methods for estimating timescales. In particular, I will present our recent model-based Bayesian method that estimates timescales using generative models, allowing for unbiased estimation of timescales from short experimental recordings. Such methods based on generative models can be adopted for estimating timescales across different data modalities, by incorporating various mechanistic assumptions and data features.
Bio: Roxana Zeraati has a background in physics and biomedical engineering. She completed her PhD at the University of Tübingen working with Anna Levina and Tatiana Engel. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in Peter Dayan’s lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics.
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany
- Monday 17 March 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Mon 31 Mar 12:30: Artefacts in MEG data
Abstract: TBC
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Golan Karvat, MRC CBU, Cambridge, UK
- Monday 31 March 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Mon 17 Mar 12:30: Model-free and model-based methods for estimating neural timescales
Speaker: Dr Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany.
Title: Model-free and model-based methods for estimating neural timescales
Abstract: Ongoing neural activity unfolds across a wide range of timescales that are suggested to reflect the diversity of behavioral timescales. However, to gain a holistic understanding of how neural timescales relate to behavior and cognitive function we need to develop analysis methods to precisely estimate neural timescales from limited data recorded during cognitive tasks. In this talk, I will first give an overview of neural timescales and various findings relating them to behavior. Then, I will dive into different model-free and model-based methods for estimating timescales. In particular, I will present our recent model-based Bayesian method that estimates timescales using generative models, allowing for unbiased estimation of timescales from short experimental recordings. Such methods based on generative models can be adopted for estimating timescales across different data modalities, by incorporating various mechanistic assumptions and data features.
Bio: Dr Roxana Zeraati has a background in physics and biomedical engineering. She completed her PhD at the University of Tübingen working with Anna Levina and Tatiana Engel. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in Peter Dayan’s lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics.
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany
- Monday 17 March 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Thu 23 Jan 12:30: From Multi-omic Data to Whole Brain Modelling in Brain Disorders
AI and proteomics are recently believed as facing a revolutionary phase and could fundamentally change our understanding of diseases (brain disorders). Using one of the typical mental disorders and AD as examples, we explored the etiology of the disease with genomic, proteomic and other type of omic data and novel AI algorithms. The discoveries subsequently enabled us to subtype various diseases and then developed different treatment strategies in TMS and drug therapy. Some further developments aiming to integrate micro-, meso- and macroscopic data results are discussed. Furthermore, equipped with the knowledge we had about the brain, we developed a model of the whole human brain at the neuronal level (digital twin brain, DTB ): 86B neurons and 100T synapses (parameters). Examples on applying DTB to medical applications are included.
- Speaker: Professor Jianfeng Feng, Warwick University, Fudan University
- Thursday 23 January 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: Hybrid talk (Herchel Smith Building) and online via zoom.
- Series: Department of Psychiatry & CPFT Thursday Lunchtime Seminar Series; organiser: Oliver Knight.
Mon 24 Feb 12:30: Playing with dice: two unusual use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI
Speaker: Dr Matan Mazor, University of Oxford, UK.
Title: Playing with dice: two unusual use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI.
Abstract: Randomisation is a defining feature of scientific experiments. In functional neuroimaging, randomising the order and timing of events allows researchers to identify activations that are causally linked to particular stimuli or cognitive processes. In this talk, I will share two additional use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI: as a tool for identifying functional selectivity in a model-free way, and as a mechanism for time-locking of study plans as part of the pre-registration process. First, I will present TWISTER randomisation, where specific stimulus features are selectively randomised to produce differences in the similarity between experimental runs along specific dimensions in task space. This way, differences in between-run, within-voxel correlations can be taken as a measure of functional selectivity even without knowledge of the underlying data-generating model (for example, without knowing how neuronal activation is linked to the measured BOLD signal). Second, I will present a randomisation-based, cryptographic approach to pre-registration: by setting the seed of the pseudorandom number generator to a fingerprint of the pre-registered documents, we make the order and timing of events causally dependent on the pre-registered plans and hypotheses, time-locking data collection with respect to pre-registration.
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Matan Mazor, University of Oxford, UK
- Monday 24 February 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Wed 29 Jan 13:00: How do we protect the democratic information environment in an AI-powered world? Tackling online harms with computational social science and AI
2023-2024 was a peak year of concern over AI safety, highlighted at the UK AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park, the creation of AI safety institutes across the world, and concerns raised by technology experts over AI-powered threats to democracy and existential risks brought by the fast pace of AI development. This talk will scrutinise the claims that have been made regarding threats from AI to democratic life in an online world. It will report research that suggests that hype over AI is having its own independent effect, that targeted political persuasion may be less effective than has been claimed, that smaller models can be as persuasive as larger models and that AI itself may be part of the solution to AI-powered harms. Research suggests that the real threats to society and democracy may come from long-running shifts in the information environment, where people start mistrusting all information and are increasingly fearful of expressing political opinions in online settings. AI and computational social science researchers will need to find new ways of understanding, measuring and mitigating these threats.
- Speaker: Helen Margetts (University of Oxford)
- Wednesday 29 January 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge.
- Series: Social Psychology Seminar Series (SPSS); organiser: Yara Kyrychenko.
Mon 03 Feb 12:30: Rethinking Academic Recruitment: Exploring the Potential of Narrative CVs
Speaker: Dr Noam Tal-Perry, Research Strategy Office & Bennett Institute for Public Policy, UK
Title: Rethinking Academic Recruitment: Exploring the Potential of Narrative CVs
Abstract: Narrative CVs (NCVs) are gaining momentum across the research landscape as an innovative approach to improve research culture, reshape assessment practices, and advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). As their use expands, multiple research bodies are exploring their potential for academic recruitment. In this talk, I will present a pioneering randomised clinical trial embedded in live postdoctoral recruitment at the University of Cambridge, as part of the Action Research on Research Culture (ARRC) project. The session will cover the rationale behind the R4RI NCV format, its structure and intended impact, our experimental methodology, and key insights from a published pilot study. The talk will conclude with practical details and an open Q&A for those interested in contributing to this study.
Bio: Noam Tal-Perry is a Research Associate at the Research on Research group at the Research Strategy Office with affiliation to the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Murray Ewards College. Before transitioning to Metascience, he studied Cognitive Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University and at the University of Oxford.
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Noam Tal-Perry, Research Strategy Office & Bennett Institute for Public Policy, UK
- Monday 03 February 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Thu 20 Mar 14:00: Who is this? Forming first impressions from voices
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Nadine Lavan (Queen Mary U. of London)
- Thursday 20 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 13 Mar 14:00: A neural basis for distinguishing imagination and reality in the human brain
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Nadine Dijkstra (UCL)
- Thursday 13 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 06 Mar 14:00: Psychiatric disorders, dimensions, hierarchies, states or traits? How can we determine the right ontology for research and practice?
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Claire Gillan (Trinity College Dublin)
- Thursday 06 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 13 Feb 14:00: Neuroplasticity in visual development, deprivation, and sight rescue
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Tessa Dekker (UCL)
- Thursday 13 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 06 Feb 14:00: Neural dynamics of an extended frontal lobe network in goal-subgoal problem solving
Abstract not available
- Speaker: John Duncan (MRC CBU)
- Thursday 06 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 30 Jan 14:00: Brain and cognitive impairments in people with a new diagnosis of epilepsy
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Simon Keller (U. of Liverpool)
- Thursday 30 January 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 23 Jan 14:00: Cognitive influences on speech perception in noisy environments
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Emma Holmes (UCL)
- Thursday 23 January 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Thu 16 Jan 14:00: Cognitive-Motor Borderlands
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Sam McDougle (Yale University)
- Thursday 16 January 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge - Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Chaucer Club; organiser: Vicky Collins.
Fri 14 Feb 16:30: Bilingualism Promotes Healthy and Youthful Brains. The host for this talk is Mirjana Bozic
Bilingualism—the ability to use two or more languages in daily life—has been proposed as a protective factor against neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. However, existing findings remain mixed, often derived from small samples, and fail to account for key confounding variables such as migration status, socioeconomic disparities, and environmental factors.
In this talk, I will introduce a novel framework for examining bilingualism as a protective factor against cognitive, functional, and neural decline. This framework is based on computational aging clocks, which leverage machine learning models trained on large datasets to estimate normative aging trajectories across domains. The “age gap”—the difference between chronological and predicted age—captures deviations from typical aging, with negative gaps indicating delayed, healthy aging and positive gaps suggesting accelerated aging and increased risk of pathology.
I will present evidence showing that bilingualisms delays aging—reflected in lower age gaps across domains—thereby acting as a protective factor, while speaking only one language does not offer similar benefits. This effect remains robust even after controlling for key confounders. Finally, I will discuss the potential mechanisms driving protection, providing insights into how bilingualism promotes healthy aging and resilience across the lifespan.
The host for this talk is Mirjana Bozic
- Speaker: Lucia Amoruso from BCBL in San Sebastian, Spain
- Friday 14 February 2025, 16:30-18:00
- Venue: Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Department of Psychology.
- Series: Zangwill Club; organiser: Sara Seddon.
Mon 03 Feb 12:30: Using narrative CVs in recruitment
Speaker: Dr Noam Tal-Perry, University of Cambridge, UK
Title: Using narrative CVs in recruitment
Abstract: TBC
Bio: TBC
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Noam Tal-Perry, University of Cambridge, UK
- Monday 03 February 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Mon 14 Apr 12:30: osl-ephys: A Python toolbox for the analysis of electrophysiology data
Speaker: Dr Mats van Es, University of Oxford, UK
Title: osl-ephys: A Python toolbox for the analysis of electrophysiology data.
Abstract: TBC
Bio: TBC
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Mats van Es, University of Oxford, UK
- Monday 14 April 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Mon 17 Mar 12:30: Neural timescales from a computational perspective
Speaker: Dr Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany.
Title: Neural timescales from a computational perspective
Abstract: TBC
Bio: TBC
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Roxana Zeraati, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany
- Monday 17 March 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
Mon 24 Feb 12:30: A Randomization-Based, Model-Free Approach to Functional Neuroimaging
Speaker: Dr Matan Mazor, University of Oxford, UK.
Title: A Randomization-Based, Model-Free Approach to Functional Neuroimaging.
Abstract: TBC
Bio: TBC
Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)
- Speaker: Dr Matan Mazor, University of Oxford, UK
- Monday 24 February 2025, 12:30-13:30
- Venue: MRC-CBU, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge.
- Series: CBU Monday Methods Meeting; organiser: Dace Apšvalka.
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