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Fall Semester 2008-2009

10 September 2008:  Organizational Meeting
17 September 2008:  D. Smith
25 September 2008:  D. Smith
2 October 2008:  Mark Albert
9 October 2008: Christina Sill
16 October 2008: David Field
23 October 2008: Patrick Gill
30 October 2008: Thom Cleland

These two modeling papers illustrate a theoretical model of the mechanisms underlying high-dimensional decorrelation of odor stimuli in the olfactory bulb.  The first (2006) is the more important for journal club purposes.  

6 November 2008: Mike Wojnowicz
13 November 2008: Helene Porte
20 November 2008:
27 November 2008: Thanksgiving Break - NO MEETING
4 December 2008:

Spring Semester 2008-2009

21 January 2009:  Organizational Meeting
28 January 2009: David Smith
4 February 2009: Greg Peters
11 February 2009: Anuttama Sheela Mohan
18 February 2009: Mike Wojnowitcz - POSTPONED DUE TO PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY MEETING.
25 February 2009:   SUPERSEDED BY PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY MEETING
4 March 2009: Thom Cleland
11 March 2009: David Smith
18 March 2009: TBA
25 March 2009: Christine Charvet (visiting postdoc)
1 April 2009: TBA, There will be a room change for this meeting.
8 April 2009: Christina Sill
15 April 2009: Cancelled!
22 April 2009: Helene Porte
29 April 2009: Mike Wojnowicz

Fall Semester 2009-2010

1 September 2009:  Organizational Meeting
8 September 2009: Mark Albert
15 September 2009: Sasha DeVore
22 September 2009: David Smith
29 September 2009: Article Pot Luck
6 October 2009:  Mike Wojnowicz
13 October 2009: Fall Break - No meeting.
20 October 2009: Society for Neuroscience Conference - No meeting.
27 October 2009: Ted Cornforth
3 November 2009: Anuttama Sheela Mohan
10 November 2009: Matt Law

During the discussion, Patrick Gill brought up an additional related paper:

Today several people asked me to send out a 2005 paper (Fusi, Drew, Abbott 2005, Cascade models of synaptically stored memories_)_ showing why a variety of memory maintenance mechanisms with different timescales are better than having just one or two simple memory maintenance mechanisms.  Here it is._  There's also a followup paper showing why it didn't matter that they used synapses with binary weighting in the 2005 paper:_  Stefano Fusi & L F Abbott  "Limits on the memory storage capacity of bounded synapses"  Nat Neuro 10 (4) April 2007 p 485.

17 November 2009: SiWei Luo
24 November 2009: Laura Manella
1 December 2009: Greg Peters

Spring Semester 2009-2010

For Spring semester 2009-2010, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 12:00 to 1:15 pm in Uris Hall 205

The overarching theme this semester is Oscillations .  Adhering to this theme is not required, but recommended.  Please interpret it broadly. Theories of gamma, beta, and theta oscillations in the nervous system are the centroid of intent, but alpha, sleep, circadian, etc. rhythms are also spot-on as are reasonably accessible dynamical systems topics from math and engineering. 

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

Please contact Thomas Cleland with any questions (David Smith is on walkabout this semester).  BCS meeting archive .

26 January 2010:  Organizational Meeting
2 February 2010:  Thomas Cleland

In discussion, Patrick brought up Li et al (2004), a paper from Mu-ming Poo's lab showing that those presynaptic neurons that spike early, and that consequently (via STDP) have their synaptic weights upon a postsynaptic neuron strengthened, are also themselves rendered more excitable. That is, by this mechanism STDP can "work on the presynaptic neuron" as well as on its output synapse. The net effect of this can be to durably group a set of early-firing neurons together into a fully synchronous ensemble evoking activity in that postsynaptic cell.

9 February 2010:  Christina Sill
16 February 2010:  Patrick Gill
23 February 2010:  NO MEETING
2 March 2010:  Helene Porte
9 March 2010:  Sasha Devore

In discussion, Guoshi brought up this modeling paper analyzing the property that visual input (lip reading) facilitates auditory input most effectively under moderate noise conditions. 

16 March 2010:  Thomas Cleland
23 March 2010:  SPRING BREAK
30 March 2010:  SiWei Luo
6 April 2010:  Guoshi Li
13 April 2010:  Anuttama Sheela Mohan
20 April 2010:  Shane Peace and Ben Johnson
27 April 2010:  NO MEETING
4 May 2010:  Mike Wojnowicz

NOTE: It's coming time to start thinking of next semester's overarching theme. One possibility is "Synaptic plasticity", a broad topic that could include molecular mechanisms as well as population-level patterns of perceptual learning, LTP as well as neuromodulator-regulated changes.  As a BCS topic, of course, the intent would be to choose approaches relevant to behavioral, computational, and systems-level questions.  The relevance/necessity of bidirectional regulation of plasticity would be a prime topic.  Following up on synchrony-dependent timing properties of synaptic plasticity mechanisms would establish a common thread with this semester's theme.  Another, somewhat related theme is a neuroscience version of statistical learning:  anything from perceptual learning to Bayesian representations of coding to temporal difference learning to dopamine (Schultz model) to the underlying synaptic rules that give rise to relevant population level learning properties to optimality of the Bayesian brain.  Thoughts?  other ideas?  Send them to Thom or bring them up at BCS. 

Another idea:  Mechanisms of memory consolidation and reconsolidation -- perhaps a more focused version of "synaptic plasticity" as above.  These topics are much more well understood and diverse than they were even a few years ago, and they are leading to a number of exciting hypotheses about systems and behavioral integrative mechanisms.  For example, see Nader & Einarsson (2010) Ann NY Acad Sci 1191:27-41, as well as Jonathan L.C. Lee's recent Nature Neuroscience paper (2008) and Trends in Neurosciences opinion (2010).  

Fall Semester 2010-2011

For Fall Semester 2010-2011, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205.

The overarching theme this semester is Systems of neuronal representation and learning .  Adhering to this theme is not required, but is strongly recommended.  Please interpret it broadly. It is intended to include such diverse topics as:  the systematic regulation of synaptic plasticity, Bayesian representations (including sensory representations as probability estimates), Bayesian and/or energetic optimality in neural encoding or transmission, perceptual learning, decision-making (including reward harvesting), temporal difference learning/dopamine (Schultz model), synaptic rules that give rise to systems-level learning properties.

 

31 August 2010:  Organizational Meeting
7 September 2010: Thom Cleland
14 September 2010: David Smith
21 September 2010:  Laura Darnieder
28 September 2010:  Michelle Tong
5 October 2010:  Matt Lewis
12 October 2010: Anuttama Sheela Mohan
19 October 2010:  Guoshi Li
26 October 2010:  Sasha Devore
2 November 2010:  Tanya Nauvel
9 November 2010:  Adam Miller
16 November 2010:  NO MEETING (Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting)
23 November 2010:  Shane Peace
30 November 2010: SiWei Luo
THEME PROPOSALS FOR SPRING 2011:

Spring Semester 2010-2011

For Spring Semester 2010-2011, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the BCS meeting archive .

The overarching theme this semester is Cell assemblies, functional connectivity, and feedback .  Please interpret it broadly. It is intended to include such diverse topics as: cortical microcircuits, the dynamic reconfiguration of neural circuitry, decision making by such circuitry, the interactions between complex circuits and neuromodulatory nuclei (e.g., the basis for specificity in neuromodulatory effects), and the relationship between specific neuromodulators and nominal functions such as "attention" or "arousal".  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271-102.  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

25 January 2011:  Organizational Meeting
1 February 2011:  Patrick Gill
8 February 2011:  Dave Bulkin
15 February 2011:  TBD
22 February 2011:  TBD
1 March 2011:  Guoshi Li

      This is a tough one folks, so be extra sure to read it ahead of time. 

 Followup papers and URL of potential interest:

8 March 2011:  Licurgo de Almeida
15 March 2011:  Matt Lewis
22 March 2011:   SPRING BREAK -- NO MEETING
29 March 2011:  Laura Darnieder
5 April 2011:  Michelle Tong
12 April 2011:  Tanya Nauvel
19 April 2011:  Anuttama Sheela Mohan
26 April 2011:  Adam Miller

      An interesting exploration of the functional connectivity between two memory systems.

3 May 2011:  CANCELLED

Fall Semester 2011-2012

For Fall Semester 2011-2012, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

The overarching theme this semester is yet to be determined, but our likely first speaker will discuss his own recent work relating to neural representations.  Please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.  

Starting in Fall 2011, BCS will try out a "minimal Powerpoint" policy.  In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown.  Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall.  We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers.  Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers.  You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers.  That's great.  Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation.  Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.  

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized.  Not a problem.  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271-102.  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

30 August 2011:  Organizational Meeting
6 September 2011:  Raj Raizada 
13 September 2011:  Dave Bulkin
20 September 2011:  Eyal Nitzany
27 September 2011:  Pedro Rittner
4 October 2011:  TBD
11 October 2011:  FALL BREAK - NO BCS
18 October 2011:   Matt Lewis
25 October 2011:  Adam Miller
1 November 2011:  SiWei Luo

For additional background, if desired:

8 November 2011:  Anuttama Sheela Mohan
15 November 2011:  Society for Neuroscience meeting -- NO BCS
22 November 2011:  Guoshi Li
29 November 2011:  Sasha Devore

Spring Semester 2011-2012

For Spring Semester 2011-2012, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the BCS meeting archive|../../../../../../../../../../display/BCS/Past+BCS+Meetings|||||||||\.

The overarching theme this semester is likely to be "Active Sensation", perhaps to be modified at our first meeting.  Please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.  

BCS will continue its "minimal Powerpoint" policy of Fall 2011.  In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown.  Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall.  We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers.  Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers.  You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers.  That's great.  Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation.  Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.  

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized.  Not a problem.  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (1-2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271-101  (class number 8699).  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.  You are welcome to attend without enrolling, of course, but we do appreciate you enrolling if you plan to attend the whole semester and to present. 

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

24 January 2012:  Organizational Meeting
31 January 2012:  No meeting
7 February 2012:  Thom Cleland
14 February 2012:  Sasha Devore
21 February 2012:  Matt Law
28 February 2012:  TBD
6 March 2012:  TBD
13 March 2012:  Licurgo de Almeida
20 March 2012:  SPRING BREAK - NO BCS MEETING
27 March 2012:  Dave Bulkin
3 April 2012:  Guoshi Li
10 April 2012:  Greg Peters
17 April 2012:  SiWei Luo
24 April 2012:  Adam Miller
1 May 2012: CANCELED

Fall Semester 2012-2013

For Fall Semester 2012-2013, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the BCS meeting archive .

The semester's theme is assessing and comparing methods of inference regarding neural activity*. * How do local field potential (LFP) data relate to data from studies based on spike trains, BOLD, fMRI, calcium or voltage-dependent optical signals, immediate-early gene histology, or other measures of neural activity?  What artifacts may arise from the use of particular techniques and do they threaten the supposed findings of a given paper?  This has particular importance for relatively complex or new techniques -- e.g., studies of dynamical interregional communication in the brain, frequency-domain analyses, and other techniques that may be easily misinterpreted or overtrusted.  As always, please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.  

We are considering decision making and 'neuroeconomics' as a possible organizing theme for Spring 2013. 

     ---

BCS will continue its "minimal Powerpoint" policy of Fall 2011.  In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown.  Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall.  We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers.  Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers.  You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers.  That's great.  Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation.  Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.  

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized.  Not a problem.  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (1-2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271-101  (class number 8699).  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.  You are welcome to attend without enrolling, of course, but we do appreciate you enrolling if you plan to attend the whole semester and to present. 

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

4 September 2012:  Organizational Meeting
11 September 2012:  Dave Bulkin
18 September 2012:  No meeting this week. Use the found time for something important or fun!
25 September 2012:  Adam Miller
2 October 2012:  Sasha DeVore
9 October 2012:  NEUROSCIENCE DAY
16 October 2012:  SFN
23 October 2012:  Matt Law
30 October 2012:  Lindsey Vedder
6 November 2012:   SiWei Luo
13 November 2012:  Rachel Swanson
20 November 2012:  Guoshi Li
27 November 2012:  Matt Lewis

     Bonus content based on discussion:

     More bonus content based on discussion -- the 2011 point/counterpoint articles in Neuron on the putative role of neurogenesis in pattern separation in olfactory bulb:

Spring Semester 2012-2013

For Spring Semester 2012-2013, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the BCS meeting archive .

The semester's theme is Neural representations:  are they?  what are they?  and how are they formed?   This can be approached from a mechanistic level (what neuronal mechanisms underlie the metric(s) by which neural representations are formed), a psychological level  (generalization, discrimination, psychophysical evidence), a systems neuroscience level (coordinated cortical learning systems), or other levels TBD.  Is the concept accurate?  is it useful?  misleading?  Sensory inputs and learning change neural activity and mediate our experience - is this process well described by the concept of representations?  As always, please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.  

    ---

BCS will continue its "minimal Powerpoint" policy, in place since Fall 2011.  In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown.  Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall.  We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers.  Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers.  You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers.  That's great.  Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation.  Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.  

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized.  Not a problem.  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (1-2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271.  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.  You are welcome to attend without enrolling, of course, but we do appreciate you enrolling if you plan to attend the whole semester and to present. 

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

22 January 2013:  Organizational Meeting
29 January 2013 :  Lindsey Vedder
5 February 2013 ( Thom absent ) :  TBD
12 February 2013 :  Dave Bulkin
19 February 2013 ( Thom maybe absent ) :  TBD
26 February 2013 :  Dave Bulkin and David Smith
5 March 2013 :  Dave Bulkin and David Smith
12 March 2013 :  Adam Miller
19 March 2013 :  SPRING BREAK
26 March 2013 ( Thom absent ) :  Greg Peters
2 April 2013 Phil Perrone
9 April 2013 :  Rachel Swanson
16 April 2013 ( Thom maybe absent ) :  Dave Bulkin and David Smith
23 April 2013:  Guoshi Li
30 April 2013:  SiWei Luo

Fall Semester 2013-2014

For Spring Semester 2013-2014, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the  BCS meeting archive .

The semester's theme is  Attention , from both a neurobiological and cognitive perspective.  The goal, of course, is to cross-reference and cross-challenge the two so as to come up with an integrative and useful understanding of the field.  How can human attentional tasks best be studied using animal models?  What, if any, is the special importance of cholinergic neuromodulation to attention?  Is "attention" still a useful concept?  As always, please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.  

    ---

BCS will continue its "minimal Powerpoint" policy, in place since Fall 2011.  In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown.  Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall.  We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers.  Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers.  You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers.  That's great.  Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation.  Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.  

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized.  Not a problem.  

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to  bcs-L-request@cornell.edu  with the body of the message saying simply join.  The subject line doesn't matter.  Sending the messageleave instead will unsubscribe you from the list.  See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details. 

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit  (1-2 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar:  PSYCH 6271.  The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall.  You are welcome to attend without enrolling, of course, but we do appreciate you enrolling if you plan to attend the whole semester and to present. 

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

    ---

3 September 2013:  Organizational Meeting
10 September 2013:  Khena Swallow  (Introductory readings on attention)
17 September 2013:  Dave Bulkin
24 September 2013:  Adam Miller
1 October 2013 ( Thom may be absent ):  Lindsey Vedder
8 October 2013:  Pedro Rittner
15 October 2013:  FALL BREAK 
22 October 2013:  Phil Perrone
29 October 2013:  Guoshi Li
5 November 2013:  Rachel Swanson
12 November 2013:  Society for Neuroscience Meeting
19 November 2013:  NO MEETING
26 November 2013:  SiWei Luo
3 December 2013:  Isle Bastille

Spring Semester 2013-2014

For Spring Semester 2013-2014, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 to 1:00 pm in Uris Hall 205.

Papers and notes from previous semesters can be found in the BCS meeting archive .

The semester's theme is still Attention , from both a neurobiological and cognitive perspective. The goal, of course, is to cross-reference and cross-challenge the two so as to come up with an integrative and useful understanding of the field. How can human attentional tasks best be studied using animal models? What, if any, is the special importance of cholinergic neuromodulation to attention? Is "attention" still a useful concept? As always, please interpret BCS themes broadly -- they are meant to focus rather than to exclude.

---

BCS will continue its "minimal Powerpoint" policy, in place since Fall 2011. In order to make discussions more engaging and less formal, we encourage presentations to be primarily "chalk talks", in which concepts are sketched rather than figures shown. Mixed media are OK too, in which a complex figure can be put onto a slide or simply zoomed up on from the PDF file of the original paper, but drawing the figure tends to convey stronger understanding than does flashing a figure up on the wall. We also emphasize that you do not have to present papers in their entirety, much less multiple papers. Having everybody read up thoroughly on something small and focused usually makes for a better experience than everybody skimming one or more full papers. You may want to present only one exciting concept, exemplified by one or more figures drawn from one or more papers. That's great. Focus on the concepts, and don't feel compelled to master every detail of every paper that you want to include in your presentation. Do what you feel is best, but please do not just put the figures of a paper into a slide show and describe the paper.

That said, presenting your own work is always welcome, and in this case often it will be in Powerpoint format and formally organized. Not a problem.

To add yourself to the BCS-L mailing list, send a plain-text email to bcs-L-request@cornell.edu with the body of the message saying simply join. The subject line doesn't matter. Sending the message leave instead will unsubscribe you from the list. See Cornell's Lyris HowTo page for further details.

You can enroll in the BCS Journal Club for graduate or undergraduate credit (1 CR, S/U) as a Topics in Biopsychology seminar: PSYCH 6271. The course requires that you present at least once during the semester and participate actively overall. You are welcome to attend without enrolling, of course, but we do appreciate you enrolling if you plan to attend the whole semester and to present.

Please contact Thomas Cleland or David Smith with any questions.

---

28 January 2014: Organizational Meeting
4 February 2014: Group discussion of Charles Schroeder's work - no designated presenter.
11 February 2014: Dave Bulkin

Additional references:

18 February 2014: FEBRUARY BREAK
25 February 2014: TBD
4 March 2014: Phil Perrone
11 March 2014: TBD
18 March 2014: David Smith
25 March 2014: Khena Swallow
1 April 2014: SPRING BREAK
8 April 2014: Lindsey Vedder
15 April 2014: Adam Miller
22 April 2014: Cory Horowitz
29 April 2014:
6 May 2014: Rachel Swanson

 

Fall Semester 2014-2015

For Fall Semester 2014-2015, the Behavioral, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience (BCS) Journal Club will be on hiatus.  Watch this space for our reformation in Spring 2015.