We are pleased to invite you to a virtual workshop on the Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN), jointly organized by the Stephanie Jones Lab and MetaCell, scheduled for May 8th. The workshop is aimed at researchers and clinicians with an interest in neuroscience but without formal computational modeling or coding experience. It will offer a detailed exploration of HNN, a tool designed to interpret the neural origins of human MEG/EEG data.

Workshop Highlights:

• Comprehensive Overview: The workshop will begin with a didactic presentation on the background and development of HNN, providing a foundation for its application in neuroscience research.
• Practical Application: Participants will learn how to utilize the HNN graphical user interface (GUI) to investigate the circuit origins of commonly measured signals, including event-related potentials (ERPs) and low-frequency brain rhythms.
• Advanced Interface Training: Discover how to use the HNN-core Python interface.

Workshops Hosts:

• Stephanie Jones, PhD
• Mainak Jas, PhD
• Nicholas Tolley
• Ryan Thorpe
• Dylan Daniels

About the Workshop Content:

MEG/EEG signals are correlated with several healthy and pathological brain functions. However, it is still extremely difficult to infer their underlying cellular and circuit level origins. This limits the translation of MEG/EEG signals into novel principles of information processing, or into new treatment methods for pathologies. To address this limitation, we have built the Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN): an open-source software tool to help researchers and clinicians without formal computational modeling or coding experience interpret the neural origin of their human MEG/EEG data.

HNN provides a graphical user interface (GUI) and a programmable Python interface to an anatomically and biophysically detailed model of a neocortical circuit, with layer specific thalamocortical and cortical-cortical drives. Tutorials are provided to teach users how to begin to study the cell and circuit level origin of sensory event related potentials (ERPs) and low frequency rhythms in the alpha, beta and gamma band, based on our prior publications.

Unique to HNN is an underlying neural model that accounts for the biophysics generating the primary electric currents underlying EEG/MEG signals, enabling visual and statistical comparison of model output to source localized data from a single brain area (in nAm). Users can change model parameters in the GUI for testing hypotheses on signal differences under varied experimental conditions. Further, visualizations are shown of detailed circuit activity including layer-specific responses, cell spiking activity, and membrane voltages.

We look forward to introducing you to our one-of-a-kind tool for cell and circuit interpretation of MEG/EEG!

Registration Information:

The workshop will take place online on Wednesday, May 8th from 9am to noon ET. It is limited to 20 participants to ensure a productive learning environment. Given the specialized nature of this workshop, we anticipate high interest. To secure your participation, we recommend registering as soon as possible. A registration fee of $25.00 is required to help us cover the costs of organizing the event.

Scaling Single Session Interventions to Bridge Gaps in Mental Health Ecosystems
Jessica L. Schleider, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Departments of Medical Social Sciences, Pediatrics and Psychology
Northwestern University
Wednesday, May 8, 2024◊ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
• PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://cme-learning.brown.edu/2023-2024-Child-Adolescent
Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants should be better able to:
• Understand the concept of ‘single-session interventions’ (SSIs) for youth mental health
• Describe state-of-the-art research on how, why, and for whom SSIs can reduce mental health problems
• Identify tools and create an implementation plan for using evidence-based SSIs in real-world practice
Financial Relationship Disclosure: Dr. Schleider has the following financial relationships to disclose: Research Funding: Kooth LLC, Founder: Single Session Support Solutions 

Speaker: Sabine Kastner (Princeton)

Title: TBA

Abstract: TBA

Location: Dome Room and Zoom (https://brown.zoom.us/j/95166664847)

Speaker: Semir Tatlidil, Grad Student, CLPS

Title: How do people create abstract representations of causal events?

Abstract: TBA

We invite faculty to join us for a conversation about mental health and graduate students in STEM featuring:

• Alycia Mosley Austin, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Graduate School
• Corey Fitzgerald, Psychotherapist and Outreach Coordinator, Counseling and Psychological Services
• Logan Gin, Assistant Director for STEM, Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

The goal of the session is to learn about the common mental health challenges reported by graduate students at Brown, review evidence-based best practices for mentors that promote mental health and support productivity in trainees in a lab environment, and identify institutional resources available to support faculty and graduate students.

This event is for faculty only.