
Neurotechnologies and Computational Methods to Interact with the Brain
5 Days 18+ Speakers
Registration close 20 May 2018
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About The Event
Brief description
The NeuroEngineering School, pioneered by Prof. M. Grattarola in 2003 with the First European School of Neuroengineering, was offered in 2004, 2006, and 2012. In this edition, it aims to introduce computational and technological methods to interact with the brain. Interaction is a key issue for understanding the physiological basis of neuronal computation. These knowledges are crucial to investigate the origin of neurological diseases and to design neuroprosthesis to restore physiological conditions.
Objectives
The NeuroEngineering School aims to introduce computational and technological methods to PhD students and post-docs of different backgrounds (life sciences, physics, engineering) to interact with the brain. The first two days will deal with brain dynamics giving particular emphasis to the role of the connectivity and computational models of the brain at different level of abstraction, as well as hardware and software platforms to simulate such dynamics. During the 3rd day, the recent advancements for increasing the quality of the recordings and for delivering efficient stimulating protocols will be discussed. . Finally, the last two days will provide examples of neuroengineering paradigms for designing new neuroprostheses to interact with the brain and their clinical applications to increase the quality of life. Since the multidisciplinary vocation of the NeuroEngineering School, speakers have been selected based on a heterogeneous background (physics, engineering, doctors).
Description
The NeuroEngineering School would take place from 18th – 22nd June 2018. The NeuroEngineering School is organized in three main parts: The opening lectures of Prof Nicolelis will provide to the audience what it is possible to achieve when a tight interaction with the brain is reached by exploiting software and hardware methods as well as a deep knowledge of the brain dynamics. Such a talk will pave the way to the other lectures. The first lectures are conceived to introduce the brain dynamics at micro (small in vitro networks) and macro (brain areas) scale. Particular emphasis will be given to the role of the underling connectivity to generate peculiar patterns of activity (e.g., oscillations, bursting) and how. After, a section devoted to how modeling neuronal dynamics will be offered to the students. In the second part of the School faculties will present current neurotechnologies for interacting to the brain. A practical demo of the use of a high-density EEG set-up and a multi-electrode array for in vitro applications is foreseen. By exploiting the knowledge acquired during the first three days of the School, the last part of the School will provide examples of how it has been possible to interact with the brain by means of neuroprostheses. The first lecture will describe the neuroengineering paradigms to follow when a neuroprosthesis has to be projected. The last lectures will provide clinical applications of the use of such innovative devices to increase the quality of the life.
Students attending the school will have the opportunity to present and discuss their research programs and results with the faculties in a two-day poster session.
Organizers

Who's Speaking?


Speakers Lineup

Registration
Registration

Opening of the School
Welcome Address - Presentation of the School
Prof. Paolo Massobrio
Beyond Brian-Machine-Interface
The key note lecture of Prof. M. Nicolelis will provide a general overview of the recent advancements in the field of brain-machine interfaces
Prof. Miguel Nicolelis
Coffee Break
Coffee Break/ Networking

Autonomous optimization of stimulation of neuronal networks

Spatio-temporal patterns in cortical activity: from detection to manipulation

The Dynamical Response Properties of Cortical Neurons

In silico strategies to simulate neuronal structures

Coffee Break
Coffee Break/Networking

Neuronal excitability given parametric variation

Lunch
Lunch/Networking

Systems neuroscience framework for experimental brain dynamics research

The role of neural oscillations in shaping information routing and processing: insights from computational approaches

Coffee Break
Coffee Break/Networking

First poster session
Poster/Networking

Closing the Neuro-Electronic loop

Highly Integrated CMOS Microsystems to Interface with Neurons at Subcellular Resolution

Coffee Break
Coffee Break Networking

Neuropixels: Fully integrated silicon probes for high-density recording of neural activity

Lunch
Lunch/Networking

Novel electrophysiological tools for neuroengineering

A perturbational approach to non-invasively measure brain responses to direct stimulation: estimating excitability, effective connectivity and complexity

Coffee Break
Coffee Break/Networking

Second poster session
Poster/Networking

School dinner

Innovative neuroprosthetics to treat neuronal injuries: from in vitro to in vivo studies

/
tbd
Dr. Ioannis Isaias
Coffee Break
Coffee Break/ Networking

Brain functions, through the lens of electrical stimulation

Lunch
Lunch / Networking

Pratical activities
Practical laboratories with in vitro and in vivo set-up
Various speakers
Connecting a man and machine by speaking the common language of electrons and ions

Dr. Mario Rosanova
tbd
Dr. Mario Rosanova
Coffee Break
Coffee BreakNetworking

Temporal correlations in the brain

Best poster award & student presentation
Best poster SPeaker

End of the School
Conclusion
Prof. Sergio Martinoia
In ricordo del Prof. Vincenzo Tagliasco
Ricorderanno Vincenzo Tagliasco il Prof. Luigi Rossi Bernardi (già Presidente del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) per due mandati consecutivi negli anni '80 e '90), il Prof. Luigi Donato (già Direttore dei due Progetti Finalizzati del CNR sulle Tecnologie Biomediche - anni '70 e '80), il Prof. Fabio Pistella (già Direttore Generale dell'Enea, già Presidente del CNR e già Presidente del CNIPA), il Dr. Domenico Laforenza (Direttore dell'Istituto IIT del CNR di Pisa), l'Ing. Franco Malerba (primo astronauta italiano e già Addetto Scientifico per l'Italia all'OCSE a Parigi, il Prof. Ing. Salvatore Gaglio (Ordinario di Ingegneria Informatica all'Università degli Studi di Palermo, prima cattedra di Informatica, Intelligenza Artificiale e Robotica Antropomorfa nella Regione Autonoma Siciliana), il Prof. Ing. Riccardo Manzotti (Associato di Filosofia Teoretica presso l'Ateneo IULM di Milano) e il Dr. Enrico Pedemonte (giornalista, già corrispondente dagli USA a inizio anni 2000 per l'Espresso).
Prof. Ing. Aristide Fausto Massardo
In ricordo del Prof. Vincenzo Tagliasco
Years ago, in his office at the University of Genoa in Italy, Vincenzo said I would have to accomplish the task of writing on him some day, as due by any good fellow to his master professor. He was dramatically right in his prediction. Here I am — making an effort to perform what I consider an impossible mission — namely, summarize my sentiments as well as the scientific community’s debt to Vincenzo Tagliasco. Given his many-faceted rare personality, well known by his colleagues throughout the world, I can only express a few emotions and perceptions while writing about my direct experiences with him from a human and scientific point of view, not necessarily in the correct temporal sequence. This write-up is intended to summarize, as succinctly and eloquently as possibly, my feelings and my profound esteem for Vincenzo Tagliasco. Here, I mention him simply by his first name and surname. After death, it is no longer necessary to identify a person by his academic or official title, such as Doctor or Professor. Death, one may say, is an event in life that equates all human beings in the face of what may be considered a mystery by itself and a mystery beyond. As far as I can remember I first met Vincenzo when I was a student at the Engineering School of the University of Genoa in 1972. What impressed me at the very start was his enthusiastic approach to life, particularly with regard to initiating and establishing relationships with young students. He would encourage them to embark on the most ambitious task for a human being, namely to utilize their ‘‘fresh’’ brains to tackle the problem of extending some frontiers of the existing fund of knowledge — not merely as a curiosity-driven process but as something capable of yielding ‘‘value’’ in any possible form, such as a contribution of a social, economic, or political nature. Since then, as testified by his own will to become a professor of bioengineering, a then non-existing discipline in Italy, he used his enthusiasm to convince people that the new knowledge acquired by research would achieve its culmination only if employed to generate ‘‘value’’.The second thing that impressed me was his immense trust in his co-workers. He would mention several researchers at the most prestigious international meetings in order to promote their names while assigning himself a secondary position. The incredible result was that many of his national and international colleagues were mentioned in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) tables dealing with research, development and innovation. The third outstanding feature was his ‘‘maniacal’’ professionalism, as manifested by the painstaking attention he gave to the infinitesimal details of his work: experimental data, statistics, citations, a text, the use of a word, the placing of a comma in the text of a scientific paper or an official document for research-policy makers. He was a true professional in the field of research. He left nothing to chance and yet he looked like an actor spontaneously performing a scene.We all knewthat such effects were endorsed by a lot of careful and intentional effort. The fourth striking aspect of Vincenzo’s personality and work was his ability to integrate creativity and actual achievements. This included his predictive visions for science and technology. He loved to be called an engineer — a person with the ability to construct a functioning device or system by using his ‘‘ingeniousness’’. He was not excessively concerned with whether one exactly understood why a given systemwas working: the value of a product lays in its usability. In his view of life, function took precedence over structure. I could say a lot more about Vincenzo. However, I think the best way to honour him would be to call him a constructor of science as well as technology. In fact, he constructed— or moulded—the lives of many who had the good fortune to knowhim and work with him. The word ‘‘constructor’’ is derived from the Latin words ‘‘cum’’ + ‘‘sto’’ + ‘‘ruo’’, i.e. ‘‘to make stones roll in order to build something that stands up’’: a very apt description of Vincenzo because he was one of those few individuals who could make others ‘‘stand up’’ after they had ‘‘rolled their minds together’’ with his.
Prof. Francesco Beltrame
Pricing & Registration
- Full-days Access of the School
- Coffee Breaks
- Lunches
- Social Dinner
Contact
Our Address
Location

Villa Cambiaso (Scuola Politecnica)
How to reach us
VOLABUS is a direct daily, comfortable service running 7 days a week, stopping at few pick up points (to airport only pick up, from airport only drop off). Alternatively, a taxi ride between the airport and the city centre costs approximately € 30-20.
By Train : The nearest train station to the Villa Cambiano is Genova Brignole. There are numerous Intercity trains from Milan Central to Genova Principe (some of them continue to Brignole), approximately one every hour. There are also Eurostar, Intercity, Frecciarossa trains from RomaTermini and Turin.
Trasportation within the city : To access Villa Cambiaso there are regular buses with stops located near the Genova Brignole Train Station. The bus stop (15 or 43) is located in Corso Buenos Aires. You need to get off at the fifth bus stop (Via Albaro), next t o the main entrance of Villa Cambiaso, in via Montallegro.In front Genova Principe Train Station, you can take any bus to the center city and, subsequently, the bus n. 15 or 43; alternatively, from Principe Train Station you can go to Genova Brignole in 5 minutes by local trains o metro.