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- About Neuronus
In order to meet the need for single spike resolution recordings of vast populations of neurons dispersed throughout different brain areas, neuropixel probes have been developed. They were created by Tim Harris's Neuropixels consortium. The ability to provide a greater signal to noise ratio, unit yield, cluster fidelity, and channel count are among the primary characteristics of neuropixel probes. These days, a wide variety of species, including mice, rats, ferrets, and non-human/human primates, employ neuropixel probes for a variety of purposes. Today, the majority of Neuropixels customers put one or more probes into the same brain on an experimental day and conduct acute recordings in animals with head restraints. Acute Neuropixels probe recordings are remarkably scalable, as demonstrated by the simultaneous recording of several hundreds of neurons in numerous brain areas using two to three probes.
Nonetheless, a lot of well-known behavioral paradigms need that animals be allowed to move freely throughout an experiment. Furthermore, studies on the learning of complicated behaviors necessitate the acquisition of the same neuronal population over a period of days, which can be accomplished through the use of chronic preparations. Furthermore, long-term planning may be crucial in tracking the advancement of brain disorders. Being experienced users at Neuroelectronics Research Flanders, we have created a range of fixtures that make it easier to implant Neuropixel probes over an extended period of time.
Using these plug-and-play fixtures, we were able to measure neural activity from the same animal on a daily basis. Crucially, our methodology permits the cost-effective recovery of implanted probes for re-implantation in different indviduals at a later time. Hence, the application of Neuropixels probes in freely moving animals could be expanded thanks to our chronic Neuropixels procedure. It may also take the place of acute preparations in certain cases since it avoids several of its main drawbacks, including the requirement for an open craniotomy, the possibility of bleeding, and acute tissue compression.
During the workshop we will:
The workshop is open for Neuropixels users at any stage of experience (want-to-use, beginners, profis) for intensifying the exchange among local users.
To maintain high efficiency of the workshop, max. 20 participants will be allowed to attend.
Applicants should provide a short info about their background and explaining the acute and long-term needs of using neuropixels (or related approaches). Please submit the letter via email neuronusforum@uj.edu.pl.
The workshop will be led by one of the main developers of chronic neuropixels fixtures, Cagatay Aydin. Cagatay has a background in engineering and received his PhD in molecular and cognitive neuroscience at KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2019. He contributed to both Neuropixels 1.0 and 2.0 papers and he is currently one of the tutors in neuropixels workshop at Allen Institute since 2000.
QuPath [1] is an open-source bioimage analysis software. It is generally used for digital pathology applications for which it offers a powerful set of tools to operate on whole-slide images, but it can be used with many other types of histological images as well.
In our facility, we mainly use QuPath for (a) the precise classification and delineation of 2D tissue as a crucial step in detecting pathological vs. healthy tissue (e.g. cancer and stroma regions), and (b) cell detection in defined tissue regions of interest, including the quantification of cell numbers, densities, and positivity rates of multiple biomarkers. We perform such analyses on histological scans and multi-channel image series with up to ~40 immunohistological protein markers.
During this 6-hour interactive workshop, you will learn:
-how to visualize images,
-annotate objects,
-create pixel classifiers,
-detect and classify objects in order to extract quantitative data.
The workshop will be based on a data set consisting of mouse brain slices registered to the Allen brain atlas [2] using the ABBA [3] extension.
To maintain high efficiency of the workshop, max. 20 participants will be allowed to attend. Applicants should provide a short info about their background and explaining the acute and long-term needs of using QuPath (or related approaches). Please submit the letter via email neuronusforum@uj.edu.pl.
The workshop will be led by Ewelina Bartoszek. Ewelina is a senior staff member at the DBM Microscopy Core Facility in Basel, Switzerland. Her main focus is on bio-image analysis. Ewelina actively engages in the bioimage community, serving as a board member of SwissBIAS and a co-organizer of the ZIDAS summer school where she co-host a QuPath course.
With the rapid emergence of new, easily available machine learning tools and a push towards automation, it's essential not only to use them but also to do so correctly and competently, with at least some understanding of their inner workings. This workshop, designed for individuals with a basic understanding of DLC workflow, will be conducted as a hands-on session where participants can work on their data under the guidance of an instructor.
To maintain high efficiency of the workshop, max. 20 participants will be allowed to attend. Applicants should provide a short info about their background and explaining the acute and long-term needs of using DeepLabCut (or related approaches). Please submit the letter via email neuronusforum@uj.edu.pl.
The workshop will be led by Konrad Danielewski.Konrad is a PhD student at Knapska's Lab within Nencki PAS in Warsaw. His research focuses on the encoding of behavioral information from self and others in the rat's medial prefrontal cortex. Konrad is a long time DeepLabCut project contributor and collaborator being invested in the project and its community for over four years. In 2023 he was awarded a scholarship to become a DLC AI Resident - a program during which he worked closely with the DLC team on new version of DLC and new community resources.
Workshop 4. Neuroimaging data analysis (9:00 - 13:00)
Delve into the fascinating world of neuroimaging data analysis in this hands-on workshop led by Dr. Jakub Szewczyk and Mikołaj Compa. This workshop is designed to introduce and deepen your understanding of advanced fMRI data analysis techniques (not only fMRI, but also EEG/ERP examples will be also given), focusing on the following key areas:
* Voxelwise Encoding Modelswith Ridge Regression: Learn how to apply ridge regression to fMRI data to predict neural activity patterns. This session will cover the principles of voxelwise encoding models, including how to select and apply the optimal regularization parameter for your data.
* Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA): Dive into RSA, a powerful method to compare patterns of neural activity across conditions. Understand how to construct and interpret similarity matrices, and how to use RSA to uncover the representational structure of cognitive processes in the brain.
This workshop is an excellent opportunity for MA and PhD students interested in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging to gain practical experience in cutting-edge neuroimaging analysis techniques. It will consist of a theoretical introduction and a practical hands-on programming session using Python/numpy/scikit-learn (so at least rudimentary knowledge of Python is recommended). Due to the practical character of the workshop, participation is limited to 15 attendees. Please send a short info about yourself, your interests, experience with any neuroimaging method and programming.
Workshop 5. Virtual reality, physiology and biofeedback (13:00 - 16:00)
During the talk multimodal physiological data recording technology will be presented including fNIRS, EEG, ECG, EDA, etc. as well as a demonstration on the integration and synchronization of physiological data in Virtual Reality. Attendees will learn how to build a VR experiment from scratch without the need of any coding experience.
Due to the practical character of the workshop, participation is limited to 20 attendees. Please send a short info about yourself, your interests and experience. The workshop will be led bySlav Dimov.
For a good start to the next edition of NEURONUS, we invite you to a special event to be held on April 24th, at Piwnica Pod Baranami, a legendary address of Cracow boheme always filled with original souls and minds. During this evening, we encourage you to take an active part in an open discussion on two topics frequently absent from the classical academic sylabus:
Career Development (19.00 -20.00) – crucial decisions on your career path are supposed to originate from logical premises. Young scientists tend to be programmed on the academic career carrying the promise of great discoveries. However, current job market offers a wide range of positions in basic research, private sector, and a variety of science-related jobs (editor, event organizer, PR, etc…). The choice is a function of your scientific interests, ambition, financial benefits, and - so often (!) - personal circumstances. So – how to find the ideal solution where you can fully exploit your talents? And – is there only one ideal scenario, or is there any at all?
Scientific communication (20.15 – 21.15) - perhaps the most important aspect of a scientific career, which unfortunately is also the least emphasized in training. Effective presentation skills are part and parcel of a scientist’s life; from baby steps (your ‘brainbee’ presentation) to the ultimate glory (your Nobel prize lecture). The last decade has also brought about a diversification in the scientific presentation formats with the emergence of pitch talks, blitz talks, chalk talks, and of course the COVID-ed complication of giving all these talks online.
The two conversations will be led by members of Neuronus Scientific Committee: Dr Michał Ślęzak and Dr Ilona Kotlewska and feature renowned and open scientists as special guests: Dr Ali Jawaid (see BIO) and Dr Joanna Podgórska (see BIO).
Please join us in the conversation and ask leading researchers on their motivation and experience. The workshop will be opened to all registered participants of NEURONUS 2024!
Neurofitness (8:00-8:45) classes combine gentle movement, mindfulness and breathwork to ease muscle tension, improve mobility and reduce stress. You will also discover techniques to calm your nervous system for deeper relaxation and better overall wellbeing. Whether you have neck pain, back pain or simply want to de-stress, these classes will leave you feeling calm and refreshed.
The workshop will be led by Anna Pałasz holds a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Jagiellonian University. She is a certified body & mind fitness instructor specializing in relaxation techniques, healthy spine exercises and mindfulness. She develops corporate training materials on stress management and wellbeing. Her media (https://neurofitness.pl/) presence promotes neurofitness - relaxation exercises for nervous system regulation.
