Strategies for modelling sub-cortical processes with RNNs

Title

Strategies for modelling sub-cortical processes with RNNs

Leaders

Tom Close (Twitter: @tomgclose, Mattermost: @tclose, Mastodon: @tclose@fediscience.org)

Collaborators

No response

Brainhack Global 2022 Event

Brainhack Australasia

Project Description

This project is currently at the thought-bubble stage, but I am interested in different ways recurrent neural networks (RNNs) can be used to model interactions between sub-cortical structures such as the basal-ganglia, thalamus, red nucleus and cerebellum. Inspired by recent work proposing using cutting-edge RNNs to model interactions between sub-cortical structures I would like to explore how RNNs could be used to model other aspects of sub-cortical functions.

While there have been a number of analogies made between cortical regions and non-recurrent ANNs (e.g. convolutional neural networks and visual cortex), RNNs are almost certainly required to recapitulate the state changes and motor output driven by sub-cortical regions.

As this this project is just at conception, please feel free to find me at the Australian BrainHack to sit down and spit-ball some ideas.

Link to project repository/sources

https://github.com/tclose/bhg-subcortical-rnn

Goals for Brainhack Global

• Identify hypothesised sub-cortical functions that would be good candidates for modelling
• Identify the best tools to develop such models (e.g. PyTorch)
• Come up with a collection of generic Python scripts/modules that can be used as a starting point for such projects
• Publish some strategies and learnings on the process

Good first issues

1. issue one: Read/bring some interesting papers to discuss

2. issue two: Bring knowledge of a particular sub-cortical pathway or cool new RNN architecture

Communication channels

https://mattermost.brainhack.org/brainhack/channels/bhg-subcortical-rnn

Skills

• Python: intermediate
• ANNs concepts: intermediate
• Brain anatomy: basic

Onboarding documentation

Sorry, don’t have this yet

What will participants learn?

Hopefully something about RNNs and sub-cortical anatomy/function

Data to use

N/A

Number of collaborators

more

Credit to collaborators

Contributors to the code repository will be listed in the AUTHORS file (when it is created) and ideally a paper could come out of this project eventually.

Image

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Type

other

Development status

0_concept_no_content

Topic

deep_learning, machine_learning, neural_networks, systems_neuroscience

Tools

other

Programming language

Python

Modalities

not_applicable

Git skills

1_commit_push

Anything else?

No response

Things to do after the project is submitted and ready to review.

• Add a comment below the main post of your issue saying: Hi @brainhackorg/project-monitors my project is ready!
• Twitter-sized summary of your project pitch.