Topic outline

  • NBE-E4250 - Mapping, Decoding and Modeling the Human Brain

    Start date: Tuesday 10.1.2023 at 10.15, Place:  F175a (Otakaari 3)
    Teaching: Tuesdays 10.15–12.00, Wednesdays 10.15-12.00

    Teacher: Linda Henriksson, linda.henriksson@aalto.fi

    Core content: This course gives an overview of advanced approaches for analyzing and modeling human brain imaging data. The student will learn the main differences between univariate and multivariate analyses, and between encoding and decoding models. The students will also apply the different techniques to real data. The course will also give basic knowledge about the functional organization of the human visual system which will be used as a case example of how the different techniques are used in the context of neuroscientific questions.

    Learning outcomes: After this course the student can
    (1) list approaches for analyzing and modeling functional brain imaging data
    (2) explain the difference between decoding and encoding models
    (3) analyze brain imaging data using different approaches
    (4) choose the appropriate analysis or modeling approach to new data
    (5) critically review scientific literature on “brain decoding”

    Prerequisites: Matlab (or python if you don't need help..). Basic knowledge of functional brain imaging (preferably fMRI), human brain function and signal processing.
    Recommended course: NBE-E4045 Functional Brain Imaging

    Credits: 5 ECTS
    Teaching period: III, 10.1.-22.2.2023 (exam 22.2.2023)
    Level of the course: Master’s and doctoral level

    Workload: Lectures/contact teaching 24 h, Reading and homework 30 h, Project works 60 h, Compiling a portfolio 8 h, Getting ready for exam 8 h, Exam 3 h (Total: 133 h)
    Study Material: Lecture slides, book chapters, scientific articles.
    Assessment Methods and Criteria: Project works (60%), Homework & Portfolio (20%), Exam (20%).

    Preliminary schedule:
    Tue 10.1. Lecture 0 (L0): Introduction
    Wed 11.1. L1: fMRI (standard analysis)
    Tue 17.1. Q&A: Project work 1 (GLM, activation)
    Wed 18.1. L2: mapping
    Tue 24.1. Q&A: P2 (mapping, ROIs)
    Wed 25.1. L3: univariate vs. multivariate analysis, decoding
    Tue 31.1. Q&A: P3 (classification)
    Wed 1.2. L4: representational similarity analysis, models
    Tue 7.2. Q&A: P4 (RSA)
    Wed 8.2. L5: voxel receptive field modeling, encoding
    Tue 14.2. Q&A + L6: Discussion and conclusions
    Wed 22.2. Exam + Portfolio deadline

    Grading points:
    max per week     Max total points (100)     Min points to pass   
    Homework (5)  3 15 4
    Project works (4)     5* + 10** 60 + 5 (bonus) 15
    Portfolio 5 1
    Exam 20 5
    *5 points from returning the first version before weekly Q&A and active contribution during the session
    **10 more points for the final version, returned at the end of the course (see also portfolio)

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