Weekly Research Meetings

CBMM Research Meeting: Model-agnostic Measure of Generalization Difficulty

Feb 14, 2023 - 4:00 pm
Venue:  McGovern Reading Room (46-5165) Speaker/s:  Akhilan Boopathy, MIT graduate student in the Fiete Lab

Abstract: The measure of a machine learning algorithm is the difficulty of the tasks it can perform, and sufficiently difficult tasks are critical drivers of strong machine learning models. However, quantifying the generalization difficulty of machine learning benchmarks has remained challenging. We propose what is to our knowledge the first model agnostic measure of the inherent generalization difficulty of tasks. Our inductive bias complexity measure quantifies the total information required to generalize well on a task minus the information provided by the data. It does so by measuring the fractional volume occupied by hypotheses that generalize on a task given that they fit the training data. It scales exponentially with the intrinsic dimensionality of the space over which the model must generalize but only polynomially in resolution per dimension, showing that tasks which require generalizing over many dimensions are drastically more difficult than tasks involving more detail in fewer dimensions. Our measure can be applied to compute and compare supervised learning, reinforcement learning and meta-learning generalization difficulties against each other. We show that applied empirically, it formally quantifies intuitively expected trends, e.g. that in terms of required inductive bias, MNIST < CIFAR10 < Imagenet and fully observable Markov decision processes (MDPs) < partially observable MDPs. Further, we show that classification of complex images < few-shot meta-learning with simple images. Our measure provides a quantitative metric to guide the construction of more complex tasks requiring greater inductive bias, and thereby encourages the development of more sophisticated architectures and learning algorithms with more powerful generalization capabilities.​

A Zoom link will be provided if requested no later than 24 hours before the event. Please email Kris Brewer (brew@mit.edu) with this request.

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

CBMM Research Meeting: Electrophysiological and optogenetic characterization of feature attention and working memory across the primate cortex

Dec 6, 2022 - 4:00 pm
Venue:  McGovern Seminar Room (46-3189) Speaker/s:  Diego Mendoza-Halliday, Research Scientist, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

In person and open to the MIT Community.

Abstract:

Visual attention and working memory are two different cognitive functions. However, because of their close relationship and interactions, it is often claimed that they share the same underlying neuronal mechanisms. Here, I will first describe results from experiments using multi-area neuronal recordings and large-scale optogenetic inactivation of the lateral prefrontal cortex in macaque monkeys to characterize the neuronal mechanisms of feature attention and working memory across multiple visual processing stages of the cortex. I will present evidence that feature attention and working memory have dissociable neuronal substrates. Lastly, as part of an effort to characterize the roles of specific cortical layers in feature attention and working memory, I will present the discovery of the first ubiquitous laminar motif of neuronal activity that is preserved across the cortex, characterized by opposite gradients of local field potential power in the alpha-beta and gamma frequency bands. Based on this finding, I will propose a Spectrolaminar Framework for the electrophysiological study of the cortex, and I will present FLIP, a fully-automated Frequency-based Layer Identification Procedure we developed.

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

CBMM Research Meeting: Introduction to transformer architecture and discussion

Oct 11, 2022 - 4:00 pm
Venue:  MIBR Reading Room 45-5165 Speaker/s:  Phillip Isola and Brian Cheung.

This is meant to be an informal discussion in which Phillip and Brian will give an overview of transformer networks and then we will open the floor for questions and discussion. It is likely that we will have another meeting at a later time discussing what transformers may contribute to neuroscience.

This event is open to both CBMM and Quest but not the general public.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://mit.zoom.us/j/96737358624?pwd=bTdRbGVoRnh3cTVYc3dzNVg2akNSZz09 Password: 892022

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

CBMM | Quest Research Meeting / Town Hall

Sep 13, 2022 - 4:00 pm
Venue:  McGovern Reading Room (fallback Singleton Auditorium 46-3002) Speaker/s:  Profs. Jim DiCarlo (Director, MIT Quest) and Tomaso Poggio (Director, CBMM)

Topic: New Home: CBMM is now part of the MIT Quest for Intelligence Initiative

We will have a combined CBMM | Quest research meeting to discuss CBMM’s recent move to the MIT Quest for Intelligence Initiative (MIT Quest.) A reception will be held immediately following the meeting. Hope you will be able to join us.

Organizer:  Kris Brewer Organizer Email:  brew@mit.edu

Research Meeting [Virtual]: "Using language to understand the world and the brain" by Dr. Andrei Barbu and Yen-Ling Kuo

Nov 30, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Photos of Dr. Andrei Barbu and Yen-Ling Kuo
Venue:  MIBR Seminar Room 46-3189 Address:  MIT Building 46 | Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge MA 02139 Speaker/s:  Dr. Andrei Barbu, Research Scientist, InfoLab, CSAIL MIT Yen-Ling Kuo, InfoLab, CSAIL MIT

Please note the change in date and format for this research meeting. This meeting will be held on Tues., Nov. 30, 2021; (Previously scheduled for Nov. 23rd.) This meeting will also be held in a fully remote format via Zoom.

Abstract: Language, and more generally the principle of compositionality, provides a window through which humans generalize their knowledge between radically different settings. We will discuss how compositionality can be incorporated into robotic models to enable them to act rationally in new scenarios while following novel commands. We then apply this principle to creating machines that reason about sequences of actions and about social interactions. Finally, we will present a new dataset and analysis that helps shed light on how language is processed by the brain.

Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/99978802387?pwd=OVpQTjE0VkUwRmxWUnp5RWJQUVBUdz09

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

Research Meeting: Module 3 research presentation

Nov 2, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Vivian Paulun headshot
Venue:  MIBR Seminar Room 46-3189 Address:  MIT Building 46 | Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge MA 02139 Speaker/s:  Vivian Paulun

Title: Wobbling, drooping, bouncing—Visual perception of materials and their properties

Abstract: Visual inference of material properties like mass, compliance, elasticity or fragility is crucial to predicting and interacting with our environment. Yet, it is unclear how the brain achieves this remarkable ability. How materials move, flow, fold or deform, depends not only on their internal properties but also on many external factors. For example, the observable behavior of an elastic bouncing object depends on its elasticity but also on its initial position and velocity. Estimating elasticity requires disentangling these different contributions to the observed motion. Predicting the future path of the object requires a forward simulation given the estimated latent parameters. I will present a set of experiments in which we investigated how accurately human observers estimate the elasticity of bouncing objects or predict their future path. Furthermore, I will discuss the nature of the visual information observers use as well as the limitations of their internal model.

The Fall 2021 CBMM Research Meetings will be hosted in a hybrid format. Please see the information included below regarding attending the event either in-person or remotely via Zoom connection

Guidance for attending in-person:

MIT attendees:
MIT attendees will need to be registered via the MIT COVIDpass system to have access to MIT Building 46.
Please visit URL https://covidpass.mit.edu/ for more information regarding MIT COVIDpass.

Non-MIT attendees:

MIT is currently welcoming visitors to attend talks in person. All visitors to the MIT campus are required to follow MIT COVID19 protocols, see URL https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-access-and-visitors/.  Specifically, visitors are required to wear a face-covering/mask while indoors and use the new MIT TIM Ticket system for accessing MIT buildings. Per MIT’s event policy, use of the Tim Tickets system is required for all indoor events; for information about this and other current MIT policies, visit MIT Now.

Link to this event's MIT TIM TICKET: https://tim-tickets.atlas-apps.mit.edu/21MMMGhwm1nKfPsd8

To access MIT Bldg. 46 with a TIM Ticket, please enter the building via the McGovern/Main Street entrance - 524 Main Street (on GPS). This entrance is equipped with a QR reader that can read the TIM Ticket. A map of the location of, and an image of, this entrance is available at URL: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/contact-us/

General TIM Ticket information:

A visitor may use a Tim Ticket to access Bldg. 46 any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., M-F

A Tim Ticket is a QR code that serves as a visitor pass. A Tim Ticket, named for MIT’s mascot, Tim the Beaver, is the equivalent of giving someone your key to unlock a building door, without actually giving up your keys.

This system allows MIT to collect basic information about visitors entering MIT buildings while providing MIT hosts a convenient way to invite visitors to safely access our campus.

Information collected by the TIM Ticket:

  • Name

  • Phone number

  • Email address

  • COVID-19 vaccination status (i.e., whether fully vaccinated or exempt)

  • Symptom status and wellness information for the day of visit

The Tim Tickets system can be accessed by invited guests through the MIT Tim Tickets mobile application (available for iOS 13+ or Android 7+) or on the web at visitors.mit.edu.

Visitors must acknowledge and agree to terms for campus access, confirm basic contact information, and submit a brief attestation about health and vaccination status. Visitors should complete these steps at least 30 minutes before scanning into an MIT building.

For more information on the TIM Tickets, please visit https://covidapps.mit.edu/visitors#for-access

Details to attend talk remotely via Zoom:

Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/95324900421?pwd=bUZzVFo4M2oyVTR3Skd3K1BSSlExZz09

 

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

Research Meeting: Module 2 research presentation by Drs. Jie Zheng and Mengmi Zhang

Oct 26, 2021 - 4:00 pm
CBMM logo
Venue:  MIBR Seminar Room 46-3189 Speaker/s:  Drs. Jie Zheng and Mengmi Zhang Please note, Dr. Zhang will be presenting remotely via Zoom.

Abstract:

Jie Zheng's presentation:

Title: Neurons that structure memories of ordered experience in human

 Abstract: The process of constructing temporal associations among related events is essential to episodic memory. However, what neural mechanism helps accomplish this function remains unclear. To address this question, we recorded single unit activity in humans while subjects performed a temporal order memory task. During encoding, subjects watched a series of clips (i.e., each clip consisted of 4 events) and were later instructed to retrieve the ordinal information of event sequences. We found that hippocampal neurons in humans could index specific orders of events with increased neuronal firings (i.e., rate order cells) or clustered spike timing relative to theta phases (i.e., phase order cells), which are transferrable across different encoding experiences (e.g., different clips). Rate order cells also increased their firing rates when subjects correctly retrieved the temporal information of their preferred ordered events. Phase order cells demonstrated stronger phase precessions at event transitions during encoding for clips whose ordinal information was subsequently correct retrieved. These results not only highlight the critical role of the hippocampus in structuring memories of continuous event sequences but also suggest a potential neural code representing temporal associations among events.

 

Mengmi Zhang's [virtual] presentation:

Title: Visual Search Asymmetry: Deep Nets and Humans Share Similar Inherent Biases

Abstract: Visual search is a ubiquitous and often challenging daily task, exemplified by looking for the car keys at home or a friend in a crowd. An intriguing property of some classical search tasks is an asymmetry such that finding a target A among distractors B can be easier than finding B among A. To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for asymmetry in visual search, we propose a computational model that takes a target and a search image as inputs and produces a sequence of eye movements until the target is found. The model integrates eccentricity-dependent visual recognition with target-dependent top-down cues. We compared the model against human behavior in six paradigmatic search tasks that show asymmetry in humans. Without prior exposure to the stimuli or task-specific training, the model provides a plausible mechanism for search asymmetry. We hypothesized that the polarity of search asymmetry arises from experience with the natural environment. We tested this hypothesis by training the model on an augmented version of ImageNet where the biases of natural images were either removed or reversed. The polarity of search asymmetry disappeared or was altered depending on the training protocol. This study highlights how classical perceptual properties can emerge in neural network models, without the need for task-specific training, but rather as a consequence of the statistical properties of the developmental diet fed to the model. Our work will be presented in the upcoming Neurips conference, 2021. All source code and stimuli are publicly available this https URL

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The Fall 2021 CBMM Research Meetings will be hosted in a hybrid format. Please see the information included below regarding attending the event either in-person or remotely via Zoom connection

Details to attend talk remotely via Zoom:

Zoom connection link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/91580119583?pwd=Z212ZjM3MFNFSHNTYlcyaUJZbjQrQT09

Guidance for attending in-person:

MIT attendees:
MIT attendees will need to be registered via the MIT COVIDpass system to have access to MIT Building 46.
Please visit URL https://covidpass.mit.edu/ for more information regarding MIT COVIDpass.

Non-MIT attendees:

MIT is currently welcoming visitors to attend talks in person. All visitors to the MIT campus are required to follow MIT COVID19 protocols, see URL https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-access-and-visitors/.  Specifically, visitors are required to wear a face-covering/mask while indoors and use the new MIT TIM Ticket system for accessing MIT buildings. Per MIT’s event policy, use of the Tim Tickets system is required for all indoor events; for information about this and other current MIT policies, visit MIT Now.

Link to this event's MIT TIM TICKET: https://tim-tickets.atlas-apps.mit.edu/o1T9dFk9TTcDfzKF8

To access MIT Bldg. 46 with a TIM Ticket, please enter the building via the McGovern/Main Street entrance - 524 Main Street (on GPS). This entrance is equipped with a QR reader that can read the TIM Ticket. A map of the location of, and an image of, this entrance is available at URL: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/contact-us/

General TIM Ticket information:

A visitor may use a Tim Ticket to access Bldg. 46 any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., M-F

A Tim Ticket is a QR code that serves as a visitor pass. A Tim Ticket, named for MIT’s mascot, Tim the Beaver, is the equivalent of giving someone your key to unlock a building door, without actually giving up your keys.

This system allows MIT to collect basic information about visitors entering MIT buildings while providing MIT hosts a convenient way to invite visitors to safely access our campus.

Information collected by the TIM Ticket:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • COVID-19 vaccination status (i.e., whether fully vaccinated or exempt)
  • Symptom status and wellness information for the day of visit

The Tim Tickets system can be accessed by invited guests through the MIT Tim Tickets mobile application (available for iOS 13+ or Android 7+) or on the web at visitors.mit.edu.

Visitors must acknowledge and agree to terms for campus access, confirm basic contact information, and submit a brief attestation about health and vaccination status. Visitors should complete these steps at least 30 minutes before scanning into an MIT building.

For more information on the TIM Tickets, please visit https://covidapps.mit.edu/visitors#for-access

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

Research Meeting: Module 2 research presentation by Trenton Bricken and Will Xiao

Oct 19, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Graphic image with a photo of a monkey
Venue:  MIBR Seminar Room 46-3189 Address:  MIT Building 46 | Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge MA 02139 Speaker/s:  Trenton Bricken and Will Xiao, Kreiman Lab

Will Xiao's presentation

Title: What you see is what IT gets: Responses in primate visual cortex during natural viewing

Abstract: How does the brain support our ability to see? Studies of primate vision have typically focused on controlled viewing conditions exemplified by the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, where the subject must hold fixation while images are flashed briefly in randomized order. In contrast, during natural viewing, eyes move frequently, guided by subject-initiated saccades, resulting in a sequence of related sensory input. Thus, natural viewing departs from traditional assumptions of independent and unpredictable visual inputs, leaving it an open question how visual neurons respond in real life.

    We recorded responses of interior temporal (IT) cortex neurons in macaque monkeys freely viewing natural images. We first examined responses of face-selective neurons and found that face neurons responded according to whether individual fixations were near a face, meticulously distinguishing single fixations. Second, we considered repeated fixations on very close-by locations, termed ‘return fixations.’ Responses were more similar during return fixations, and again distinguished individual fixations. Third, computation models could partially explain neuronal responses from an image crop centered on each fixation.

    These results shed light on how the IT cortex does (and does not) contribute to our daily visual percept: a stable world despite frequent saccades.

Trenton Bricken's presentation:

Title: Attention Approximates Sparse Distributed Memory

Abstract: While Attention has come to be an important mechanism in deep learning, it emerged out of a heuristic process of trial and error, providing limited intuition for why it works so well. Here, we show that Transformer Attention closely approximates Sparse Distributed Memory (SDM), a biologically plausible associative memory model, under certain data conditions. We confirm that these conditions are satisfied in pre-trained GPT2 Transformer models. We discuss the implications of the Attention-SDM map and provide new computational and biological interpretations of Attention.

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The Fall 2021 CBMM Research Meetings  will be hosted in a hybrid format. Please see the information included below regarding attending the event either in-person or remotely via Zoom connection

Details to attend talk remotely via Zoom:

Zoom connection link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/95527039951?pwd=T2cvYnRyQ0F6elVKWWdXNVg3UWhaZz09

Guidance for attending in-person:

MIT attendees:
MIT attendees will need to be registered via the MIT COVIDpass system to have access to MIT Building 46.
Please visit URL https://covidpass.mit.edu/ for more information regarding MIT COVIDpass.

Non-MIT attendees:

MIT is currently welcoming visitors to attend talks in person. All visitors to the MIT campus are required to follow MIT COVID19 protocols, see URL https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-access-and-visitors/.  Specifically, visitors are required to wear a face-covering/mask while indoors and use the new MIT TIM Ticket system for accessing MIT buildings. Per MIT’s event policy, use of the Tim Tickets system is required for all indoor events; for information about this and other current MIT policies, visit MIT Now.

Link to this event's MIT TIM TICKET: https://tim-tickets.atlas-apps.mit.edu/LmU6ubyLqvMEGYYh6

To access MIT Bldg. 46 with a TIM Ticket, please enter the building via the McGovern/Main Street entrance - 524 Main Street (on GPS). This entrance is equipped with a QR reader that can read the TIM Ticket. A map of the location of, and an image of, this entrance is available at URL: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/contact-us/

General TIM Ticket information:

A visitor may use a Tim Ticket to access Bldg. 46 any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., M-F

A Tim Ticket is a QR code that serves as a visitor pass. A Tim Ticket, named for MIT’s mascot, Tim the Beaver, is the equivalent of giving someone your key to unlock a building door, without actually giving up your keys.

This system allows MIT to collect basic information about visitors entering MIT buildings while providing MIT hosts a convenient way to invite visitors to safely access our campus.

Information collected by the TIM Ticket:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • COVID-19 vaccination status (i.e., whether fully vaccinated or exempt)
  • Symptom status and wellness information for the day of visit

The Tim Tickets system can be accessed by invited guests through the MIT Tim Tickets mobile application (available for iOS 13+ or Android 7+) or on the web at visitors.mit.edu.

Visitors must acknowledge and agree to terms for campus access, confirm basic contact information, and submit a brief attestation about health and vaccination status. Visitors should complete these steps at least 30 minutes before scanning into an MIT building.

For more information on the TIM Tickets, please visit https://covidapps.mit.edu/visitors#for-access

 

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

Research Meeting: "Probing the mechanisms of visual object recognition with reversible chemogenetic modulation of macaque V4 neurons" by Dr. Kohitij Kar

Feb 15, 2022 - 4:00 pm
Photo of Dr. Kohitij Kar (MIT)
Venue:  MIBR Seminar Room 46-3189 Address:  MIT Building 46 | Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge MA 02139 Speaker/s:  Dr. Kohitij Kar, DiCarlo Lab, MIT

The Spring 2022 CBMM Research Meetings will be hosted in a hybrid format. Please see the information included below regarding attending the event either in-person or remotely via Zoom connection

Please note, MIT is requiring that all attendees, including MIT COVIDpass users, sign-in to the event prior to entering the auditorium.

Abstract: We can computationally approximate a visual object's identity from the distributed neural activity patterns across a series of hierarchically connected brain areas (e.g., V4, IT) in the primate ventral stream. However, testing whether these circuits indeed play a causal role requires targeted neural perturbation strategies that enable discrimination amongst competing models. Here we probed the role of macaque V4 and its primary feedforward target, the inferior temporal (IT) cortex, during object recognition. We combined DREADDs-based chemogenetic inhibition of V4 neurons with large-scale electrophysiology in V4 and IT while simultaneously measuring the monkeys' image-by-image object recognition behavior. Our results provide causal evidence linking the ventral stream hierarchy with core object recognition behavior. Also, in addition, to providing a “yes” vs. “no” answer to the involvement of a brain area in a behavior, we demonstrate how our approach allows us to use direct causal perturbation data to discriminate amongst competing mechanistic brain models.​

 

Link to attend talk remotely via Zoom:

Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/97558618808?pwd=b2RTVkZLUmpIL2Y3Szg2TG9RT1BoZz09

Guidance for attending in-person:

MIT attendees:
MIT attendees will need to be registered via the MIT COVIDpass system to have access to MIT Building 46.
Please visit URL https://covidpass.mit.edu/ for more information regarding MIT COVIDpass.

Non-MIT attendees:

MIT is currently welcoming visitors to attend talks in person. All visitors to the MIT campus are required to follow MIT COVID19 protocols, see URL https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-access-and-visitors/.  Specifically, visitors are required to wear a face-covering/mask while indoors and use the new MIT TIM Ticket system for accessing MIT buildings. Per MIT’s event policy, use of the Tim Tickets system is required for all indoor events; for information about this and other current MIT policies, visit MIT Now.

Link to this event's MIT TIM TICKET: https://tim-tickets.atlas-apps.mit.edu/CmoDwauHJkuqMSBo8

To access MIT Bldg. 46 with a TIM Ticket, please enter the building via the McGovern/Main Street entrance - 524 Main Street (on GPS). This entrance is equipped with a QR reader that can read the TIM Ticket. A map of the location of, and an image of, this entrance is available at URL: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/contact-us/

General TIM Ticket information:

A visitor may use a Tim Ticket to access Bldg. 46 any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., M-F

A Tim Ticket is a QR code that serves as a visitor pass. A Tim Ticket, named for MIT’s mascot, Tim the Beaver, is the equivalent of giving someone your key to unlock a building door, without actually giving up your keys.

This system allows MIT to collect basic information about visitors entering MIT buildings while providing MIT hosts a convenient way to invite visitors to safely access our campus.

Information collected by the TIM Ticket:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • COVID-19 vaccination status (i.e., whether fully vaccinated or exempt)
  • Symptom status and wellness information for the day of visit

The Tim Tickets system can be accessed by invited guests through the MIT Tim Tickets mobile application (available for iOS 13+ or Android 7+) or on the web at visitors.mit.edu.

Visitors must acknowledge and agree to terms for campus access, confirm basic contact information, and submit a brief attestation about health and vaccination status. Visitors should complete these steps at least 30 minutes before scanning into an MIT building.

For more information on the TIM Tickets, please visit https://covidapps.mit.edu/visitors#for-access

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

Research Meeting: Towards a mechanistic understanding of compositionality by Lucas Tien

Sep 28, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Photo of Dr. Lucas Tian, Rockefeller University
Venue:  PILM Seminar Room 46-3310 Speaker/s:  Dr. Lucas Tian, Rockefeller University

Abstract: Compositionality is a key signature of the mind. It is the ability to generalize from a small set of rules to an almost unlimited set of complex thoughts and behaviors. Compositionality is critical for many domains of intelligence, such as language, social reasoning, and motor planning. Yet we do not understand the neural mechanisms of compositionality. This reflects the gap between two approaches for understanding the mind, one focusing on symbolic computation in complex cognition (cognitive science) and the other focusing on neural processes in simpler forms of cognition in animals (systems neuroscience). To bridge this gap, we have developed a way to study symbol-like compositionality in macaque monkeys, a highly intelligent species that is well-suited for neurophysiological analysis. This approach is based on a compositional drawing task. In this task, macaques draw new complex images by combining a small set of learned components, including (i) motor “primitives” (e.g., line, circle, triangle) and (ii) abstract sequencing rules for combining primitives. I will present behavioral evidence that both humans and macaques exhibit compositionality in how they draw, preliminary neural network modeling of compositional drawing, and plans for large-scale neurophysiology. I expect that combining insights across behavioral, cognitive, and neural levels will lead to new explanations of how compositionality works.

The Fall 2021 CBMM Research Meetings  will be hosted in a hybrid format. Please see the information included below regarding attending the event either in-person or remotely via Zoom connection

Guidance for attending in-person:

MIT attendees:
MIT attendees will need to be registered via the MIT COVIDpass system to have access to MIT Building 46.
Please visit URL https://covidpass.mit.edu/ for more information regarding MIT COVIDpass.

Non-MIT attendees:

MIT is currently welcoming visitors to attend talks in person. All visitors to the MIT campus are required to follow MIT COVID19 protocols, see URL https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-access-and-visitors/.  Specifically, visitors are required to wear a face-covering/mask while indoors and use the new MIT TIM Ticket system for accessing MIT buildings. Per MIT’s event policy, use of the Tim Tickets system is required for all indoor events; for information about this and other current MIT policies, visit MIT Now.

Link to this event's MIT TIM TICKET: https://tim-tickets.atlas-apps.mit.edu/58hrmE6HPTpmLevd6

To access MIT Bldg. 46 with a TIM Ticket, please enter the building via the McGovern/Main Street entrance - 524 Main Street (on GPS). This entrance is equipped with a QR reader that can read the TIM Ticket. A map of the location of, and an image of, this entrance is available at URL: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/contact-us/

General TIM Ticket information:

A visitor may use a Tim Ticket to access Bldg. 46 any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., M-F

A Tim Ticket is a QR code that serves as a visitor pass. A Tim Ticket, named for MIT’s mascot, Tim the Beaver, is the equivalent of giving someone your key to unlock a building door, without actually giving up your keys.

This system allows MIT to collect basic information about visitors entering MIT buildings while providing MIT hosts a convenient way to invite visitors to safely access our campus.

Information collected by the TIM Ticket:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • COVID-19 vaccination status (i.e., whether fully vaccinated or exempt)
  • Symptom status and wellness information for the day of visit

The Tim Tickets system can be accessed by invited guests through the MIT Tim Tickets mobile application (available for iOS 13+ or Android 7+) or on the web at visitors.mit.edu.

Visitors must acknowledge and agree to terms for campus access, confirm basic contact information, and submit a brief attestation about health and vaccination status. Visitors should complete these steps at least 30 minutes before scanning into an MIT building.

For more information on the TIM Tickets, please visit https://covidapps.mit.edu/visitors#for-access

Details to attend talk remotely via Zoom:

Zoom connection link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/94137843596?pwd=SEpXYkJQeHc2UEROdnBjMWVDaUF2Zz09

Organizer:  Hector Penagos Organizer Email:  cbmm-contact@mit.edu

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