Thomas Wennekers

Teaching interests

Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience; Dynamical Systems Approach to Neural and Cognitive Systems.

I am module leader of:

CTCN 3311 - Brain-Inspired Cognitive Systems (with Chris Harris and Sue Denham)

CTCN 5104 - Neural Computation

CTCN 5205 - Computational Models of Cognitive Functions

 

Research interests

Computational neuroscience

* Gamma-oscillations and spike synchronization

* Dynamics of spatio-temporal receptive fields

* Spatio-temporal spike patterns, synfire chains

Mathematical neuroscience

* Biophysical, dynamical and computational properties of spiking neuron models

* Neural field equations

* Dimension reduction in neural networks

Brain theory

* Hebbian cell assemblies and associative memories

* Concept and similarity structure in cortical representations

* General principles of high level information processing

 

Grants & contracts

09/08 SCANDLE - Acoustic Scene Analysis for Detecting Living Entities. EU ICT STREP, 2.4MEuro. PI: Dr Sue Denham (CTCN Plymouth).

03/08  Royal Society Incoming Visitors Grant for a visit of UoP and the CTCN by Prof Guenther Palm (Ulm, Germany)

11/07 Workshop and Seminar Grant ``Complex Dynamics in Large-Scale Interacting Brain Systems'', Dresden, 2009, by the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany. Together with Peter Achermann (Z{\"u}rich) and Eckehard Olbrich (MPI-MIS, Leipzig). More info at http://helen.pion.ac.uk/dresden09

01/07 Workshop Grant (Spike Train Metrics, Plymouth Jan 2007) by The University of Newcastle, UK.

06/06 UK-Spiketrain Workshop participation grant; University of Newcastle, UK

11/05 Guest Lecturership granted by the University of Havana, Cuba

09/05 Travel award by the German Academic Exchange Service

09/05-08/09  European Community grant IST-2001-35282. "Fast Analog Computing with Emergent Transient States in Neural Architectures (FACETS)". 10.5 MEuro total. Co-investigator. Integrated Project together with 15 other groups in Europe.

 

06/05-05/10 EPSRC grant EP/C010841/1.
"A Novel Computing Architecture for Cognitive Systems based on the Laminar Microcircuit of the Neocortex (COLAMN)". Together with 9 groups in the UK \& 3 in Europe. 1.8 MGBP.
Coordinated by CTCN in Plymouth. Coordinator.

2004 Travel award by the Royal Society

 

Publications

(Downloads of most paper drafts are available at http://www.pion.ac.uk/~thomas)

# T. Wennekers. Hebbian Cell Assemblies. Invited Review for the Inaugural Issue of the new Journal  of Cognitive Computation, 2009.

# T. Wennekers.  Tuned solutions in dynamic neural fields as building blocks for extended EEG models. Journal of Cognitive Neurodynamics 2, 137-146, 2008.

# Garagnani, M; Wennekers, T.; Pulvermuller, F: Neuroanatomically grounded Hebbian-learning of attention-language interactions in the human brain. European Journal of Neuroscience 27, 492-513, 2008.

# Wennekers, T. and Palm, G.:
Modelling generic cognitive functions with operational Hebbian cell assemblies.
In: Neural Network Research Horizons. M.L. Weiss (ed.). Nova Science Publishers. pp 225-294, 2007.

# Garagnani, M.; Wennekers, T.; Pulvermuller, F.:
A neuronal model of the language cortex.
Neurocomputing 70, 1914-1919, 2007.

# Wennekers, T.:
A cell assembly model for complex behaviour.
Neurocomputing 70, 1988-1992, 2007.

# Olbrich, E.; Wennekers, T.:
Dynamics of parameters of neurophysiological models from phenomenological EEG modelling.
Neurocomputing 70, 1848-1852, 2007.

# Wennekers, T.; Ay, N. and Andras, P.:
High-resolution multiple-unit EEG in cat neocortex reveals large spatio-temporal stochastic interactions.
BioSystems 89, 190--197, 2007

# Andras, P., Wennekers, T.:
Cortical Activity Pattern Computation.

BioSystems 87, 179-185, 2007.

# Wennekers, T.:
Operational cell assemblies as a paradigm for brain-inspired future computing architectures
Neural Information Processing - Letters and Reviews 10, 135-145, 2006.

# Wennekers, T.; Ay N.:
A temporal learning rule in recurrent systems supports high spatio-temporal stochastic interactions.
Neurocomputing 69, 1199-1202, 2006.

# Wennekers, T.; Garagnani, M; Pulvermueller, F.:
Language Models based on Hebbian Cell Assmblies
Journal of Neurophysiology (Paris) 100, 16--30, 2006.

# Wennekers, T.;
Operational cell assemblies as a paradigm for brain-inspired future computing architectures.
Neural Information processing Systems - Letters and Reviews 10, 135-145, 2006.

# Wennekers, T.; Ay, N.:

Finite state automata resulting from temporal information maximization and a temporal learning rule.

Neural Computation 17, 2258--2290, 2005

# Wennekers. T.:

Separation of spatio-temporal receptives fields into sums of Gaussians component.

Journal of Computational Neuroscience 16, 27-38, 2004.

# Ay, N.; Wennekers, T.:

Dynamical Properties of Strongly Interacting Markov Chains.

Neural Networks 16, 1483-1497, 2003.

# Hutt, A.; Bestehorn, M.; Wennekers, T.:

Pattern Formation in Intracortical Neuronal Fields.

Network: Computation in Neural Systems 14, 351-368, 2003.

# Wennekers, T.:

Dynamic approximation of spatio-temporal receptive fields in nonlinear neural field models.

Neural Computation 14 (8): 1801-1825, 2002.

# Suder, K.; Funke, K.; Zhao, Y.; Kerscher, N.; Wennekers, T.; Worgotter, F.:

Spatial dynamics of receptive fields in cat primary visual cortex related to the temporal structure of thalamo-cortical feedforward activity - experiments and models.

Experimental Brain Research 144 (4): 430-444, 2002.

# Sommer, F.T. and Wennekers, T.:

Associative Memory in networks of spiking neurons.

Neural Networks 14 (6-7), 825-834, 2001.

# Wennekers, T.:

Orientation tuning properties of simple cells in Area V1 derived from an approximate analysis of nonlinear neural field models.

Neural Computation 13 (8), 1721-1747, 2001.

# Suder, K.; Worgotter, F.; Wennekers, T.:

Neural field model of receptive field restructuring in primary visual cortex.

Neural Computation 13, 139-159, 2001.

# Sommer, F.T. and Wennekers, T.:

Modeling studies on the computational function of fast temporal structure in cortical circuit activity.

Journal of Physiology (Paris) 94, 473-488, 2000.

# Pasemann, F.; Wennekers, T.:

Generalized and Partial Synchronization of Coupled Neural Networks.

Network: Computation in Neural Systems 11, 41-61, 2000.

 

 

Reports & invited lectures

# "Language Models based on Hebbian Cell Assemblies'", School of Computing Science, Middlesex University, 20 July 2007.

# "Spike Train Metrics for Reconstructing Stimulus Space Topology from Multiple Neurons", Department of Neural Information Processing, University of Ulm, Germany, 24. May 2007.

# "Some Properties of Some Metrics", Spike Train Metric Workshop, University of Plymouth, 8-9 Jan 2007

# Invited Symposium Talk: "Language models based on Hebbian cell assemblies". Symposium 18: "Compositionality: Neuronal Basis of Complex Behavior". 7th Meeting of the German Neuroscience Society, Goettingen, 29.3 - 1.4 2007.

# Invited Workshop Talk "Language models based on Hebbian cell assemblies". Workshop on "Dynamical Analysis of Information Processing in the Brain", University of Ulm, 8-11 Oct 2006.

# Invited Workshop Talk "Operational Cell Assemblies". Workshop on "Information Theory, Neurobiology and Cognition", Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig 5-11 July 2006.

# "Hilber-type Spike Metrics". UK Spike Train Analysis Workshop, Newcastle University, UK, 28. Aug - 8. Sept. 2006.

# "Operational Cell Asseemblies". Workshop on "Cortical Microcircuits". 15th Annual Computational Neuroscience Conference, Edinburgh, 16-20 July 2006.

# "Nonlinear Neural Field Models for Spatio-temporal Receptive Fields". Workshop on "Continuous Attractor Neural Networks". 15th Annual Computational Neuroscience Conference, Edinburgh, 16-20 July 2006.

# "Maximisation of Stochastic Interaction and Complexity in Neural Systems", Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras, Universidad de la Habana, Cuba, March 2006.

# "Maximisation of Stochastic Interaction and Complexity in Neural Systems", Cuban Neuroscience Center, La Habana, Cuba, March 2006. 

# Invited talk "Computational Neuroscience, Kognition, und Sprache". Section "Kognitive Linguistik". 12th ALEG - Kongress, Capitolio, La Habana, Cuba, 13-17. March 2006.

# "Cortical Activity Pattern Computation". 6th International Workshop on Information Processing in Cells and Tissue, York, UK, 30 Aug - 1 Sept 2005.

# 08/05 "Cortical Activity Pattern Computation". IPCAT 2005, York, UK.

# 08/05 "Stochastic Interaction in Neural Systems". Neural Coding 2005, Marburg, Germany.

# 04/05 "Temporal Information Maximisation and Cortical Processing". Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.

# 04/05 "Large-scale models of cortical function". Symposium on Modelling Cortical Information Processing. International Graduate School in Neuroscience, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany.

# 02/05 "Temporal Information Maximisation and Cortical Processing". School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, UK. 

# 05/04 "Dynamic Associative Structures". School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The University of Manchester, UK. 

Conferences organised

# 06/09  Scientific Organiser of a Workshop and Seminar on "Complex dynamics in large-scale interacting brain networks: Towards physical models of sleep and consciousness" (Organisers: Peter Achermann, Eckehard Olbrich, Thomas Wennekers): 8-25.06.2009, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany.
http://helen.pion.ac.uk/dresden09

# 09/08 1st COLAMN Workshop on Cortical Microcircuits. Wolfson Institute, UCL, London.

# 07/07 Program Committee of the International Workshop on "What it means to communicate": September 13, 2007, Ipanema Park Hotel, Porto, Portugal. Held in conjunction with ICANN 2007. http://www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/nestcom/workshop/porto/index.html

# 01/07  Workshop on "Spike Train Metrics" (organiser, with L.Smith, Stirling), University of Plymouth, UK.

# 07/06  Workshop on "Cortical Microcircuits" (organiser) at the Computational  Neuroscience Conference, CNS 2006, Edinburgh, UK.

# 03/06 Section "Cognitive Linguistics" with Dra Neyda Diaz Garcia (Universidad de La Habana) at the ALEG 2006, Capitolio, La Habana, Cuba.

# 2003 Guest editor of Theory in Bioscience with a Special Issue on "Cell Assemblies"

# 2002 Workshop "Neural Assemblies" at the Computational Neuroscience Meeting, CNS 2002, Chicago.

# 2001 Coorganisation of a workshop "Complex Neural Dynamics" at the Computational Neuroscience Meeting, CNS 2001, San Francisco and Monterey.

 

Links

Centre for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience website:
http://www.research.plymouth.ac.uk/ctcn/

Private homepage:
http://www.pion.ac.uk