Duration
26h Th, 26h Pr
Number of credits
| Master MSc. in Biomedical Engineering, professional focus | 5 crédits | |||
| Master Msc. in Electrical Engineering, professional focus in Neuromorphic Engineering | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course is an introduction to the dynamics of excitable systems, with a particular focus on neuronal excitability at the cellular and network levels.
The course will cover basic dynamical properties of neurons, which include
- Excitability and spiking activity
- Type I and Type II excitability
- Rest-spike bistability
- Bursting
- Dendritic and axonal propagation
- Models of synapse
- Population dynamics : rates models, neural mass models, neural fields models
- Possible applications: decision making, associative memory, learning, visual hallucinations, wake-sleep cycle...
- stability of equilibria and limit cycles
- phase portrait analysis
- bifurcations of fixed points and limit cycles
- singularities
- space-time behaviour, space-time pattern formation
- etc.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of this course, the student will have a good understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuronal dynamics and neuromodulation. He/she will master the mathematical concepts and techniques required to study these dynamics: phase portrait analysis, trajectory simulation, fixed point computation, stability analysis, bifurcation diagrams, space-time behaviour, etc. In addition, the student will be able to use the relevant tools on computer (Julia).
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, IV.1, VI.1, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in biomedical engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, IV.1, IV.8, VI.1, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in electrical engineering.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
SYST0002-1 or an equivalent course on linear systems
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
For the first part of the course on cellular dynamics, the course is based on 2h tutorials on Julia notebooks followed by 2h ex-cathedra lectures on theoretical concepts. Active student participation is required during the tutorials. The second part on populations dynamics will consists in ex-cathedra lectures and a project (report on a scientific paper, with associated computer modelling).
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Recommanded readings:
'Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: with applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Engineering', Steven H. Strogatz, Perseus Publishing, 2001.
'Dynamical Systems in Neuroscience: the Geometry of Excitability and Bursting', Eugene M. Izhikevich, The MIT Press, 20086.
'Neuronal Dynamics. From singles neurons to networks and models of cognition', Wulfram Gerstner, Werner M. Kistler, Richard Naud, Liam Paninski, Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Additional information:
Additional information:
Julia notebooks will be evaluated throughout the year; the project report is evaluated only in the first session (the mark obtained is automatically transferred to the second session); a written exam is organised during both sessions. (Note that the timely submission of the reports associated with the hands-on work is a condition for participating in the written examination.)
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Additional information and lecture notes will be provided on eCampus.
Contacts
G. Drion (gdrion@uliege.be, Bldg. B28, office I140)
P.C. Dauby (PC.Dauby@uliege.be, Bldg. B5a, office 2/57)