Data on the Brain & Mind
Concrete Applications of AI to Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
NeurIPS 2025, San Diego CA
We believe a workshop focused on ML applied to such datasets is timely and presents a clear opportunity to help forge collaborations. Thus, we designed the workshop to be highly interactive. In addition, we invited speakers who have led large, open-sourced data initiatives or analyzed key datasets like those mentioned above.A key differentiator of our workshop is its focus on the rich diversity and heterogeneity of emerging neuroscience and cognitive science datasets. These are not your standard ML benchmarks; they span a wide array of data types including time series, images, videos, text, and even unconventional structures like connectome graphs from MICrONS. Each dataset possesses highly idiosyncratic meta-information, such as the spatial coordinates of electrodes in MEG recordings, that invites the development of tailored, sophisticated AI solutions. This departure from generic datasets encourages a move beyond one-size-fits-all foundation models, precisely the kinds of directions we aim to explore.
| Time | Event | Details/Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 9:10am | Opening Remarks |
|
| 9:10 - 9:50am | Lightning Talks |
2-minute talks by authors of accepted papers. |
| 9:50 - 10:20am | Invited Talk 1 |
Dan Yamins (Stanford) |
| 10:20 - 10:50am | Invited Talk 2 |
Ila Fiete (MIT) |
| 11:00 - 11:50am | Discussion Sessions |
Dataset-focused discussions on: Language in the brain, Visual & spatial intelligence, Brain-wide circuits, Human-like learning, and Human cognitive behaviors. |
| 11:50 - 1:00pm | Mentoring Lunch |
Connect with senior colleagues in small themed groups (PhD applications, work/life balance, research transitions). |
| 1:00 - 1:30pm | Invited Talk 3 |
Laura Gwilliams (Stanford) |
| 1:30 - 2:00pm | Invited Talk 4 |
Cengiz Pehlevan (Harvard) |
| 2:00 - 2:40pm |
Poster Session IContributed Works |
|
| 2:50 - 3:20pm | Invited Talk 5 |
Rajesh Rao (University of Washington) |
| 3:20 - 3:50pm | Invited Talk 6 |
Martin Schrimpf (EPFL) |
| 3:50 - 4:20pm | Un-Poster Session (Poster Session II) |
Interactive session: visit other posters, discuss negative results, desired datasets/methods. |
| 4:30 - 5:00pm | Invited Talk 7 |
Gemma Roig (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
| 5:10 - 5:45pm | Moderated Panel |
Discussion with invited speakers and panelists. |
We invite 4-page submissions in the following three categories.
Submissions should present neuroscience or cognitive science datasets that clearly articulate open scientific questions the dataset could address. Examples include: neural recording datasets with specific hypotheses about computation, behavioral datasets with questions about learning mechanisms, and clinical datasets with therapeutic targets.
Requirements:Submissions should present machine learning methods with clear applications to neuroscience or cognitive science.
This includes:We welcome position papers and proposals of untested ideas that identify concrete open problems requiring interdisciplinary collaboration.
This includes:
