The Statistical Analysis of Neural Data (SAND) meetings have become a principal forum for discussion and study of data analytic techniques in neuroscience. They are held in even years in Pittsburgh, PA. The fifth workshop is planned for May 20-22, 2010 and the sixth for May 31-June 2, 2012. SAND5 and SAND6 will bring together experimental neuroscientists, computer scientists, statisticians, engineers, and physicists who are interested in quantitative analysis of neuronal data. This workshop series aims to define important problems in neuronal data analysis and useful strategies for attacking them;foster communication between experimental neuroscientists and those trained in statistical and computational methods encourage young researchers, including graduate students, to present their work;and expose young researchers to important challenges and opportunities in this interdisciplinary domain, while providing a small meeting atmosphere to facilitate the interaction of young researchers with senior colleagues.
Major advances in recording and imaging technologies have put into the hands of investigators wonderful tools for conducting previously unimagined experiments, yielding rich data sources that can shed new light on basic neuroscience and its clinical implications. The data sets are, however, often large and complex, so that novel methods of analysis are needed if the wealth of new information is to be turned into useful knowledge. The Statistical Analysis of Neural Data (SAND) meetings will continue to push neuroscience forward by encouraging young computationally-oriented researchers and by improving communication and dissemination of relevant results.
