ECE 6313

Neural Networks
Syllabus Fall 2013
Class number 22806: MW 5:30PM 7:00PM, Room: E313-D3 (Engineering Building 2)
Instructor: Dr. Haluk Ogmen
Office: W312-D3; Phone: 713 743-4428; E-mail: ogmen@uh.edu; Fax: (713) 7434444
Office Hours: TBA and by appointment
Catalog Description: ECE 6313 Neural Networks Cr. 3 (3-0). Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Generalization of single-cell models to networks; network dynamics; feed-forward and recurrent
additive, shunting equations; short-term memory; long-term memory; Hebbian and non-Hebbian
learning rules; associative and competitive learning; adaptive resonance theory.
Academic Honesty Policy: Students in this course are expected to follow the Academic Honesty
Policy of the University of Houston. It is your responsibility to know and follow this policy.
You must sign the academic honesty statement which will be distributed in class and is available
on the course web site, and submit it to your instructor by Wednesday, 11 September 2013. If
you fail to do this, you may be dropped from the course.
Religious Holy Days: Students whose religious beliefs prohibit class attendance on designated
dates or attendance at scheduled exams may request an excused absence. To do this, you are
strongly encouraged to request the excused absence, in writing, by the last day to drop without
record for Fall 2013. Please submit this written request to your instructor immediately, to allow
the instructor to make appropriate arrangements. For more information, see the Student
Handbook.
Students with Disabilities: Students with recognized disabilities will be provided reasonable
accommodations, appropriate to the course, upon documentation of the disability with a Student
Accommodation Form from the Center for Students with Disabilities. To receive these
accommodations, you must request the specific accommodations, by submitting them to the
instructor in writing, by the last day to drop without record for Fall 2013. Students who fail to
submit a written request will not be considered for accommodations. For more information, see
the Student Handbook.

Course Topics:
Review of philosophical and psychological underpinnings.
Review of basic neurophysiology.
Generalization of single cell models to networks.

ECE 6313 Fall 2013

Network dynamics, stability analysis, content addressable memory.

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of feed-forward additive and shunting equations.
Short-term memory and recurrent shunting network dynamics.
Long-term memory: Hebbian and non-Hebbian synaptic dynamics.
Supervised learning, function approximation theory, decision and game theory.
Associative learning: Classical and operant (reinforcement learning) conditioning.
Unsupervised pattern clustering: competitive learning, adaptive resonance theory.
Beyond empiricism and behaviorism: Future directions in neural network research.
Applications: pattern recognition and classification, adaptive sensorimotor mapping, adaptive
control, perception, and related problems.

Computer Usage: MATLAB (The MathWorks, Inc.) Neural Network toolbox will be used for
computer projects. You are required to obtain the student version of MATLAB along with the
Neural Network Toolbox as an add-on.
Textbook: There is no required textbook. Introduction to Neural and Cognitive Modeling.
Daniel S. Levine, LEA Press, (2nd edition) is suggested.
Grading: Your course grade will be based on a weighted average as follows:
Exam I: 30%, Exam II: 30%, Quizzes: 20%, Homeworks and computer projects: 20%.
Attendance: Attendance at every class is expected. Roll will not be taken but in-class quizzes
and exams will be given.
Exam Schedule: There will be two exams. They will be given during the class period. The first
exam will be given around the middle of the semester. The second exam will be given at the end
of the semester. There will be no final exam.
Missed Exam Policy: If you miss taking an exam, you will receive a zero on the exam unless
you do the following:
1. Immediately - as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours after the scheduled exam - notify
your instructor.
2. As soon as possible, take to your instructor a written explanation, doctor's note, or other
documentation describing the event beyond your control that prevented you from taking the
exam.
For those students having a legitimate, acceptable excuse for missing an exam, a common
Makeup Exam will be scheduled. It is your responsibility to arrange that with your instructor.
Remember the 48 hour deadline. The time and place of the makeup exam will be worked out
among those involved.
Missed Quiz Policy: Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped in determining your quiz average.
There will be no make-up of missed in-class quizzes.
Course Web Page: To access the web page for this course, login from Engineering Blackboard.
It is recommended that you consult the course web page often for material related to this course.
Email: You should check your e-mail periodically for messages. E-mails for this course will be
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ECE 6313 Fall 2013

sent through the Blackboard. The e-mail address used in the Blackboard is the UH alias
(@uh.edu). If your preferred e-mail address is different, please make sure that you forward your
messages to the desired address.
As a student at the University of Houston, you have been assigned a UH e-mail alias that points
to the e-mail address you provided to the university when you applied for admissions (it is blank
if you did not). E-mail messages addressed to your UH-alias are automatically forwarded to your
preferred e-mail account. For example, if you provided joecougar@aol.com to UH, any e-mail
sent to your new alias will automatically be sent to joecougar@aol.com. UH will use your alias
to send you important university information such as financial aid, registration changes,
emergency closings or information from your faculty and department. Please make sure that
your email alias points to an email account that you check regularly. To update your email
account information, follow these steps:

Go to www.uh.edu/myPeopleSoft/ and login with your PeopleSoft ID.

Select UH SelfService.

Select Campus Personal Information.

Follow the instructions to update your Destination e-mail address. You must have at
least one address designated Destination (under Email Type) to receive official UH email.

Click Save

Click Sign Out

Your UH e-mail alias is now set up to point to this addressbe sure to keep it updated!
Grade Posting: Your grades will be posted on the Blackboard. The final letter grades for the
course will be available through PeopleSoft. The instructor is not allowed to give out grades over
the phone or by email.
Withdrawal Policy: The withdrawal dates listed in the Academic Calendar section of the Class
Schedule will be followed strictly. Please consult this document for appropriate dates. Grades
of Incomplete (I) will be given only when a small portion of the course has not been completed
for a good reason. If the material has been completed, an I grade cannot be given.

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ECE 6313 Fall 2013

ECE 6313 Neural Networks

Academic Honesty Statement & Email Agreement

Name: (printed) _____________________________________________

Confirm that the following statements are true and then sign and date below.

Academic Honesty Statement

I have read the University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy contained in the UH Student Handbook
available on the web and agree to abide by its provisions. I understand that the Department of Electrical &
Computer Engineering takes academic honesty very seriously and, in the cases of violations, penalties may
include suspension from the University of Houston.

UH E-mail Alias Agreement

I have read the University of Houston Information Technology website discussing UH e-mail aliases and I
understand how to use this alias to receive e-mail through my outside provider.

I understand that it is my personal responsibility to configure this alias properly to receive mailings from
the university.

I understand that the ECE department will use this e-mail alias for all official correspondence.

Signature: ________________________________________________
UH E-mail Alias: __________________________________________
Date: _______________________________
Submit this form to your professor by Wednesday, September 11, 2013. If you fail to do this, you may be dropped
from the course.

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