Job ID: 120773
PhD Neuroscience non human primates, neural basis of territorial space representation
Position: Ph.D. Student
Deadline: 31 January 2025
Employment Start Date: 1 February 2025
Contract Length: 3 years
City: Bron-LYON
Country: France
Institution: Institut des Sciences Cognitives
Department:
Description:
The “Disorders of the Brain” team led by Angela Sirigu and ‘Neuroprime” teams, led by Sylvia Wirth at the Institute of Cognitive sciences (www.isc.cnrs.fr) are jointly seeking a talented and motivated candidates for a PhD position to work on the neural basis of territorial representation and its modulation by Oxytocin. The PhD is financed by a Synergy ERC grant “OxytocInSpace” (https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/erc-synergy-grants-2022-project-highlights), attributed to a consortium of expert researchers in spatial navigation and oxytocin neuromodulation.
The objective of the PhD to investigate the functional properties of neurons coding for space in the macaque (e.g. place cells, boundary cells, grid cells) and determine how they respond to socio-spatial parameters of ownership, utility, and social hierarchies under territorial settings in freely moving animals. Based on previously identified connections between the Oxytocin system and the hippocampal regions, we will determine how Oxytocin regulates territorial behavioral and neural expressions in a context-dependent manner.
Ideally the PhD has a background in Neuroscience and/or computer science/programming, and/or experience in neurophysiology, DREADD manipulation, data analysis, and experimental work with non-human primates or other animals.
The work entails participating to experimental designs, conducting experiments in macaques via wireless equipment, and performing data analysis. Individuals with interest in spatial navigation and sensory/cognitive processing are encouraged to apply. Excellent statistical skills and computational modeling are a plus.
The Lyon institute of cognitive sciences is part of a rich multinational community in a strategic central place in France for neurosciences.
For further information about this position, email Sylvia Wirth (sylvia.wirth@isc.cnrs.fr) or Angela Sirigu (sirigu@isc.cnrs.fr) with a CV, a letter or motivation and 2 names of reference.