[FieldTrip] PhD projects on Brain Oscillations optionally combined with Neuropharmacology

[Markus Bauer]

PhD projects on Brain Oscillations and Human Electrophysiology
Several PhD opportunities are available for MEG/EEG projects on brain oscillations, cognition and neuromodulation with Dr Markus Bauer<https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/markus.bauer> at the University of Nottingham, UK.
We have excellent access to the imaging facilities of the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre<http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/magres/> (one of the birthplaces of MRI) with 7T & 3T MRI, MEG and EEG, as well as to different EEG and brain-stimulation techniques (TMS, tACS/tDCS) and psychophysical testing environments at the School of Psychology<https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/research/research.aspx>. For clinical studies, collaborations exist with different groups at the Queen's Medical Centre<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen's_Medical_Centre>.


1)      An MRC funded PhD position is available to investigate the integration of prior expectations and sensory signals in perception in healthy volunteers and psychotic patients.  Application deadline: 16th January 2017.

2)      Applications to further PhD funding for several projects on Brain oscillations, Cognition and Neuromodulation are solicited (different selection criteria apply) for which details can be found further below. Application deadline: 12th December 2016.

MRC PhD project (deadline 16th January 2017)
"Distortions of perception and attention in psychosis and healthy controls<http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/mds-graduate-school/scholarships/mrc-impact/imaging.aspx>"
A key goal is to investigate, both from a phenomenological and mechanistical perspective, the integration of prior expectations and sensory signals in the context of a Bayesian perception framework. One focus will be the role of specific brain oscillations in integrating feedforward and feedback signals and the role of glutamatergic, GABAergic and cholinergic signalling. Coincidentally, different lines of theoretical work have further suggested that psychosis may be a result of suboptimal integration of top-down and bottom-up aspects of perception and that psychotic patients show anomalies in these neurotransmitter systems, presumably leading to abnormal oscillatory patterns in this patient group.
This PhD position will be supervised by Dr Markus Bauer<https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/markus.bauer> (School of Psychology<https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/research/research.aspx>) and Prof Peter Liddle<https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine/people/peter.liddle> (Translational Neuroimaging Centre<http://ima.ac.uk/research/groups/translationalneuroimaging/index.aspx>). The candidate will combine neuroimaging techniques (in particular MEG but potentially also EEG-fMRI) with sophisticated psychophysical experiments in healthy controls and patients as well as psychopharmacological interventions and optionally computational modelling.

BBSRC Doctoral Training Program PhD projects (deadline 12th December 2016)
"Cholinergic neuromodulation, spatial memory and hippocampal theta oscillations<http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/bbdtp/available-projects/molecules-cells-and-organisms/psychology/cholinergic-neuromodulation-spatial-memory-and-hippocampal-theta-oscillations.aspx>" (can be combined with work in animals as a collaborative project)
"Brain oscillations and feedforward and feedback processing<http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/bbdtp/available-projects/molecules-cells-and-organisms/psychology/brain-oscillations-and-feedforward-and-feedback-processing.aspx>"

School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, PhD projects (deadline 12th December 2016)
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/study-with-us/postgraduate/phd-by-research/phd-supervisors.aspx#Bauer     (several, partly overlapping projects available, open for international candidates)

The candidates for these programs should have strong numerical/analytical skills and a degree in one of the following fields: Neuroscience, psychology, physics, medicine, biology, computer science, mathematics or related. Experience with MATLAB programming, neuroimaging data analyses and experimental work are strongly desirable or otherwise have to be learned quickly. PhD students will receive extensive (further) training on these and will conduct their research in an internationally competitive environment.
Informal enquiries can be sent to Dr Markus Bauer markus.bauer at nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:markus.bauer at nottingham.ac.uk>
Selected reading: Bauer et al. 2014<http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/48/16117.long>; Bauer et al. 2012<http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(12)00023-1?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982212000231%3Fshowall%3Dtrue>; Brookes et al. 2016<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811916001543>; Adams et al. 2013<http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00047/full>






This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. 

Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this
message or in any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the
author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nottingham.

This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an
attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your
computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as
permitted by UK legislation.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.science.ru.nl/pipermail/fieldtrip/attachments/20161209/946a4a0d/attachment-0001.html>