postdoc position in computational neuroscience

[Alain Destexhe]

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Postdoc position available - January 1st, 2001
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A postdoc position is available for a computational study of
neocortical pyramidal neurons in vivo. This project will be conducted
in collaboration between two laboratories, A. Destexhe (CNRS,
Gif-sur-Yvette) for the computational part, and D. Pare (Laval
University, Quebec) for the experimental part. A collaboration with
Y. Fregnac (CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette) is also possible. The candidate
will have access to intracellular data from neocortical neurons in
vivo, obtained in the aforementioned labs. The project will consist,
in a first phase, of evaluating the impact of the intense synaptic
activity in vivo on dendritic integration in neocortical pyramidal
cells. The morphology of intracellularly-recorded neurons will be
reconstructed using a Neurolucida system and incorporated in the
NEURON simulator (http://www.neuron.yale.edu), to design biophysical
models that will be matched precisely to the intracellular
recordings. Because models and experimental data correspond to the
same cellular morphologies, we expect that this method will allow us
to characterize various aspects of synaptic activity in vivo, and
estimate its consequences on dendritic integration. In a second
phase, these biophysical models will be simplified, in order to build
large-scale networks based on the integrative properties estimated
from in vivo measurements. 
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The CNRS facility of Gif-sur-Yvette is a campus entirely devoted to
research and situated in the vicinity of Paris.  The department (UPR
CNRS 2191, Dir. Y. Fregnac) consists in an integrated and very
interactive environment comprising in vivo electrophysiology (L. 
Borg-Graham, Y. Fregnac, M. Pananceau, D.  Shulz), in vitro
electrophysiology (T. Bal, K.  Grant), comparative anatomy (J-P. 
Denizot), psychophysics (J.  Lorenceau) and computational
neuroscience (A. Destexhe). 
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The candidate should have a Doctoral degree, experience in
neuroscience and computer programming, and ideally, a sufficient
knowledge of electrophysiology. There is no restriction on
nationality. 
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The salary will be paid by a grant from NIH, which will available on
January 1st, 2001, for a period of 2 years. 
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Candidates should contact Alain Destexhe for more details, or consult
the site http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr
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Alain Destexhe
Unite de Neurosciences Integratives et Computationnelles, 
CNRS, 
Avenue de la Terrasse, 
91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France 

Tel: 33-1-69-82-34-35  
Fax: 33-1-69-82-34-27
URL: http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr 
email: Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr