PhD studentship: recognition memory

[Rafal Bogacz]

An interdisciplinary PhD studentship is available in mathematical 
modeling of familiarity discrimination in the brain. The study will 
investigate how the brain reaches a decision concerning whether a
stimulus is novel or familiar, and will involve analysis of available 
neurophysiological data, development of a mathematical model and 
simulations. The student will be jointly supervised by Prof. Malcolm W. 
Brown, FRS (MRC Centre
for Synaptic Plasticity, Department of Anatomy) and Dr. Rafal Bogacz
(Department of Computer Science).

The MRC Centre is internationally renowned for its research into
synaptic plasticity mechanisms and the Department of Anatomy in Bristol
has been ranked 1st in UK in a recent Times Ranking (above Oxford and
Cambridge) and the Department of Computer Science has been ranked 3rd in 
UK (above Oxford). Bristol has one of the largest neuroscience 
communities in Europe.

Applications are welcome from outstanding candidates holding a first or 
upper second class degree in mathematics, computer science, physics, 
neurophysiology or psychology, and an interest in computational
neuroscience. These 3-year studentships include a scholarship of around
12,000 per year and cover University fees of around 3,085 per year. 
Applicants must hold UK citizenship to be eligible for the studentship. 
Prospective
applicants should contact Dr. Rafal Bogacz (address below) with their CV
and a motivation letter explaining what skills and experience make them 
particularly suitable for this project. Applications are invited as soon
as possible.

Dr. Rafal Bogacz
Department of Computer Science
University of Bristol
Bristol, BS8 1UB
United Kingdom
e-mail: R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk

For background on familiarity discrimination in the brain, see:
[1] Brown MW, Aggleton JP. 2001. Recognition memory: what are the roles 
of the perirhinal cortex and hippocampus? Nature Review Neuroscience 
2:51-62.
[2] http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/home/rafal/familiar/